Mr Wilson, who was 84, died on Wednesday at his home at Grafton, near York.

He was born on the former West Riding County Council owned Lodge Farm at Minskip, near Boroughbridge, which was let to his father, who volunteered to fight in the First World War and was wounded at the Battle of the Somme.

When he was four the family moved to a bigger farm at Dunsforth, near Boroughbridge, where he attended the village school. But the Wilsons had four sons to support and eventually moved again to Manor Farm in Arkendale, where they started a pedigree herd of Ayrshire cattle, selling milk to Leeds Co-op.

There was no electricity and no mains water. Cows had to be milked by hand and the water was hand-pumped from the farm's well. There were no tractors and Mr Wilson recalled walking behind a two furrow plough pulled by three horses.

During the Second World War he became a corporal in the Home Guard and commanded a platoon of men – many of whom were old enough to be his father.

The family grew large acreages of sugar beet and potatoes, which had to be hoed and harvested by hand, and Mr Wilson was placed in charge of up to 30 prisoners of war, who were delivered to the farm by Army transport.

While still at school he learned to play the trumpet and played with Knaresborough Silver Band and the Evening Institute Orchestra. His brothers, Eric and Bernhard, could play the saxophone, so they started a dance band, recruiting another trumpeter and saxophone players.

But it proved difficult to find a drummer – an essential for strict tempo dance music – so Mr Wilson learned to play the drums. For many years their Blue Star Band was popular across the area and they often had bookings 12 months ahead.

In 1949 Mr Wilson had second thoughts about continuing in farming. His father had already bought a lorry for farm work and it gave him the urge to enter road transport, buying his first lorry within 12 months. To be able to operate for hire and reward, he bought Thompson's coal business in Boroughbridge, which had two licences.

Mr Wilson started a building and agricultural merchants business, which gave the company opportunity to expand, and by 1960 he was operating a viable haulage business out of his depot in the Old Church School in Church Lane, Boroughbridge.

After Boroughbridge railway station closed in 1964 he began distributing animal feeds for Silcocks from Hull.

The company had contracts to collect potatoes from Pembrokeshire each May and June. The only way this could be carried out legally was to change drivers half way, so Mr Wilson based vehicles and drivers at a depot in Leominster on the A49.

In 1965 an increase in gross vehicle weights gave Mr Wilson an opportunity to expand into international markets and he began towing trailers for shipping to Europe. He also bought an ex-RAF hangar at Dalton airfield, near Thirsk, which provided a springboard for international transport when Britain joined the EEC in 1972.

By 1974 Mr Wilson had established a company in France with an office in Paris and later added others at Garanor, Cherbourg and Dunkirk. His company had the contract to move all Portakabins from York to France and deliveries were made for ICI throughout Europe.

Pioneering the use of large art-iculated lorries in Europe with the need for permits and licences was a challenge he relished and he was at the forefront of major changes in distribution.

In 1974 the company began working in the temperature controlled sector and purchased refrigerated trailers for contracts with Witch Chips, Dalepak and Rowntrees. Mr Wilson had bought 18 acres of land at Roecliffe Lane, Boroughbridge, in the early 1970s and opened the first phase of new offices, workshops and cold stores in 1980. Today the site is the UK's biggest temperat-ure controlled distribution business, operated by Reed Boardall.

Mr Wilson served on Boroughbridge Town, Harrogate Borough and North Yorkshire County Councils. He was a former chairman of governors at Borougbridge High School and a leading figure in the development of its sixth form. He was county council chairman in 2003-04 and was made an honorary ald-erman when he retired in 2005.

He leaves a widow, Eveline (Betty), two daughters and three sons. A funeral service will be held at St James's Church, Boroughbridge – next to his former haul-age depot – on Thursday at 2pm.