John Willmott, The Founder, And His Sons - Willmott Dixon

Changes ahead in the new century
The company is still essentially family owned and the memory of its humble
beginnings at Bassingbourn was recognised in 2004 when the company replaced the iron
gates to the Willmott Playing Fields in the village. The playing fields had been donated
to the parish council in 1936 by Samuel Willmott, son of the founder John Willmott,
but the original large iron gates had been sacrificed for the war effort during the
Second World War.
Over the last 150 years the company has continued to focus on providing a high quality
service to the customer, and to value, recognise and encourage the loyalty and
development of its employees at all levels. One could say that this approach has been
vindicated by the fact that the company has weathered many storms during this time,
as economic climates fluctuated, and has outlasted or exceeded the performance of a
number of its competitors from the early years. The company remains determined to
deliver sustainable and resilient growth for its shareholders and staff alike and this looks
set to continue into the 21st century. This will be very evident in the significant changes
to come which can be the subject of future instalments of this story.
23
Margaret Valentine
2009