G. Scammell & Nephew was a wheelwright and coachbuilding firm in Spitalfields, London, which maintained Foden steam wagons. After the First World War Alfred Scammell and the chief designer Percy Hugh conceived an articulated six-wheeler, and at the 1920 Commercial Motor Show 50 orders were taken. Its low axle weight let it carry 7.5 tonnes at 12 mph instead of being limited to 5 mph. Scammell Lorries Ltd was floated in 1922 and built a new factory at Tolpits Lane, Watford.
In 1934 Scammell launched the three-wheeled Mechanical Horse, designed by Oliver North to replace horses on rail, postal and other deliveries, with automatic coupling and a front wheel that could turn through 360 degrees. Karrier had launched the similar Cob four years earlier. The 6×4 Pioneer of 1927, with a beam bogie giving each rear wheel two feet of vertical movement, was excellent off the road and became the basis of the Army’s R100 tank transporter.
Leyland Motors bought Scammell in 1955, and Michelotti designed its glass-fibre cabs. The Crusader of 1968 was a high-speed long-distance tractor with a 273 bhp Detroit Diesel, and the Commander tank transporter entered Army service in 1983. After Leyland was sold to DAF, the Watford factory closed in July 1988.
