Where & why did all this come about ■■
I’m not knocking it in anyway as i love to see pics of trucks (late '70’s, early '80’s) covered in them.
Just wondering where it all started, although the first trucks i saw with Nameplates & flags were French & most of them had their ‘Handle’ on the nameplate.
A few crackers…
The top 3 pics i’ve borrowed from other threads. The bottom one is my own truck (& yes i have a CB fitted before anybody asks).
Hi all i will be the first to say what a thought at that time …if you worked for a company in the 1970/80s not a thing was put inside the screen as they were small enough as it was … as the cabs were then ■■■■ and no sleepers and it was a work place not a bloody circus ,might have been some clowns driving, however nothing untill that dreaded, blasted!!! song "convoy"came about,also with the CB crap to go with it …it all came from the american haulage game, and ours was nothing like it at all,and whoever the prat that started CBS in England wanted shooting…
What men never relished that the bosses would get the machines and would know where you, were what you were doing,absolute load of old tosh ,why would anyone want to talk to someone you did not know going the other way what was all that crap about so you knew where the hold ups were and accidents so what .
And as for flags and stickers ,they made a screen for you to look out of and do your job ,maybe we should have gone back to split screens .and one wiper no washers ,a fairy liquid bottle to squirt out of the window and get it all back in you face, but no fill it up with flags of places you have never heard of let alone been.to me it was all very childish and detracted from the job in hand, and as for mega paint jobs, air brushing peoples faces another load of tosh, and as for Stobart and his stupid naming of lorries ,and worse, people spotting them ,thank god i am away from all that hype and rubbish,and yes some may say good job i left the industry but i did it when trucks were just ordinary lorries that did road haulage like a lot of you other men. and that is my opinion.as it always was .ohh i forgot name plates what why would you want anyone to know your name.or someone’ name give me strength…
peggydeckboy:
Hi all i will be the first to say what a thought at that time …if you worked for a company in the 1970/80s not a thing was put inside the screen as they were small enough as it was … as the cabs were then [zb] and no sleepers and it was a work place not a bloody circus ,might have been some clowns driving, however nothing untill that dreaded, blasted!!! song "convoy"came about,also with the CB crap to go with it …it all came from the american haulage game, and ours was nothing like it at all,and whoever the prat that started CBS in England wanted shooting…What men never relished that the bosses would get the machines and would know where you, were what you were doing,absolute load of old tosh ,why would anyone want to talk to someone you did not know going the other way what was all that crap about so you knew where the hold ups were and accidents so what .
And as for flags and stickers ,they made a screen for you to look out of and do your job ,maybe we should have gone back to split screens .and one wiper no washers ,a fairy liquid bottle to squirt out of the window and get it all back in you face, but no fill it up with flags of places you have never heard of let alone been.to me it was all very childish and detracted from the job in hand, and as for mega paint jobs, air brushing peoples faces another load of tosh, and as for Stobart and his stupid naming of lorries ,and worse, people spotting them ,thank god i am away from all that hype and rubbish,and yes some may say good job i left the industry but i did it when trucks were just ordinary lorries that did road haulage like a lot of you other men. and that is my opinion.as it always was .ohh i forgot name plates what why would you want anyone to know your name.or someone’ name give me strength…
Well said “PDB”,I take it you are now lying down in a darkened room with your head in a bucket ! 
Cheers Bewick.
peggydeckboy:
Hi all i will be the first to say what a thought at that time …if you worked for a company in the 1970/80s not a thing was put inside the screen as they were small enough as it was …PDB not all screens were small as the atki viewline was out from 1968 and were below knee high
cheers Johnnie
peggydeckboy:
Hi all i will be the first to say what a thought at that time …if you worked for a company in the 1970/80s not a thing was put inside the screen as they were small enough as it was … as the cabs were then [zb] and no sleepers and it was a work place not a bloody circus ,might have been some clowns driving, however nothing untill that dreaded, blasted!!! song "convoy"came about,also with the CB crap to go with it …it all came from the american haulage game, and ours was nothing like it at all,and whoever the prat that started CBS in England wanted shooting…What men never relished that the bosses would get the machines and would know where you, were what you were doing,absolute load of old tosh ,why would anyone want to talk to someone you did not know going the other way what was all that crap about so you knew where the hold ups were and accidents so what .
