If you look up as you pass Perivale in West London you can't miss it

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If you drive along the A40 in West London near Perivale, you might look up and pinch yourself to see if you are dreaming. For on one of the rooftops above you, you might think you've see a huge tank, an aeroplane, a Tardis from Doctor Who, or even a massive Santa Claus.

But don't worry, you're not actually dreaming. Anyone who knows the area will tell you it's just part of the fun for local company Vanguard Self-Storage, who are known for ingeniously advertising their business to passing motorists by having an array of items on the roof of the building.

MD Will McCullagh explains it all started back in the 1970s. He explains: "We had a helicopter that was used for installing machinery and it was sat in what was then a very busy yard at Western Avenue surrounded by vans, forklifts and cranes. We were a bit worried it would get damaged so we decided to lift it on the roof to get it out of the way.

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"When the helicopter went up the phones apparently went red hot with people asking why we had a helicopter on the roof. Our response was: 'We've just got an ace pilot'!" It's the kind of tradition you might expect a family to do - decorating their house each year with something new - and Vanguard is exactly that, they often decorate the roof with something new.

Mac McCullagh, Will's father, set up the business back in 1964 to provide industrial moving and storage services. Veteran soldier Mac McCullagh has been collecting cast off items for years including a Linotype printer designed in 1883 by German engineer Ottmar Mergenthaler, which was once the treasured machine used to create the nation's newspapers, magazines, and posters and a A 7.3” anti-aircraft gun, weighing a massive 17 tonnes.

Mac's interest in military machinery first started when he was called up to military National Service in 1959. Commissioned in the 5th Royal Tank Regiment, he started off with a troop of Centurion Tanks followed by a troop of Conquer Tanks.

Later, after setting up Vanguard, which was in the business of moving and installing heavy machinery, Mac began to collect some of the interesting machinery that Vanguard were moving.

Since then, things have really taken off, and everything from a Hawker Hunter WT555 aircraft, an English Electric Lightning, a World War One tank, anti-aircraft guns, a double-decker bus and currently Doctor Who's Tardis have appeared on the roof.

Along the way the firm has been involved in some huge projects such as installing the Christmas tree at Trafalgar Square and renovating the Cutty Sark.

The heavy lifting side of the firm is no more, but there's still enough machinery about the place to get things up onto the roof.

Will says: "Let's face it, self-storage isn’t the most exciting product, so if customers can choose to put their goods in the place with the red door, yellow door, blue door or the one with the aeroplane on the roof, it helps us stand out. We're a small business but we've become known for the objects we put on the roof."

Some of the vehicles have been absolute gems as well. The RAF Hawker Hunter WT555 jet aircraft was the first to be used by the RAF in 1953, and the classic Lightning of course is one of Britain's most iconic aircraft.

These were both originals and the company worked with aircraft heritage specialists to restore them. The World War One tank was a replica, and for the Queen's Jubilee next week, Vanguard will hoist a replica Spitfire up onto the roof as a mark of respect for her Majesty and all things British.

Currently a Tardis from Doctor Who sits on the roof, apparently after someone randomly approached the company and asked if they wanted it. Despite Mac’s military background, there was no particular reason why the company chose military vehicles for their exhibits. "We just fell into it," said Will.

Now the firm is exhibiting military jets in atriums at all of its new self-store buildings including in Bristol and at 717 North Circular Road.

"We get a lot of feedback by email, phone and social media," says Will. "Recently someone phoned up to ask why we still had the Tardis on the roof as it was 'so boring!" But the company also often promotes charities on its roof including the Dogs Trust and Blind Veterans.

As of next week the blue phone box will be replaced by Britain's most iconic aircraft as we all look to our traditions, so take a look up if you're driving along the A40 and give a nod to the aircraft that was at the Vanguard of the British resistance to the Nazis in the Second World War.

And to Mac and Will and their almost 60-year-old firm which has also stood the test of time.

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