Muckaway:
We deliver to Great Park Farm (almost opposite where you said at Besselsleigh), and I’ve heard from somewhere that land near there was used during the war for storing stuff part buried in the ground? Not sure whether it was documents or munitions I’ll ask some people at work on Monday. Tying in with Bessels and Cothill, the seam of sand in question runs almost unbroken from Sandhills (Headington) right through to Faringdon, and only changes near the Grundon Pit at Wicklesham, where we pick up “binding grit sand”, and more commonly, the best topsoil around; It doesn’t really stick in the bodies even when loaded in the pouring rain…
Obviously, the sand from the Headington area was used with brick making; I did a muck job a few years back (pre-weighloaders) from Quarry Road and the clay-sand was so light we could fill 14m3 bodies on 6 wheelers without overloading them-and it came out without shovelling! 
ARC also dug ballast in the 70s and early 80s from Foxley Farm, Eynsham (near the old railway line) for use during local road improvements; I’ve heard bombs were discovered there as the site was part of RAF No 10 Air Ammunition Park during WW2. When the large house there was built about 7 or 8 years ago, our contracts division excavated ballast which we hauled to Tuckwells pit at Radley; We had MOD Bomb Disposal on that job a couple of times too 
Hello again Muckaway.
Another interesting post of yours,that seam of sand along the A420,still being worked upon ,the Appleton and Faringdon areas, when we were kids (a VERY long time ago) we used to play in 3 of them at Longworth ,the old A420 at Spring hill, one was just down the Charney road,one at "Lamb pit"behind the round house and the other almost opposite the current Lamb & Flag pub,all within half a mile, filled in now, we used to ride bikes , sleigh in the winter. watch the sand martins etc,no need for a load of warning signs ,fences , ,they expected the public to have a little common sense those days ,not much education but a bit of nouse the opposite of todays PC culture- the good old days! TOSHBOY
That little round house you mentioned was the old tollhouse from the Oxford Swindon turnpike; Part of a network of them that included “the White House” Pub in Oxford near the station. My Father In law’s been down at the mothballed Conbloc plant at Ringwood recently; the ■■■■■■ keep breaking in for metallic souvenirs…I expect when John Lee falls head-first into a silo they’ll get legal aid to sue the site owners 
windrush:
I remember Ameys Transport on Northumberland Avenue, Reading, in the 1960’s. They had a few Bedford’s, I THINK that Hill’s of Botley had the place before them. Also recall Ameys tipper’s knocking around the Reading area but cannot remember where they operated from though.
Pete.
ARC had a pit at Theale; It’s closed now I believe and last thing I heard, Hadleys were filling it…
altitude:
Hi toshboy
You could well be right there with that land at Besseliegh, Ameys had workshops at Coln Gravel Claydon Pike Lechlade, they did most things but there were times you had to go to the main workshops at Boars Hill, I always went out on road test with the fitter that had worked on my lorry, ( sorry I can see the man but the name won’t come at the moment ) we always passed that bit of land, and he would always say " that’s where it all started. "
cheers
John.
Drove up the A420 this morning and had look for the old Amey pit; There’s some overgrown scrubland between the Greyhound pub and Hartwell Landrover, then just past is a house called Rye-Leigh. The fields behind do look at a slightly lower level, as if they’d been worked on a shallow face…
Muckaway:
altitude:
Hi toshboy
You could well be right there with that land at Besseliegh, Ameys had workshops at Coln Gravel Claydon Pike Lechlade, they did most things but there were times you had to go to the main workshops at Boars Hill, I always went out on road test with the fitter that had worked on my lorry, ( sorry I can see the man but the name won’t come at the moment ) we always passed that bit of land, and he would always say " that’s where it all started. "
cheers
John.
Drove up the A420 this morning and had look for the old Amey pit; There’s some overgrown scrubland between the Greyhound pub and Hartwell Landrover, then just past is a house called Rye-Leigh. The fields behind do look at a slightly lower level, as if they’d been worked on a shallow face…
Hi Muckaway, You found the location I mentioned; its a distinct possibility isnt it ,Rye-Leigh very similar to Rowleigh and in 1921 probably hand dug hence the shallow face, I know its before your time but there used to be a transport cafe there called the CARAVAN CAFE ,Im sure some readers could remember this. TOSHBOY
Hi Toshboy, do you remember the quarry near Berinsfield? From people I’ve worked with, I’ve known it as Queensford Pit (now Queensford Lake) and an area known as “Wally Corner”? When I worked for Sheehans as a Plant Op trainee, there was a retired ‘dozer driver called Wally Burgess who ran Sheehans’ tip near Benson (known as Brightwell pit). Wally worked at Queensford for Ameys and a retired 'dozer driver from McKennas (Tommy West) worked there aswell. Apparently it was the site of RAF Mount Farm during the war and the old nissen huts were the original “houses” used by the Berinsfield folk who’d been displaced by the blitz until the '50s estate was built.
