Ancient brits heading east!

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS OLD TIME LORRIES, COMPANIES AND DRIVERS (INTERACT
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After reading all the comments regarding this photo (put on the Astran/Middle East drivers thread by Orientmack), I thought it would be good to see what other “gems” we can find.
I have seen many photos of ‘Ancient Brits heading East’ but never seen this one before. There must be someone who knows something about it? Recognise it Bubbs?

So here are a few which I’ve collected to start things off;
In my honest opinion, this has to be the ULTIMATE Brit heading East!

Michael Woodman and Bob Paul pictured April 1964 having just collected the trailer from York’s at Corby. Soon after they set off on ‘THE’ inagural trip to Kabul. The little Guy did 3 round trips amounting to some 30,000 miles. It broke down on numerous occassions, jacknifed twice and had the engine modified and rebuilt 3-4 times, but still it kept going. Ironically a year after it was part ex’d for the AEC, Woodman and Paul went looking for it to have it as a tribute to thier hard work. Unfortunately a week before they found it, it had completely burnt out on the Motorway!!!
Here on the first trip 1964 heading East through Turkey

Oh what luxury!

These courtesy of Jerry Cooke; S Jones ran ERF’s, Macks and Kenworths under the banner of “Trans Arabia”.
Check out the air con = no windscreen!

Bit more luxury in this B series but I bet she still struggled big time at 100tons+ gross!

Nice to see the Brits giving a helping hand to the yanks (as usual)!

Courtsey of Fred Topham; Abandoned in Saudi. Ex Showerings/Babysham from Somerset!

Courtesy of Roger WIlliams (Willhire). Anyone recognise these?

On route to Iran, A&E Trucking Nottingham. Atkinson possibly ex Walkers of Tuxford.

Courtesy of Geoff Gilbert. Same Walkers Atkinson now ‘abandoned’ in Istanbul;

Courtesy of the late Neil Moorhouse. He ran this Dodge and Merc to Kuwait & Iraq. Check out the roof mounted exhaust on the Dodge which Neil modified himself to help keep the cab warm in winter. He never told me if he took it off during the summer months!

And this is his ‘rabbitt hutch’ sleeper which he made from wood and ‘screwed’ to the back of the cab! I don’t suppose the rear mounted tool box lasted 5 minutes either!

Thirlrock from Slough ran this ‘impressive’ Foden between UK & Kuwait for Oryx. Pictured here in Kuwait City…


…and here at a ‘regular’ stopping place in Turkey!

I am pretty sure this is John WIlliams in the cab, just about to set off for Rawalpindi, Pakistan (c1969). The ERF belonged to Mick Hill from Long Buckby (John lived there) and the gentleman standing is Muhammed Aslam who simply walked into Mick’s garage one day and asked him to take a load to Pakistan! After a month of research by John, the trip went ahead. Check out the sleeper box ‘cut’ from a Bedford TK. Ingenious work there John!

Ah the luxury of a sleeper. Still got abandoned in Eastern Turkey though!

And a couple courtesy of Phil Read for all you ERF fans. ‘Thundering across H4’…

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Hi Ashley, love the Coffin screwed on the back of the Dodge, all it s missing are the brass handles :open_mouth: classic British Engineering, no wonder Britain was known as the workshop of the world! :unamused:
Regards Chris

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Do you know the reg. no. on the Handyman the livery is the same as the old J. A .Wilkinson fleet Hatfeild Peverel thanks very good photos.
I think Anglo Norden had a depot in Colchester

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Another cracking thread Ash, I will put Marathon 0001 on here, when i get it finished :laughing:

Jerry

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Great to see the john williams erf. i remember reading somewhere about that first trip he did but this is the first time i’ve seen any pics. Do you have anymore pics and info on that trip.

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Amazing pics, keep them coming :smiley:

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Hi all, I dont suppose anyone out there can recall if there was a driver from the south coast who ran down to the middle east in the 70s with an old Scammell handyman it would have been a metallic blue in colour,I,m sure I saw it at the minstry test station in Salisbury.If so does anyone have any pictures of it.Regards Todd

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Great thread Ash. Good reminder that it wasn’t all 88’s and 110’s.
Probably a long shot, but that Scammell is in the colours of Houseman’s who hailed from Harrogate.
I know they’re still around, but not sure if they were when the photo was taken.

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Ps to the last photo it was a mk1 atki!

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Few more Brits heading East;
This one’s for you HUTPIK…

A better view of the Guy Big J;

More from Fred Topham; These found ‘dead’ in Istanbul;



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aidey:
Great to see the john williams erf. i remember reading somewhere about that first trip he did but this is the first time i’ve seen any pics. Do you have anymore pics and info on that trip.

Sorry mate; No more info, just what I remember hearing. The story you remember was in Truck mag entitled Desert Foxes (I think). It was written that John went to Pakistan in 1970 in an F88 though, so maybe somewhere someones got the dates wrong as it was so long ago.
Mick Hill’s business was called EUR-ASIA. I know for a fact that after the ERF, more trips were undertaken and indeed an F88 was bought to do the job ‘properly’.

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Wow ! a V8 Mandator, with a Kent reg, wonder if that was one of Anglo Continental’s ?

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what a cracking thread ,these boy’s did’nt give a monkeys what they kipped in :exclamation: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

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The anglo continental v8 in the press pics was rkr 284g so guess this rkr 283g was its sister.

never knew there was more than 1 high roof sleeper v8.

nice pics chaps,keep em coming.

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Hi all.Thanks for that Ash.I think that apart from the power[150hp]and the top speed[46mph]i felt quite good,at least i had a sleeper cab.
When all said and done the motor done 3 trips to Kuwait[not very fast],and with the money it made enabled me to buy a good second hand F88 Volvo,so the pain had some reward.Also,if you had something like that you could get it repaired at almost any backstreet garage.Aydin rebuilt the gearbox for me in Istanbul and most of the parts were from boat,or agriculture shops.Most places had supplies of parts from the ‘‘colonial past’’ so many things could be ‘‘sourced’’ locally and made to fit somehow.Mike

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Brilliant pics,
Cant be arsed to delete and quote.
Was “neilz” about to check the oil in that Dodge :confused:
Also ,was most of them motors only going one way. . going as sellers or used on internals(if they made it that far)?

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hutpik:
Hi all.Thanks for that Ash.I think that apart from the power[150hp]and the top speed[46mph]i felt quite good,at least i had a sleeper cab.
**When all said and done the motor done 3 trips to Kuwait[not very fast],**and with the money it made enabled me to buy a good second hand F88 Volvo,so the pain had some reward.Also,if you had something like that you could get it repaired at almost any backstreet garage.Aydin rebuilt the gearbox for me in Istanbul and most of the parts were from boat,or agriculture shops.Most places had supplies of parts from the ‘‘colonial past’’ so many things could be ‘‘sourced’’ locally and made to fit somehow.Mike

Suedehead:
Brilliant pics,
Cant be arsed to delete and quote.
Was “neilz” about to check the oil in that Dodge :confused:
Also ,was most of them motors only going one way. . going as sellers or used on internals(if they made it that far)?

Suedehead if you look the answer is in the the post above yours
cheers Johnnie :wink:

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Hiya …i see that s39 foden got robbed… the most valuble bit is still sitting their. the bronz crown wheel
would be worth a few bob… brilliant photos ASH love them…men was men on those trips, some of the
new drivers would’nt be seen dead in a guy invincable on MM8 chopped down…is the book still selling■■?
John

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Cheers Ash
Would have been good to have known more about it. Great thread though look forward to seeing more good stuff on it.