About Us
The Company
Our specialist area
We are an independent freight forwarder trading
since
January 1996 specialising in transporting cargo to and from the former
Yugoslavia and Northern Italy. We do not operate our own trucks but
predominantly work with
Slovenian, Croatian and Serbian hauliers, many of whom have been
working with
us since day 1. Find out about our origins and our operations.
John Shirley
Managing Director
Having lived in Bosnia and Canada, John became a finished products commodity trader in a Yugoslav trading company based in London (turnover £200m). He tumbled into the international freight business when the company that he worked for turned out to be mainly Serbian, and was closed under UN sanctions that were current at the time.
Offered work in Dover by a clearance agent whom he had used previously for imports, John quickly established, by talking to drivers from former Yugoslavia, that the majority were going out from the UK empty after having made their deliveries in the UK. This could be from as far up as Glasgow.
In the early to mid-nineties, the wars in Croatia and Bosnia were in full swing with the consequent need to feed, clothe and house refugees then, eventually, to re-build the infrastructure in the war torn areas. It was expensive for charities and NGOs to hire and insure trucks to get their aid there. As soon as they learnt about the empty trucks from former Yugoslavia and the low cost involved they snapped at the chance to use them. Through this agency and subsequently through John Shirley Ltd, then based in Willesborough, aid went in vast quantities from Dublin, Glasgow, Turrif, Bristol, Wrexham, London, Rotterdam, Aarhus, Nuremberg, Rennes, Paris, Naples, Gibraltar, Istanbul, Ziar nad Hronom, Balassagyarmat, Belgrade etc. Much of this aid was paid for by the government of Japan in their first major donation programme.
Goods shipped included tens of thousands of tonnes of NAAFI biscuits, Bailey bridges, baby boxes, pasta, flour, rice, cooking oil, sugar, seed potatoes, tomato paste, beds, tents, body bags, generators, tractors, bowsers, stone crushers, paper, thermal power plant parts, garbage trucks, tippers, fire engines, armoured Landrovers, Landcruisers and so on. Later, in 1999 to 2001, the exercise was repeated with Kosovo resulting in a doubling of turnover in 2000. At all times phone calls in Serbo-Croat to get trucks though borders and vetinary checks was imperative. Use of French, German and Spanish at the loading places was often a tremendous help.
Since those hectic years the nature of traffic has become more commercial however, the necessity remains to get trucks and containers to their loading places on time when there are a dozen or more volunteers waiting, as aid is still being shipped although in much smaller quantities.
John is fluent in Serbo-Croat and French. He also speaks some Spanish and German.
Robin Ross
Operations Manager
Robin first entered the world of freight forwarding in 1973 with
Thomas Meadows Ltd and has worked in a number of freight environments
including import and export customs documentation, full load and
groupage deep-sea container operations, rail freight and driver
accompanied trailers throughout Europe. He has been with the company
since 1996. Robin's interests include include walking, wood turning and
motorcycling.
Julia Harrington
Accounts
As the company's newest member, Julia joins
John Shirley
Limited from Saint Ronan's School based in Hawkhurst.
Julia, originally from North London, moved to Folkestone a decade ago, having spent thirty years living near Royal Tunbridge Wells. Her career in book-keeping began in a mailing & fulfilment house, a job she had for 14 years. Following this, a year's freelancing took her to Saint Ronan's Pre-Prep & Preparatory School in Hawkhurst, West Kent. There, she was invited to become a member of full-time staff, subsequently becoming Bursar and later, Financial Bursar. Having spent 12 years at Saint Ronan's, the prospect of a shorter commute led her to John Shirley Ltd.
Sam Shirley
Webmaster
Currently studying Economic History at the LSE, Sam was formally Accounts Manager before Julia joined the company. He continues to maintain the website part-time. Sam graduated from Warwick in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in 2009, and took over from Kemal Pervanic who himself left to complete a Masters Degree.