adr:
Dave the Renegade:
adr:
Would have been easier to walk the cows there!That must have been in 1963.
Cheers Dave.Hi Dave, were you driving it? Just checked & yes 1962-63, if you know it close to The Ragged Cot Inn at Hyde, near Mincinhampton! Give that man a cigar
No I was just leaving school in the winter of 62/3,ut my Dad had a Bedford A series like that one new in 1954 followed by a new J series in 1960. I guessed by the amount of snow that it must have been 1963.
Cheers Dave.
That was the winter that I spent with a shovel frozen to my hands getting animal feed to farms throughout Gloucestershire. Cold, wet and knackered every night!
So did I Casey,helping my Dad deliver to farms for Passey Nott who were an animal feed firm. Only thing was he could go pretty good in the snow,as they had tractor grip tyres on the back of their lorries in wintertime.
Except in some places the drifts were to big for anything to get through.
Cheers Dave.
Retired Old ■■■■:
kingswinford kit:
chepstowchap:
kingswinford kit:
chepstowchap:
[print screen windows 7[/
Nice pic CC ! Where was that taken ? regards Keith
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Hello Keith,
It was taken near Rockingham Northants , earlier this month , and is on its way to Corby . I understand that Downtons have a depot there cc .
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Think that Downtons probably have a depot there , or maybe Kettering , would think our old friend ROF will no doubt tell us regards Keith .
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Sorry, Keith, I lost touch with the Downton enterprise after Con died. They sure didn’t have such a huge fleet in those days.
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Hi ROF and Dave, i can remember seeing a load of Downton trailers ,on an industrial estate in Corby, but i guess Dave Northampton would be the ideal location for them regards gents Keith](Screen capture tool for Windows — Postimages)
From my own observations I would think they have a load of trailers just about everywhere!
I wonder which merchant bank still thinks road haulage is a good investment? 
Retired Old ■■■■:
From my own observations I would think they have a load of trailers just about everywhere!
I wonder which merchant bank still thinks road haulage is a good investment?
Their depot network,courtesy of their website.
Depot Network
Gloucester,Coventry,Quedgeley,Shepton Mallet,Leeds,Magor,Runcorn,Tilbury,Dunstable,Shotton, Avonmouth.
Well, almost everywhere 
Laurie Dryver:
Laurie Dryver:
Retired Old ■■■■:
Thanks for the photo, McW.
Cheers, Laurie, that also answers my next question- is there a connection with AT?
I wonder if Maguires were concerned when all those Santa Fe lorries appeared in the same group as Oldacres?I know that Santa Fe ran several of their units pulling bulkers for Oldacres in particular for the grain division based at Ducklington. The main reason that Unigate bought Oldacres was to have an in house supplier of feedstuffs for their Poultry rearing units i.e J P Woods etc. I don’t think it affected Maguires too much as they had always had irons in other fires as well. I did a lot of work for Oldacres in the 70’s but that was before Maguires were on the scene.
The 111 in the picture was one of 3 they ran the first being a P reg RAB ■■? P the next 2 being VNP 212V & KAD ■■? V , the latter being written off after being sold to an O/D.
Just had a look through my Santa Fe photo’s and noticed that RAB 969P was a Ford Transconti and the KAD 171V was a Scania 111, fyi…
HI chaps ,
Went down to see Eric Vicks depot at Hardwick today , as had a delivery of several Volvo FHs , as well as MANs , about 20 vehicles on station . But what a narrow road up to the A38 !! regards Keith .
One of Gordon Gilder`s Scanias , loading breeding lambs at Hawes Auction Mart last month.
Cheers , cattle wagon man.
kingswinford kit:
HI chaps ,
Went down to see Eric Vicks depot at Hardwick today , as had a delivery of several Volvo FHs , as well as MANs , about 20 vehicles on station . But what a narrow road up to the A38 !! regards Keith .
So where are all the photos you took, Keith?
Retired Old ■■■■:
kingswinford kit:
HI chaps ,
Went down to see Eric Vicks depot at Hardwick today , as had a delivery of several Volvo FHs , as well as MANs , about 20 vehicles on station . But what a narrow road up to the A38 !! regards Keith .So where are all the photos you took, Keith?
Well , ROF it was Sunday afternoon and after the pub focussing would have been a problem !! . But as it was the yard was under lock and key . regards Keith .
I wouldn’t have thought a locked gate and a high fence would be a problem for a fit, young athletic chap like you
I have some equipment you could borrow- a telephoto lens and a pair of bolt croppers. Take yer pick.
Blast it, I’ve just realised I’ve used the word “borrow”. Of course, I really meant, “hire”.
Retired Old ■■■■:
I remember him starting up. If memory serves- and it often doesn’t these days- his family had a smallholding near Upleadon.
Hi all enjoying reading this brings back lots of memories. Yes your memory is correct .He used to do a lot for Reed corrugated at Newent parked half there the rest at the farm. Family had a small dairy herd. Used to have a tidy fleet. Seen his H reg rigid up Middlewich a couple of times recently, Sorry to say it looked a real state.
I think Hedley spends time abroad these days. He did have a very tidy fleet at one time when our brother was there back in the '80’s. Shame it’s gone down hill. But he’s still got one or two still roadworthy…
I’m going back a bit but I remember collecting strawberries from Middie’s for Gloucester market. Not a hint of a lorry there in those days.
Didn’t know Reed Corrugated had a place at Newent. Were they at the “new” industrial estate (formerly Freeman’s farm) off Gloucester Road?
