The history of our 5th generation family business

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Foster & Sons Removals has passed from father to son for many generations.

It all started in the late 1800s when Samuel Foster helped people move house in and around Belfast with a horse and cart. The first truck was put on the road in 1921 and the business as we know it was born.

Samuel, who founded the business, was succeeded by his son Robert, in the 1930/1940’s, who passed the business on to his son Maurice in the 1970s.

The Foster family originally came from Tate’s Avenue in Belfast, where they stayed until the late Maurice Foster moved to East Belfast in the 1970s.

Maurice was more interested in being on the trucks than going to school and after working with his dad from the age of 13, took over from Robert once he was old enough. Maurice married Barbara, and they moved the business to East Belfast, then to Holywood.

One of their 3 sons, Paul, first worked alongside Maurice at the age of 10 and couldn’t wait to leave school to work full time in the family business.

After Maurice’s untimely death, Paul took over from his dad in 2007, just as the world and the housing market was thrown into a recession.

When many others would have given up, Paul brought in business consultants to help the business survive and grow during tough economic times. He not only survived the recession but grew it to what it is today.

While the business has grown, it is still very much a family business. Paul got married in 2017 and his wife Meabh came on board as a director in 2018.

They run the business together now on the Holywood Road in Belfast, with Paul’s mum Barbara still answering phones in the office, 50 years after she started helping her husband Maurice.

Paul’s oldest son Joshua is hot on his heels to take over the business once he finishes his education. The 5th generation of Foster men spends his summer holidays from school on the trucks learning the ropes, sometimes working alongside his uncle Scott, a musician by trade who also works part time for the family business when he can.

Paul and Meabh have 3 other sons who also want to work on the trucks when they are old enough so watch this space… one day soon there could be 4 Foster brothers running the business started by their great great grandfather Samuel over 125 years ago.