And as for flags and stickers ,they made a screen for you to look out of and do your job ,maybe we should have gone back to split screens .and one wiper no washers ,a fairy liquid bottle to squirt out of the window and get it all back in you face, but no fill it up with flags of places you have never heard of let alone been.to me it was all very childish and detracted from the job in hand, and as for mega paint jobs, air brushing peoples faces another load of tosh, and as for Stobart and his stupid naming of lorries ,and worse, people spotting them ,thank god i am away from all that hype and rubbish,and yes some may say good job i left the industry but i did it when trucks were just ordinary lorries that did road haulage like a lot of you other men. and that is my opinion.as it always was .ohh i forgot name plates what why would you want anyone to know your name.or someone’ name give me strength…
Nothing wrong with having a CB Peggy ,it’s a shame there’s not so many on now .
The CB was absolutely essential for our type of work, saved a lot of time and dead mileage. Anyway, back on topic! My old pal Jim’s ERF, not my pic.
Pete.
My golden rule was: don’t clutter the windscreen. If you can’t see the pram, ditch the flag!
Other than that, I can see no harm in personalizing your lorry. Back in the ‘70s I used to think that bumper stickers were for show-offs and that badges and flags were a lot of meretricious nonsense. Mercifully, I’ve grown out of all that politically correct pseudo-psychology.
When I was driving, I liked certain ‘badges of office’ in the form of stickers and flags on lorries I drove. Among my favourites were those ubiquitous Les Routiers triangles. Another thing I unashamedly wore in my windscreen included a small number of the most extreme countries I’d driven to – like Qatar, Saudi, Jordan, Syria and Morocco. Also, all of us who did the North Africa run had Arabic name-plates at the bottom of the windscreen where it didn’t obscure our view.
I sported ‘where I’d been’ flags because I have a strong sense of ego. Again, pseudo-psychology has trashed our sense of ego in recent years because it has borrowed from ancient eastern philosophies which encourage the anihilation of the ego in order to serve god or other sky-fairies. Well, the ego is a brilliant component of our survival kit, so why fly in the face of millions of years of evolution to rubbish our precious and highly useful egos? I like my ego and would defend it to the last! Below is an example of my own adornments. Robert
I would add a rider to my opinion above: there are times when it is wise to keep your head below the parapet 
. Somewhere on this forum - perhaps the Astran thread - I can’t remember where; I posted a tale where ‘stickers’ backfired 
. I was on the old road (not the motorway) on the way from Bolu to Ankara and for a few pence only, I had an UZUN ARAC (long vehicle in Turkish) plate affixed to the rear of my trailer. Returning home from the Middle East some time later, I was pulled over and given a lot of grief by the French douane (customs) on the approach to Calais port . I asked them why they’d pulled me and they pointed to the UZUN ARAC plate and said quite simply, ‘we thought you were Turkish’! Lesson learnt. I removed the offending plate and stowed it behind the driver’s seat. I have it to this day! Robert
I never went in for flags etc myself, a sunstrip was the most I ever put on the screen and even that fell off! A couple of our drivers went a little OTT with them, then at test time they all had to be taken down by the fitters! The Late Geoff Land (Big Tilly) reckoned that his cab looked “as bare as an army khazi” without his plates and flags cluttering it all up.
Pete.
peggydeckboy:
Hi all i will be the first to say what a thought at that time …if you worked for a company in the 1970/80s not a thing was put inside the screen as they were small enough as it was … as the cabs were then [zb] and no sleepers and it was a work place not a bloody circus ,might have been some clowns driving, however nothing untill that dreaded, blasted!!! song "convoy"came about,also with the CB crap to go with it …it all came from the american haulage game, and ours was nothing like it at all,and whoever the prat that started CBS in England wanted shooting…What men never relished that the bosses would get the machines and would know where you, were what you were doing,absolute load of old tosh ,why would anyone want to talk to someone you did not know going the other way what was all that crap about so you knew where the hold ups were and accidents so what .
And as for flags and stickers ,they made a screen for you to look out of and do your job ,maybe we should have gone back to split screens .and one wiper no washers ,a fairy liquid bottle to squirt out of the window and get it all back in you face, but no fill it up with flags of places you have never heard of let alone been.to me it was all very childish and detracted from the job in hand, and as for mega paint jobs, air brushing peoples faces another load of tosh, and as for Stobart and his stupid naming of lorries ,and worse, people spotting them ,thank god i am away from all that hype and rubbish,and yes some may say good job i left the industry but i did it when trucks were just ordinary lorries that did road haulage like a lot of you other men. and that is my opinion.as it always was .ohh i forgot name plates what why would you want anyone to know your name.or someone’ name give me strength…
Peggy, take a deep breath… Ah, that’s better…
I know these weren’t everyone’s ‘cup-of-tea’, but at least we know your opinion of them. Also Bewicks opinion for that matter.
