Snapshots of Vanguard History

Greenwich’s most famous landmark received a £2m facelift when we swapped the last original ship’s mast with a new one, 85 feet long and weighing 8 tons.

During the modernising of London’s most famous bridge, we disconnected, dismantled and removed for storage the Victorian hydraulic engines that were used to raise and lower the bridge, its 110-ton accumulators and its 100-person capacity lifts.

In 1972, we provided expertise for the second-ever tightrope walk across the River Thames. In 1997, we were called on to assist with another attempt, this time by a double-act, Didier Pasquette and Jade Kinder Martin. We anchored each end of the steel rope to two 120-ton cranes, then used winches to apply the final tension for the recordbreaking event.

The Horses of Helios are four bronze horses, 1.5 times life-size, which we installed in an alcove on the corner of the Haymarket and Piccadilly. Unable to use a crane due to restricted headroom, we designed and constructed a specially stressed extension to our maximum-lift handling equipment: the 50-ton Boom Truck.

We carefully dismantled Eros (London’s best known statue) and the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, packed them up and shipped them north of the border to Scotland where they were meticulously renovated. A year later, looking as good as new, we brought them back to their rightful place in Piccadilly Circus.

For almost two decades, we provided free transport from Felixstowe Docks, delivery to Central London and a crew and crane to position the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree.