Hi Gavin
As soon as I saw your name I remebered you and the red and white KW, I used to drive a red Irish reg 111 doing Portugal in the early eighties. Didn’t you used to pull for Aquila ?
We all had some good times down there didn’t we.
I finished doing Portugal and became an OD and went on for Astran for almost 10yrs after that.
Best regards
Gavin Smith
Hi Gavin,
Welcome to the site.
Think your signature says it all:
Middle East? Believe a quarter of what you hear and half of what you see! The rest is (zb)!
Maybe that’s why those of us that did a bit took so many photos,on the premise that every picture tells a story,and “What can’t speak can’t lie”
Looking forward to hearing more from you,and seeing some of your pics.
Welcome to TruckNet Gavin.
It’s always good to hear from somebody who actually did the job and by looking at your signature it sounds like you are a very experienced man, I wonder if we ever met ?
Believe a quarter of what you hear, that’s true, for as we all know three quarters of the people who went past Zeebrugge only ever did one or two trips or were chancers and you never saw them again.
And half of what you see, I can’t wait for you to tell us about half of the things that you saw and that you couldn’t believe.
I am sure that like myself there were stories that you heard when you started doing the Middle East, that you thought were unbelievable only to find that several years later you found yourself in a similar situation.
Come on Gavin, get your experiences down on TruckNet and share them with everybody who is interested.
We owe it to the old drivers who have sadly passed away so that their children can understand a bit why Dad had to go away for two, three, four weeks at a time or even longer just to make a honest crust in the 70s and Maggie Thatchers Britain of the 80s.
If you have got any photo’s Gavin please let us see them, I am sure that there are at least one or two people on here who really would be interested in seeing them.
I am sure that everybody will be looking forward to hearing from you again soon.
Regards Steve.
Hi Gavin (GS) Bestbooties and mushroomman. How did you get to my post so quick when it was’nt on a M/E site? No work? Gavin I dont remember you from Portugal (too much time spent in a haze - too many miles and not enough hours when there was work and too much ‘electric soup’ when there was’nt) but I do remember you from when I started back on DT’s doing Turkey’s. I did pull for Aquilla for about 6 months (I think) they couldn’t keep me going I was always getting weekended. I managed to get on to DT’s direct (we worked for them before when I pulled for Bromilow) and stayed there until I packed in european work in 97 or 98. Bestbooties please give my regards to Mr. Magoo next tine you see him. I admit my signature is a bit cynical, I get a bit fed up with some of the stories such as shipping out at the same time as another truck passing one another in laybyes or garages every day until you reach your destination only to hear the other driver boasting that he only left England a couple of days ago! Or the so called experts who assure me Bromilow International never did M/E. Mushroom we could well have met, I did international work for 21 years covering more countries than most but not as many as some! Who were you in real life?
a s taylor mack
the last 3 mack pictures all have different headlights,is there any particular reason?was it up to the customer or dealer?
Big Al:
There was a company in Wigan in the early 60’s used to do Wigan to Glasgow and back in the night (no mean feat then)
I think they were called P&H (? might be wrong) They had Mack lorries with
“King of The Road” written across the bumper in large letters.
regards Big Al
they were called P&S contracts big al - if you do a search i think they are mentioned on other threads on TN, i’ve got a colour photo here in front of me of one of their R600 series bonneted macks GVD636D but it’s someone else’s copyright so i cannot post it (that and i’m retarded at posting photos) 
Hi Gavin, you wondered how we got back to you so quickly, it’s probably something to do with the different time zones.
Bromilow International, the name does seem to ring a far distant bell but I am sure that that there will somebody on this site who can remember them a lot clearer. As you know there were lots of companies who came and went in the 70/80s so nobody can expect to remember them all.
As regards being a bit peed off with passing drivers for days in lay-bys, well I did hear a similar story but I was in Italy when I heard it. Like you say only believe a quarter of what you hear. I would of thought that the answer to this would be to say “ show me the first stamp in your carnet then ”,
If ever I saw a Brit truck parked up faraway from home I would of taken the time to stop, to see if the driver was O.K. or to see if he had a problem in case I could of given him any help. I never knew when the boot would be on the other foot.
If I didn’t get on with the bloke ( and there were a few ) then it was up to me to do what I wanted, and like you there were times when I preferred to run on my own.