I remember after the ‘Top Gun’ film came out seeing nameplates with ‘Maverick’ or ‘Goose’ on them.
I can think of better things to spend my money on than paying to decorate a bloody lorry. If the gaffer wanted to paint it…fine.
Nice to see people sharing their opinions on this, but as i’ve said, i’m more interested with how & why it all started.
Some modern pics, although i’d like to see older pics.
Geoffo:
Nice to see people sharing their opinions on this, but as i’ve said, i’m more interested with how & why it all started.Some modern pics, although i’d like to see older pics.
I would have thought it all started with cavemen adorning themselves with peacock feathers. Man has always sought to make himself, his house, his horse, his car, his lorry and his place of work look different from everyone else’s. It comes from a need to accentuate his identity. Fashions of all kinds are surely just an extension of this. Victorians painted their drays and horse-drawn lorries very carefully to make them stand out. Liveries are just a posh version of flags and stickers. The owner applies his special individual livery and the driver just adds his bit. Human nature, I’d say! Robert
robert1952:
Geoffo:
Nice to see people sharing their opinions on this, but as i’ve said, i’m more interested with how & why it all started.Some modern pics, although i’d like to see older pics.
I would have thought it all started with cavemen adorning themselves with peacock feathers. Man has always sought to make himself, his house, his horse, his car, his lorry and his place of work look different from everyone else’s. It comes from a need to accentuate his identity. Fashions of all kinds are surely just an extension of this. Victorians painted their drays and horse-drawn lorries very carefully to make them stand out. Liveries are just a posh version of flags and stickers. The owner applies his special individual livery and the driver just adds his bit. Human nature, I’d say! Robert
Yes, i guess so.
Geffo
i am ok now thank you .i had forgotten about such things that used to wind me up,i will not start on furry clogs,or stupid big wallets and ridiculous long key chains attached to a brief case wallet…
yes i know all about the foreign currency needed i also needed a at times but never resorted to the magic of the massive wallet to opened only in front of people,i will leave that alone…
ALSO BLASTED SUNGLASSES inside.,and will they take them off no, i tell my grand children at the door, hats off,sun glasses off,phones on the table .they laugh but do it .but drop their heads, miserable granddad.but that is the rule.
Robert 1952,you are diplomatic, yes i do see where you are coming from i suspect Tattoos were the same type" of look at me" i should know i had two at 16 years old , from Singapore ,Honk Kong ,maybe i should have looked at myself.? …I once had some multi rainbow coloured socks given me and i thought ,a bit over the top, but maybe try them out, yes, just once! until some said to me do you do know about the {“RAINBOW SYMBOL}“i said i have no idea what you are on about,he said it is a gay reignition… no i did not …and before anyone replies saying i have anything about” gays” i do not what so ever…gays were on all ships ,before it even became being called gays…
Coming from a plain no frills country background , maybe my dislike for the “show off” “LOOK AT ME” because that is what all the symbols on trucks are, comes from my childhood all nice and plain grey,sit back be quite and look like everybody else…if anyone had something a bit colourful .it was “SHOWING OFF”…I have just got round to wearing a peaked sun hat…however i still did not like any of flags razzmatazz…
As to the origin of the flags etc the military used colours and markers . also i worked at firms where a ex solider would work and the next thing they did was try to polish the lorry all up black shoe polish the dash, when the bosses did not give two monkeys about the lorry’s .
Taken from Robert1952 's L.H.D. B series ERF thread…
hi robert still got my hand painted name plate made by the boys in tangiers at home in uk . my uncle told me some of the guys on m/e work in the seventies had writing of names on bumpers but didnt realise that some of it was not quite what they thought lol i remember my uncle had some wavy hands in window on sticky plunger type thing wish i still had them .
I remember in the late 80s or early 90s you could get the long blue windscreen sticker from The Blanc and Frejus. “Trafforo del Frejus” and was it “Trafforo del Mont Blanc” or Monte Bianco on the other sticker? One company I did a bit for, the boss didn’t like those one bit. A driver returned from a trip with one across the top of the `screen and was told promptly to get it removed. Company image and all that!
