Does anyone remember Dudley Davies and Sons of Llandeilo? My dad Alcwyn was one of the three sons who died loading his beloved Albion Reiver 360 EBX at BOCM at Avonmouth Docks in 1966. In the early days that I remember so well my dad, and Jack his brother ran the business from Trefwri Farm, Rhosmaen just off the A40 between Llandeilo and Llandovery, Carmarthenshire. The earliest lorries I can remember was a Dodge 4 wheeler rigid 989 XWN in a burgundy colour with Dudley Davies and Sons on the front and on the doors with the telephone number Llandeilo 2281. Later he drove the six wheeler Albion Reiver 360 EBX (registered in Carmarthen in 1963) with the LAD cab. Iwould love to know where she is now, I seem to remember after my dad passed away she was sold and I seem to remember went to Scotland, where she was built in Glasgow all those years ago. She was replaced by my Uncle Jack with an AEC tractor unit MBX 677H who ran the business until he passed away in the 1980’s and Dudley Davies and Sons ceased trading. I would love to hear from anyone who remembers my dad or Uncle Jack and the company. I am now 60 years old and a retired policeman living in London and guess what, I drive a lorry for a couple of motor racing teams and travel to all the UK racing circuits and in Europe.
Hi Tudor,
There are a couple on members on this forum who would remember your families firm. Hywel Price from Llandovery and Ianto from the Llangadog area. If anyone can remember your outfit, it will be those two.
Cheers Dave.
Dave, That’s great, I hope they will get in touch!!
Hi - Tudor.
I remember your father Alcwyn and his two brothers - Jack and Glyndwr.
Dudley Davies was their father. Back in the 60s Alcwyn used to deliver BOCM cattle feed from Avonmouth with the Dodge and the Albion Reiver - to our yards at Halfway and Llandovery – Price of Llandovery … Jack was driving the AEC artic.-- Glyndwr had his own tipper haulage business.
They were a great haulage family. - It was very sad, that your father Alcwyn past away so suddenly.
all the best from brothers - Hywel and Glenville.
Annwyl Brodyr Price!! So wonderful to hear from someone who remembered my father. Although he died when I was a mere lad of 12 at Llandeilo Grammar School I can remember him so well, like it was yesterday and do go with him in the lorry was such an adventure. Loading with concrete pipes at Albion in Llangadog to go to England which was so far away, no Severn Bridge then, so all the way up to Gloucester cross the Severn there and travel on, tip, then the journey to Avonmouth to BOCM, hand load the bags of cattle feed, sheet and rope and return to Llandeilo in one day!! how hard must that have been for him and the other hauliers and drivers of the day? very I would think. I remember your Price of Llandovery lorries so well also, I even have a 00 model of one!! they were of a similar colour and livery, probably signwritten by the same man eh! Your lorries were always so well presented, a credit to you and your family. You carried a lot of timber in those days and it was always so emotional if you met up with us on the road somewhere like the Windrush Café near Burford or the Gossington Bridge Café near Bristol, remember them? and the comeraderie of Welsh truckers in those days were so lovely to sit in a café talking away, in Welsh of course with all the English drivers looking on in bemusement!! I have only a couple of pictures of my dad with his Dodge at Carmarthen Farmers in Ffairfach and when I find it I will post it on here for all to see. Sadly I have no pictures of his very last lorry 360 EBX the Albion Reiver but love to see one. Just one story that I so vividly remember before fearing that I will bore the pants off everyone!! I was with my father on the return journey from Avonmouth fully laden sheeted and roped beautifully as always with the crossed ropes at the back, remember them!! on the A40 just north of Trecastle between Brecon and Llandovery when an Army Land Rover from Sennybridge camp tried to overtake us on the hill just before the village, and it was a hill in those days down many gears to ascend the hill, nowadays you’d hardly drop 1/2 a gear. I digress, again, the Land Rover collided with the back of dad’s lorry, we stopped, not a mark on 360 EBX but the poor Land Rover was a write off. I can then remember my dad hurridly filling out the old blue ‘logbbok’ just in case the dreaded Ministry would want to see it after the accident! oh such happy days they were, I am in bits writing this with a big lump in my throat thinking of how lovely my dad was to me all those years ago. Nowadays I cannot remember what I did yesterday but that incident is so vivid in my memory, how is that? Uncle Glyn you’re quite right split up from my Dad and Uncle Jack and went his own route of Commer tippers and for years worked from his house at Brynteg, at Cwmifor, than to Pen y Groes. He died just a couple of years ago and donated his body to medical research, he is survived by Dudley (named after Tadcu of course) and is a lorry mechanic in Holland to this day and Jimmy runs a limousine company in Gorslas. Uncle Jack is survived by Helene now Lovell the past Mayor of Llandovery, Gillian who now farms in Australia and Alun runs his building firm from Trefwri Rhosmaen where Dudley Davies was born and started up Dudley Davies and Sons back in the late 40’s I suspect. His old Bedford ‘O’ series worked for years hauling hay at Tynlone Farm Llangadog with Uncle Owain but was disposed of many years ago, HBX 108 was the number and I still have the brass lizard that was screwed to the tailboard!! how’s that for nostalgia. Diolch I chi y Brodyr Price rwy’n bles bod chi yn fyw o hyd. Hwyl am nawr a diolch eto!!! Yma o hyd, Dafydd Iwan made a song of that name, ardderchog!!!
Hi Tudor I don’t remember your father but I do remember my father Iori and uncle Brynmor speaking about your father .I did work with Jane when she was in charge of transport in the Albion .We did have Eric James [Eric Bach] working for us who I think did drive for Jack Trefori but unfortunately Eric passed away a few years ago
Roger, How nice of you to reply. I remember your dad very well, Iori ‘Glo’ if I’m not mistaken, he was a lovely man, and I remember his Albion with the very small number 6 XDE or something very similar, he really loved that number!! and was always a great conversation piece, do you have any images of her I wonder? I’d love to see them. As for Eric Bach, I didn’t even know his surname was James, he was always know to me as Eric Bach and thought the world of him, he was such a wonderful man with that distinctive smile and his laugh of course. The last time I saw him was sipping a pint in the Carpenters in Llangadog and I hadn’t seen him for many, many years and I recognised him in an instant and he me, surprisingly. Jane, my sister was the Transport Manager at Albion Concrete for many years and she used to tell me the drivers (very old ones!) that remembered our family and indeed our father Alcwyn. The likes of John Duff, Eric Bach and the older Charles Footman drivers. I hope you and your family are all keeping well as we are here 200 miles away in London. I trust you’re still in the haulage business and doing well. Hwyl am nawr I chi!! Tudor.
Hi Tudor the reg of the ALBION was 6 WDE and was driven by Len Grithiffs from Llandovery then later went to operate his own artic doing round timber haulage.Another driver we had was Tommy Davies or Tommy Goyallt. I still have a lorry but its not on the road now but I do drive for a engineering firm in Llandovery
Roger, How’s that for memory then, only 1 letter out!! Where’s that lorry and number now I wonder. Tudor.
You do have a good memory Tudor 6 WDE was sold to Jenkins of Boncath who I think wanted to use the Albion for on farm work.When 6 WDE was scraped my father tried to keep the number but at that time you were unable to retain any reg number on any commercial vehicle