And is anyone in the old factory on the Upleadon road next door to Stardens? Last I saw it was occupied by one of the Scrivens family making pallets for Ranks at Mitcheldean. Before that it had been used as storage for British Sugar and years ago, when I was a lad and during the war it was a transport buffer depot for the War Department. In the 1950s we were treated to convoys of Army lorries coming through Newent to the factory for storage. No by-pass in those days. There was a fairly low railway bridge just outside Goulding’s yard which the piggy-backed army vehicles couldn’t get under by about two inches. Traffic was held up for ages while drivers deflated the tyres, crept under the bridge, then re-inflated the rubber again!
kingswinford kit:
HI chaps ,
But what a narrow road up to the A38 !! regards Keith .
We always had to drive very carefully up that lane as there were 3 million drivers queued along there waiting to jump into your truck. 
Me.Paul.101:
I think Hedley spends time abroad these days. He did have a very tidy fleet at one time when our brother was there back in the '80’s. Shame it’s gone down hill. But he’s still got one or two still roadworthy…
Yes very tidy fleet late '80’s mainly all mercs couple of old bedfords .Only had 2 artics at that time. The H reg Ive seen was his 1st 17 tonner remember that new. At that time he did a lot of 7.5t work.Andy Lee from Redmarley also small at that time. Now he’s got a nice tidy fleet.Wonder what went wrong with Midwinters?
Retired Old ■■■■:
I’m going back a bit but I remember collecting strawberries from Middie’s for Gloucester market. Not a hint of a lorry there in those days.
Didn’t know Reed Corrugated had a place at Newent. Were they at the “new” industrial estate (formerly Freeman’s farm) off Gloucester Road?
And is anyone in the old factory on the Upleadon road next door to Stardens? Last I saw it was occupied by one of the Scrivens family making pallets for Ranks at Mitcheldean. Before that it had been used as storage for British Sugar and years ago, when I was a lad and during the war it was a transport buffer depot for the War Department. In the 1950s we were treated to convoys of Army lorries coming through Newent to the factory for storage. No by-pass in those days. There was a fairly low railway bridge just outside Goulding’s yard which the piggy-backed army vehicles couldn’t get under by about two inches. Traffic was held up for ages while drivers deflated the tyres, crept under the bridge, then re-inflated the rubber again!
Reeds were in the factory on Upleadon rd,up the road from Gouldings. I think it was also called Stardens? Most of Reeds work was out of Ldybrook , I think Newent was for different product ,all flat pack carboard boxes.
Interesting what you say it being used as a depot for war dept.At the back of yard there where a few rondavel type bunker type things. Midwinter used to store back load stuff in these . Rememeber drivers washing trucks round the back one xmas and the ground gave way .A 7.5t disappeared, back end first,nose up in the air, into a huge hole! That was supposed to be something to do with war times.
manitou:
Retired Old ■■■■:
I’m going back a bit but I remember collecting strawberries from Middie’s for Gloucester market. Not a hint of a lorry there in those days.
Didn’t know Reed Corrugated had a place at Newent. Were they at the “new” industrial estate (formerly Freeman’s farm) off Gloucester Road?
And is anyone in the old factory on the Upleadon road next door to Stardens? Last I saw it was occupied by one of the Scrivens family making pallets for Ranks at Mitcheldean. Before that it had been used as storage for British Sugar and years ago, when I was a lad and during the war it was a transport buffer depot for the War Department. In the 1950s we were treated to convoys of Army lorries coming through Newent to the factory for storage. No by-pass in those days. There was a fairly low railway bridge just outside Goulding’s yard which the piggy-backed army vehicles couldn’t get under by about two inches. Traffic was held up for ages while drivers deflated the tyres, crept under the bridge, then re-inflated the rubber again!Reeds were in the factory on Upleadon rd,up the road from Gouldings. I think it was also called Stardens? Most of Reeds work was out of Ldybrook , I think Newent was for different product ,all flat pack carboard boxes.
Interesting what you say it being used as a depot for war dept.At the back of yard there where a few rondavel type bunker type things. Midwinter used to store back load stuff in these . Rememeber drivers washing trucks round the back one xmas and the ground gave way .A 7.5t disappeared, back end first,nose up in the air, into a huge hole! That was supposed to be something to do with war times.
Now that’s cleared some of it up!
Stardens was/is the rather grand old manor house up the driveway immediately before the factory- it runs up the side of the factory site. Stardens was the home of Sir Richard Foley-Onslow, a wealthy landowner in the 18th century. Just after the last disagreement with Adolf the place was owned (although probably by a gullible bank manager) ostensibly by a chap named Hargreaves, which turned out to be just one of his aliases. Among other money-making enterprises he had his sticky fingers in was The Cotswold Cider Company which supplied “genuine” country scrumpy by mail order to people who had too much money and should have known better. He was eventually made bankrupt and done for fraud on a quite grand scale. I think the CCC name was sold to a more reputable concern as they are still in business, although no longer doing mail order. The house was divided into flats, with about half of it made into an hotel/country club. We had some cracking times there when I was in my early twenties, largely due to my knowing the owner, Mary Roberts, whose former husband had driven for Consolidated Roadways, his “fiddles” partially enabling him to buy the Southgate Café in Gloucester- OK in the days when it was possible to park a lorry in the street for an early breakfast.
The factory had a maze of underground storage areas and bunkers, some of them blast proof, which were either filled in or sealed when the army moved out in the second half of the 1950s. I believe that some of these came to light later, as witnessed by the incident with the 7.5-tonner!
I grew up not more than a quarter mile from the site although I would probably be hard pressed to find a dozen people I know in the town these days.
