Thos. B. Oliver is a family run business and has been established since before 1919. However, Thomas B Oliver himself was the man who introduced Motorcycles into the business in 1919, when at that time, we offered a full Wedding Taxi Service, Pick-Ups from the nearby train stations etc.

The business was then passed on to James B Oliver (Jim). Jim was a keen enthusiast for both modern and classic motorcycles and cars, and this was reflected in the running of the business. Sadly, he passed away in December 2015.

Jim also sponsored various road racing riders and, on occasions, sidecars. His most famous sponsorship was probably that of Steve ‘Hizzy’ Hislop, who served his apprenticeship as a mechanic at this very garage, and went on to win eleven TT’s and three British Superbike Championships to name a few of his many successes. Jim also sponsored Steve’s brother Garry Hislop, who won the Newcomers Manx Grand Prix in 1982, but was sadly killed in the same year.

Thos. B. Oliver Garage, Denholm, Scottish Borders

The business continued to expand and grow and continued to service and MOT three wheelers, cars, 4×4’s and light commercials, as we do today.

Thos. B. Oliver is now run by Wendy Oliver, granddaughter of Thomas Oliver, and offers a wide range of services, as you would expect from a locally run garage.

Wendy is a keen motorcyclist herself and currently rides a scooter to work now and again (good weather!) but has a Yamaha MT09 Tracer for ‘weekends’. Wendy has organised the Steve Hislop Memorial Run every year since 2003 in conjunction with Alan Duffus. It invites all motorcycle enthusiasts to have a run around the Borders, usually on the last Bank Holiday in August.

Working alongside Wendy there is Brian Blackwood, foreman. Whilst motorcycles are his passion, he likes restoring cars and bikes in his spare time, even after a day of repairing everything from 4 x 4, cars, bikes, trikes – both classic and modern – along with anything else that happens to come through the garage door.  Brian is MOT qualified Classes 1,2,3 & 4.

Jimmy Boland is the latest addition to the team, Jimmy is MoT qualified and his main interest is cars, so his vast knowledge and experience will be another asset to the family business.

John Scott is the classic member of our team specialising in classic and vintage machines, but also has vast experience in the more up to date vehicles as well, 2, 3 or 4 wheels.

Robbie Anderson is the newest member to the team. Robbie is a keen motorist and started working on his own vehicles at an early age. Currently more car-oriented we are sure he will move closer to 2-wheeled machines in the future!

We have a young and enthusiastic team who is always on hand to offer help whenever we can, to both old and new customers.