Transport: horse v motor

Rapid inter-war expansion demanded a more efficient distribution system.

In 1919 Sainsbury's purchased six Leyland Lorries from the RAF to deliver to more distant branches, especially those along the south coast such as Brighton and Eastbourne. John James Sainsbury presented the drivers with a pair of driving gauntlets and a thermos flask on their first morning.

The Road and Rail Traffic Act of 1934 limited heavy vehicles such as the Leyland vans to a speed limit of 20 miles per hour. To overcome this restriction, special lightweight vans were built onto a Bedford chassis for Sainsbury's – these were permitted to travel at 30 miles per hour.

Up until the late 1930s, Sainsbury's continued to use horse vans for deliveries within London. High standards were expected of Sainsbury's horses: John James Sainsbury required them to be 'capable of trotting both with and without a load'. Many won medals in the annual May Day horse parade at Regents Park.

The competition between horse and motor transport was a source of public debate from the late 1920s. In 1933 John Benjamin wrote: 'In London, we find that for journeys up to five miles, there is a definite saving with horse transport as in as much as the motor depends upon speed to produce economical results and in the congested areas of central London, that advantage is nullified.'

Download a chart comparing the weekly cost of a Sainsbury's horse van, with a 4 ton motor van, 1933. (PDF 23kb)

Sainsbury's maintained a fleet of around 42 horse vans but it gradually became evident that petrol engines were simply faster and could work more hours than a horse could. The last horse was regrettably sold in 1937.