Hi everyone - my first post here, so please forgive a newbie!
Thanks to the marvels of the internet, I spotted this particular thread whilst looking for something completely non-related.
I’m neither a driver or an owner, but if anyone is interested, I can probably supply a some information & pictures etc. regarding LEWIS BROTHERS of Cuddington, which used to be situated on Norley Road next to Cuddington Station. My mum Mary used to work at the telephone exchange, and fondly remembers that the old telephone number for the company used to be Sandiway 146 (how times have changed!).
My dad, Roy Williams, was Transport Director at Lewis’s, from after the war until it was taken over by LSM (Lime Sand Mortar) and subsequently Thomas Tilling (which then became TILCON, in the late 60s). After the owner and his wife, ALAN & PHYLIS LEWIS retired to Anglesey in 1951, he ran the business with fellow director (Sales & Marketing) Derek Tompkinson (now deceased), and I spent many, many happy hours both in the yard and at the sand pits in Cheshire which they used to own. I recall that the two main pits were on the Tarporley Road and at Pettypool (near Whitegate?). Derek was married to Alan’s sister Florence (Flo). Alan’s daughter Sylvia (coincidentally married to John Lynch of LYNCH TRANSPORT, mentioned earlier in this thread) also used to work at the company.
Their fleet was mainly Fodens (for the 8 wheelers) and Bedford TKs for the smaller stuff. Their livery was cream cabs with dark green bodies (does anybody remember the little slogan on the back of their trucks? “Yes - another load of washed pit sand!” - my dad came up with that and was really proud of it… heh heh!). I also used to see other trucks in the yard belonging to a company called CHESHIRE SAND, who had mainly Bedfords with light green cabs and dark green bodies.
The fitter who used to keep all the trucks on the road was Eric Bennett - now 88 and still alive, living with his wife Barbara in Sandiway. Eric was Alan’s brother-in-law.
The only drivers’ names I can remember (it was a long time ago!) were Herbert Cliff, and Alan’s brothers-in-law, Doug & Ron Bennett. As you will gather, it truely was a “family business”.
I also recall that the fleet used to contain a number of Atkinson 8 wheelers, and at least one Albion. At one time, some of the really old Bedfords still had wooden cabs!
When the business was sold to LSM, all the trucks were painted a creamy white colour, with the circular badge containing a trowel in the middle with the letters LSM around it. Once Thomas Tilling took over, the trucks then sported the familiar light blue and burgundy livery with the TILCON logo along the side.
The washed pit sand was pumped out from the ground with water, which then drained back into the pit and the clean sand was dried before being transported. One abiding memory was when they needed to break through the layer of hard clay to get to the sand underneath, so my dad called in the legendary Derek “Blaster” Bates to do the job. He made everybody laugh so much the old man went straight out and bought one of Blaster’s LPs. It contained some pretty saucy stuff and I wasn’t allowed to listen to it, so I used to wait until they’d gone out before playing it on the old stereogram. That LP still makes me laugh to this day.
Anyway - I’ve rambled on enough. I hope this may bring back memories to some of you old 'uns, and if there’s anything else you can add I’d love to hear it. I know my dad kept lots and lots of photos of the fleet (local photographer and family friend Lawrence Sands used to line up all the trucks at one of the pits each year for a fleet photograph), but I fear that when he was moved to Tilcon’s office in Harrogate, many of the photos may have been thrown away. I’ve asked my mum to see if she can find any of them, and if she does I’ll scan them and post them here.
If anyone happens to remember my dad Roy, he’s still alive (he’s almost 88) but the poor old lad has fallen victim to Alzheimers and now lives in a home in Ripon, Yorkshire. His room contains several photos of his Lewis Brothers and Tilcon days, along with a few Corgi-sized trucks which he had painted in the full Tilcon livery all those years ago. Up to a couple of years ago he could recall nearly every truck he’d ever bought, along with 90% of the drivers who ever worked with him.
Nostalgia? Nah… it’s a thing of the past… 
Clark Transport Widnes