Over the Easter period the Mobiling industry received the sad news of the passing of Sid Cummins at the age of 95. Following the death of his wife Molly, Sid moved over to Florida to spend what were to be his final days with his family; David, Jennifer and Sid Jr.
Sid was one of those individuals who just never stopped in life and had a story about everything – all from his own personal experiences. He was a prisoner of war during WWII and successfully escaped! Beyond the war years Sid began to undertake car repairs before being tasked with the repair of an ice cream trailer. From here Sid began what was to revolutionise the industry and began to build his own ice cream vans.
Aside from the ice cream vans for which we all knew him, he also had a successful narrowboat business, using the same skills he’d honed on the vans.
Sid’s foresight, hard work and dedication to the cause ensured that the Mobiling industry moved on at a rapid pace with regular developments and continually changing body style – many of which have become icons today. The Rocket being perhaps the finest example of all.
In the 1960s he was joined by his son David who continued to carry the business forward – he himself was later joined by his son, Sid Jr. The renowned Cummins brand that Sid developed continued to progress and become increasingly well known throughout the world before the family departed for America. And throughout this time, Sid would continue to come up with new ideas of how things could be improved for the better (I believe this never actually stopped!).
It is unlikely that the Mobiling industry would be anything like it is today without the influence and direction of Sid during those earlier days – every one of us, Mobiler and Manufacturer, has a huge amount to be thankful to Sid for.
Our thoughts remain with David, Jennifer and Sid Jr throughout this sad time. Thank you Sid.