Muckaway:
Hi Toshboy, do you remember the quarry near Berinsfield? From people I’ve worked with, I’ve known it as Queensford Pit (now Queensford Lake) and an area known as “Wally Corner”? When I worked for Sheehans as a Plant Op trainee, there was a retired ‘dozer driver called Wally Burgess who ran Sheehans’ tip near Benson (known as Brightwell pit). Wally worked at Queensford for Ameys and a retired 'dozer driver from McKennas (Tommy West) worked there aswell. Apparently it was the site of RAF Mount Farm during the war and the old nissen huts were the original “houses” used by the Berinsfield folk who’d been displaced by the blitz until the '50s estate was built.
Muckaway, When the Dorchester pit became exhausted another was opened up on the other side of the Henley road and they called it Queenford. I do recollect the name of Wally but cannot place him,'dozer drivers were usually not based at one pit permanently but moved around pit to pit,so not associated to a particular one. quite right on the RAF history of that area though ,another pit you may of not known about in that area was JOHN ALLENS pit on the Abingdon/henley road near the original Amey Dorchester pit, whether this was the same John Allen Engineers of Cowley ,famous for their mowers etc i would not know ,perhaps some reader can help on this one. -----. was the Brightwell tip later to become GRUNDONS ■■ another that way was Ameys Oakley Wood. — toshboy
Oakley Wood is still open as a recycling centre (for how much longer?) and had a lot spent on it about 2 years ago. Not sure who worked Brightwell, Sheehans put a top on it as the farmer had started ploughing up old rubbish as the soil wore away. Re Allens, I know the lake you mean, if it’s the one you see as you leave Dorchester via the old road. Went down the A420 today; there’s a place called Rowleigh lane opposite the Besselsleigh Church. According to 'net, there’s been quarries for sandstone around there since the middle ages…
One of our drivers is ex Ameys who worked 2 stints at Dixs, Stanton Harcourt; First time he got made redundant when some employed drivers wouldn’t go as ODs so it was cheaper (redundancy pay wise) to lay the younger pit workers off and re-employ the older drivers. He remembers Ron Amey having a Rolls Royce which he’d drive around the pit in. The batching plant at Stanton used to do a lot of drylene which as dug ballast would be put straight into the plant. Mentioning Besselsleigh, Ameys apparently had a yard on the Bessels road into Wooton for many years…
I’ve been trawling through the early stages of Bubblemans’ Scrapbook;
Muckaway:
Anyone remember a driver called Ruben ? He had a Leyland Reiver with Bathgate cab in the 80s. I think he was from Reading area, in later years he had a Volvo FL 8 wheeler (N reg I think) with a light blue cab. He retired about 3 years ago and I’ve heard went back to West Indies. He sold his lorry to Dave Buckingham who ran it for about a year until it was replaced by a Hino. Ruben was known to be “a bit quick” and once tipped his lorry over on Burford roundabout.
Yes Muckaway, I knew Rueben, he was a very nice man if people gave him the time to get to know him properly. He spent a while aring for hs wife when she was ill shortly before falling illl himself & giving up operating the lorry. I know it was parked up at his operating centre for a long time but I wasn’t aware David had bought it from him & I wasn’t aware Rueben had returned home. I see Pete Buck now & then, I’ll have to ask if he knows.
BB
Basilbrush:
Muckaway:
Anyone remember a driver called Ruben ? He had a Leyland Reiver with Bathgate cab in the 80s. I think he was from Reading area, in later years he had a Volvo FL 8 wheeler (N reg I think) with a light blue cab. He retired about 3 years ago and I’ve heard went back to West Indies. He sold his lorry to Dave Buckingham who ran it for about a year until it was replaced by a Hino. Ruben was known to be “a bit quick” and once tipped his lorry over on Burford roundabout.
Yes Muckaway, I knew Rueben, he was a very nice man if people gave him the time to get to know him properly. He spent a while aring for hs wife when she was ill shortly before falling illl himself & giving up operating the lorry. I know it was parked up at his operating centre for a long time but I wasn’t aware David had bought it from him & I wasn’t aware Rueben had returned home. I see Pete Buck now & then, I’ll have to ask if he knows.
BB
I used to see Rueben a lot on the A34 and M4 when running flint out of Padworth, always flashed his lights when he saw me; Dave Buck used Ruebens’ lorry on a pipeline job in Witney (which Dave went largely unpaid as the firm cocked the job up so many times they incurred heavy penalties and went ■■■■ up at the end).
Three photos taken at Hanson (formerly ARC) Siding at Oxford Road, Kidlington.
