ERF 1

At the beginning of the 1930s, during a time of recession and unemployment, insurers were becoming increasingly reluctant to underwrite steam boilers. Edwin Richard Foden, son of the founder of Foden, believed that as a result the future of the lorry building industry lay in diesel engine power. The Foden boardroom did not agree, and consequently he resigned along with his son, Dennis. Together with the help of two former colleagues, including Ernest Sherratt who became Chief Engineer, Edwin and his son worked to build this first ERF diesel lorry in 1933.