Anglian Willow Service Ltd

OUR HISTORY

1790 - 1834

1813 - 1884

1847 - 1902

1899 -1971

1922

19xx

1790 - 1834

Robert Watling (1790 – 1834)

Little is known of Robert Watling the great , great, great grandfather of the current Geoff Watling. What we do know however is that his timber connections in the Suffolk area marked the very beginning of the experience and craftsmanship that would be handed down for another 5 generations.

1813 - 1884

Ishmael Watling (1813 – 1884)

Ishmael, the great, great grandfather of Geoff Watling, stayed in the Suffolk region , and also followed into the timber profession , passing on his knowledge, passed down from Robert, to his son Thomas.

1847 - 1902

Thomas Watling (1847 – 1902)

Thomas was witness to the inception of the trade , and saw the largest ever willow tree felled , in Laversham Suffolk , he ran the timber business from the quay at Woodbridge Suffolk , plying his trade along the east coast by barge.

1899 -1971

Douglas Charles Watling (1899 – 1971)

Douglas was heavily involved with Wisden’s (London & Penshurst , Kent ) He was their main willow buyer and talked of a tree felled in Boreham, Essex that made a thousand bats!!!

1922

Douglas Arthur Watling (1922 – 2006)

“My father Doug re named the company , and is responsible for passing down the generations of knowledge to me , his legacy , his expert guidance and passion for the industry, is still widely recognised” – Geoff Watling, MD

19xx

Geoff Watling

I took over the reigns of the company from my father in 1996 , I also share his passion for the business , and even now whilst sawing the fresh clefts , will still childishly drool over a tight grained bat!

Our passion for what we do transfers into our services

15

Years

1

Tree

50

Bats

1

Player

“I remember my upbringing in this company, and although some things have changed, there are still constants …. Honesty, Reliability and good Communication”

Geoff Watling MD

Our Team

Geoff Watling

Managing Director

Geoff is the 5th Generation Watling to carry on the history of delivering cricket bat willow. He posses an exceptionally deep knowledge of Willow and the willowing business, driven by the passion that has been handed down from one generation to the next. He leads the business with a strong focus on development and growth whilst keeping a firm hand on the operational side of selecting, inspecting and delivery of cricket bat willow.

Lisa Slade

Sales & Office Manager

Lisa, who joined the company 8 years ago, runs the office and sales department. She comes with over 30 years of knowledge and experience in the timber industry, and together with her flair of people skills, and the understanding of our customers needs, this makes her a big asset to our company.

“Take care of the people you deal with, treat them with honesty, pay them fairly for what you buy, look after a) their property, and b) their fences. The last thing they want is the law calling upon them in the early hours because their cows were all over the surrounding neighbourhood, just because some idiot failed to replace the fences”

Douglas C. Watling (1899)

We believe you will be positively surprised at the completeness of our service

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