Looking toward Oxford Station, the line on the right is the main line to Bicester (Town Station) and used to be the LMS line to Bletchley and Cambridge. It’s passenger service only runs as far as Bicester Town which used to be known as Bicester London Road. The line runs as freight only to the former London Brickworks at Calvert (now a landfill run by Shanks) and is disused from then on to Bletchley via Verney Junction. The Bridge carries the Oxford-Banbury Road and replaced a level crossing during the '30s (ish).
Looking toward Bicester; Container trains use this line to the MOD depot at Arncott. I think these sidings used to serve the long closed Ministry of Food Silo nextdoor.
Muckaway:
Three photos taken at Hanson (formerly ARC) Siding at Oxford Road, Kidlington.
Looking toward Oxford Station, the line on the right is the main line to Bicester (Town Station) and used to be the LMS line to Bletchley and Cambridge. It’s passenger service only runs as far as Bicester Town which used to be known as Bicester London Road. The line runs as freight only to the former London Brickworks at Calvert (now a landfill run by Shanks) and is disused from then on to Bletchley via Verney Junction. The Bridge carries the Oxford-Banbury Road and replaced a level crossing during the '30s (ish).
Looking toward Bicester; Container trains use this line to the MOD depot at Arncott. I think these sidings used to serve the long closed Ministry of Food Silo nextdoor.
tipped many loads in there.
Hansons’ have stopped having stuff delivered in there now by road since one of Cleavers’ went over; Network Rail worried about going over onto the tracks. Problem now is, they’ve got the material in stock but can’t get a train as often…
Hi Toshboy
Found your Amey board. I remember most of the pits mentioned earlier as in the late 60’s early 70’s as a low loader mate and then driver we delivered all the new grading plant to the new pits then the navies, loading shovels, dozers etc. I was on a six wheel artic S20 Foden and then a smaller Leyland four wheeler Low loader both with Tasker trailers rear wheel removal not swan neck.
The old pit near the greyhound PH on the A420 used to be easier to spot when the road used to be what is now the Wootton turn off, a new road straightening the section was put right through the middle of it, between the 4X4 garage (which used to be an engineering works) past the Greyhound. Ron Amey as a youngster would ride his scramble bike with Gordon Plumber at this site
Ron Amey was a keen sailor (yacht) and his boat was called NORYEMA sort of Ron Amey backwards. The small four wheeler Foden low loader was tarted up every now and then so that it could take the boat to shows etc.
Berinsfield pit was put in to the South of an old airfield. Ameys dug up the old runways and perimeter roads on the airfield which was where the Berinsfield estate is now.
The pit mentioned at Letchlade (Coln pit) was where my Father was electrocuted with 22000 volts while recovering a broken down tipper, didn’t die but was badly burned and shocked excuse the pun.
davidcox:
The pit mentioned at Letchlade (Coln pit) was where my Father was electrocuted with 22000 volts while recovering a broken down tipper, didn’t die but was badly burned and shocked excuse the pun.
I was based at Coln Gravel for a while and that rings a bell, but It’s a long time ago and the old heads a bit hazy at times. 
HI Davidcox,
You reminded me of that section of the A420 Besselsliegh–before the road was put through it was a series of double S bends ,one of them right on the turn to Wootton ,as you say there was an Engineering works as well past there ,cannot remember whether the Caravan transport cafe was on that same site at that time.
Ron Amey and his yachts-he changed them often -some of his crew worked in the Group-his skipper lived in Besselsliegh. i have a photo of one of them somewhere. once i had to rush some equipment to Appledore for him -thats where his yachts were built… Toshboy
davidcox:
Hi Toshboy
Found your Amey board. I remember most of the pits mentioned earlier as in the late 60’s early 70’s as a low loader mate and then driver we delivered all the new grading plant to the new pits then the navies, loading shovels, dozers etc. I was on a six wheel artic S20 Foden and then a smaller Leyland four wheeler Low loader both with Tasker trailers rear wheel removal not swan neck.
The old pit near the greyhound PH on the A420 used to be easier to spot when the road used to be what is now the Wootton turn off, a new road straightening the section was put right through the middle of it, between the 4X4 garage (which used to be an engineering works) past the Greyhound. Ron Amey as a youngster would ride his scramble bike with Gordon Plumber at this site
Ron Amey was a keen sailor (yacht) and his boat was called NORYEMA sort of Ron Amey backwards. The small four wheeler Foden low loader was tarted up every now and then so that it could take the boat to shows etc.
Berinsfield pit was put in to the South of an old airfield. Ameys dug up the old runways and perimeter roads on the airfield which was where the Berinsfield estate is now.
The pit mentioned at Letchlade (Coln pit) was where my Father was electrocuted with 22000 volts while recovering a broken down tipper, didn’t die but was badly burned and shocked excuse the pun.
So where is Bonkey Dollocks? 6 & 8 wheelers galore and not a sign
