Daily Mail
Great inspirations! When lockdown started, businesses across Britain had to think quickly and act fast to survive - here are some of their stories
30th June, 2020
"When the managing director of one of Britain’s oldest watchmakers locked his office door for the final time as the country went into lockdown in early March, he took a moment to look at a portrait on the wall.
It was of his great-great-great-grandfather, Edwin Fear, who had launched the eponymous firm in 1846, when Queen Victoria was only a few years into her reign.
‘Since then, Fears has survived two world wars, Spanish flu and the Great Depression,’ says his descendant Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, 33, who now runs the company.
‘As I closed my office that night, not knowing if I’d be returning, I looked at his portrait and thought, “I’m going to do this and get my company through it”.’ And he did, in the most extraordinary and selfless way."
It was of his great-great-great-grandfather, Edwin Fear, who had launched the eponymous firm in 1846, when Queen Victoria was only a few years into her reign.
‘Since then, Fears has survived two world wars, Spanish flu and the Great Depression,’ says his descendant Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, 33, who now runs the company.
‘As I closed my office that night, not knowing if I’d be returning, I looked at his portrait and thought, “I’m going to do this and get my company through it”.’ And he did, in the most extraordinary and selfless way."