Like I said before Gary any old photos or stories from the seventies that you have will be most welcome for lots of people on this site.
As you said this is not a Middle East thread and I don’t want to steal it from Lespaul1765, so I have sent you a P.M. along with a couple of old Davis Turner M.E. subbie photo’s from the 70s, I hope that you like them.
Regards Steve.
The mack i bought, pic on page one 1978.Grant transport…
Importer was in bolton ,sales dir. John Woodward.
Hi all, In my posting I should have said ‘for the last 20 years at least the Mack agents have been Western Trucks at Leyland’
Regards Gavin
thanks gavin, i had know idea western trucks were still going,
are they still importing,or just parts now,
about 15 years ago, the dealer i was working for had a cruiseliner in, no turn signals, i called westen trucks, and the part arrived next day,awesome service…
Hi Les yes they are definately still going, as i said I called in for some parts for M.Janes Mack when I was coming back from holiday last year. They only imported one truck it cost them ( IIRC over £50000 for homogulation and type approval) I was discussing this with Tony (one of the partners) when I was there. I wanted to know the difference between my Kenworth and the Mack. The Kenworth was type approved but not homogulated its engine was built in the U.K. and shipped out to the states for fitting. Western Trucks had to pay for a U.K. ministry man to stand on the Mack engine production line for 3 weeks checking to get approval!
Tony was saying that when Renault took over Mack they closed down a lot of the small accounts and Western Trucks became the main supplier. I know that they supply a Mack dealer in Africa that M. Janes also supplies.
I cant find a web site for them, but I know they have an e-mail address (I can get it if necessary) their phone no.is 44-1772-454124 fax no.44-1772-456075 as you say their service is excellent, I cannot speak too highly of them!
I see that your address is now Canada. Whereabouts? Have you come across Dave Prince origonally from Cheddar now running a farm and some trucks somewhere in Canada.
I spent some of my school years in Canada my family lived 5 miles east of Calgary for 5 years but we came home again.
Gavin McArdle:
Have you come across Dave Prince origonally from Cheddar now running a farm and some trucks somewhere in Canada.
Is this the chap who used to do tractor pulling in the '80s?
Don’t know him personally but remember seeing him around
Anyone remember this truck? Where did it end up?
I seem to remember Tomlinson & White were using it on low-loader work
Think she went on to work for Chris Brailsford ( who drove the truck for Tomlinsons) after Tomlinson’s wound up, then i think she went on to work for John Golding HeavyHaulage of Wooten-under-edge who loved American motors and ran a number of Kenworths, White’s and Macks in the 70s & 80s. She maybe with the All-American Circus now, but of that i cant be certain.
Hope that is of some help! Chris
Hi RichardJW1, I think that would be the same chap I pulled for him for a time in the mid 80’s he sold up and went to Canada in about the early 90’s
Richardjw1:
Gavin McArdle:
Have you come across Dave Prince origonally from Cheddar now running a farm and some trucks somewhere in Canada.Is this the chap who used to do tractor pulling in the '80s?
Don’t know him personally but remember seeing him around
Is that the same Dave Prince who had a wagon and drag running down to Italy in the 80s with two girls doing the driving. I think that one of them was called Cathy. 
Hi musroom yes thats the same one Pip & Cathy. Pip came off the road and went to work in the transport office at Langdons at Taunton (now moved to Bridgwater) and Cathy went working for an Italian fridge co. I think, I last heard that she had an Italian boyfriend / husband.I now do the odd bit of agency work some of it for Langdons but when I mentioned Pips name a couple of months ago no one had heard of her.
I’ve sent you a ppm
Lad I knew worked out of Melinate Jarrow in early 80s usualy tipped London or Kent then back up with pop out of Folkestone. Norman Keelyside cant remember whether it was a Mack Or White( lovely big bunk though)
STRAIGHT EIGHT:
Think she went on to work for Chris Brailsford ( who drove the truck for Tomlinsons) after Tomlinson’s wound up, then i think she went on to work for John Golding HeavyHaulage of Wooten-under-edge who loved American motors and ran a number of Kenworths, White’s and Macks in the 70s & 80s. She maybe with the All-American Circus now, but of that i cant be certain.
Hope that is of some help!
john golding,theres a blast from the past,any pics or info on him anyone?