In 1910, brothers Arthur and Samuel Morgan started chopping wood from trees near the family farm to make fencing.

A horse and wagon carted their products to Rainham railway station to be despatched to London and the Midlands by rail, where they were bought by landowners.

It was from these humble beginnings that Morgan Timber was born, a family-run company based at a yard on the banks of the River Medway in Strood,

Now after 100 years, directors, third generation cousins Robert and Derek Morgan are about to retire closing a chapter of one of the Towns' most successful businesses.

The company has around 30 employees, all of whom, the owners say, have found alternative employment.

Over the years Morgan's played a key role in the Second World War effort providing timber for the trenches which became "home" for thousands of soldiers.

And post conflict, wood was in demand along with other construction materials to rebuild a war-ravaged nation.

Then at a time when coal was the main source of energy in the UK, timber was needed as pit props in the mines in Kent.

The Morgan brothers started Abbots Court Fencing Company from Abbots Court Farm in Bredhurst near Gillingham when they were in their 30s. As well as being farm hands on the predominantly livestock business, they teamed up with Jasper Huggins who provided the transport to Rainham station for their off-shoot fencing venture.

They moved to a site in Connaught Road, Luton in 1919 to be nearer a station and then it was decided to look for a yard where they could build a siding to link to a railway track.

In June 1923 a 3.5 acre plot was bought for £1,000 in Knight Road, Strood from Thomas Aveling of Aveling and Porter, inventor of the famous traction steam rollers.

A number of First World War outbuildings were converted into the fencing shed, caretakers's lodgings, offices and later, as the number of employees grew, a canteen.

The new yard was not connected to a mains electricity supply so they initially used an underground line shaft connected to a diesel engine off which belts and pullies powered saw benches to produce sizes suitable for the building industry, furniture, coffin boards and fencing.

Once the main power was switched on in 1955, major investments were made in modern plant, including saw-milling and planing machines.

Notable events to look back on for the Morgans are The Great Storm of 1987 when an estimated 15 million trees were felled, virtually overnight causing a massive glut in timber.

Dutch Elm Disease struck in 1975 when about a third of the 23 million elms in southern England perished.

In the mid 1990s timber started to dwindle and there was a move towards importing high quality hard and soft wood.

They have in the past supplied decking featured on the hit television show Grand Designs.

Robert Morgan, 67, a trained engineer and Derek, 75, who oversees the forestry side of the business, have decided to call it a day to spend more time with their families.

Robert, said: "It's sad, but looking at it positively, we've made a good living out of it and it has now reached its conclusion.

"What has kept us going, is that it is a family business and there has always been the incentive to carry on for the family."

He said they owed a great deal to their loyal staff, many of whom had been with them for years.

He said: "Our main concern when closing the business was the impact on our employees.

"We have been able to put many of the staff in touch with our customers, suppliers and other contacts to find them new jobs and this has been very successful.

"We also made everyone’s redundancy payments well in excess of the statutory levels and our many employees with long service were given six weeks additional pay in lieu of working their full notice.

"We have been very pleased that everyone has responded well and worked as normal throughout the notice period."

He added: "I am really pleased to be able to tell you that every employee who has applied has now got a new job to go to when they leave us.

"Eighteen will leave today and a further five leave at the end of October. The remaining seven will stay on until March next year."

The yard officially closes today (Friday) but some staff will remain on site to take orders and sell off remaining stock.