No my OPU was a N reg also had a splitter not a range we had a Lreg also with a 5 spped looked bit like yours
mrken:
No my OPU was a N reg also had a splitter not a range we had a Lreg also with a 5 spped looked bit like yoursJoe Ryan with the pipe sure enough, I remember seeing these trucks around, that’s a great picture!
Just to set the record straight the lime green sleeper cab tractor with the stepframe tilt was owned by Bill Kitt who worked for FG Hammond Intl. for several years on Tehrans and Baghdads.
Is this the same hammonds that’s now at barley lands in billericay ? Looks like it in your avatar pic but can’t quite see 
dogthehunter:
Is this the same hammonds that’s now at barley lands in billericay ? Looks like it in your avatar pic but can’t quite see
Yes thats right, avatar picture is small, there are more pictures in the personal album.
What a cracking small fleet …if your ever in the market for an experienced class one driver I’d be up for that !
Hi Terry,
It’s really great to see these photos, some of the trucks I can remember, some I have just been told about over the years. Father (Fred Fairman for anyone else reading this) has had a look and can’t remember most of them being taken, even the couple he’s in. Most of the following I’ve carried around in my head for years not ever thinking I’d write any of it down.
Photo 3, WWC, ELU and BTA. ELU clocked up an awful lot of miles over the years, running both night and day for quite some time, it rarely got cold. Father would often use it on nights to Tilbury, Felixstowe or Southampton. BTA was the vehicle he liked the most. Being originally ordered by a Devon operator (hence the TA reg), it was fitted with a range 'box and lower diff than the other 110’s. It was slower on the flat but would climb hills very well. He was disappointed to here that latterly all the Scanias had been converted to splitter 'boxes due to drivers not being able to get on with the range 'boxes he prefered.
Photo 5, Showing father, your uncle and grandfather. It’s good to see the TK artic on the right, one that I never saw. The Scammell coupling wasn’t the most reliable thing and when unhitching a loaded trailer would spit the unit out if you weren’t careful and the trailer would end up on it’s knees. That happened several times.
Photo 8, Mandator MJU. This was one of a pair of Ergo units that came from Warnes along with Jock the fitter. The other was a Leyland. Father thinks he painted it just before the photo was taken. I remember going to Tilbury one night with him in it. That would have been in spring/summer of '74.
Photo 10, Showing the group with the D series unit. The short chap in front of your father is 'Artic ‘arry’. Father can’t remember his surname but he usually drove the TK artic, hence the nickname.
Anyway that’ll have to do for now, I 'll post some more info on the other photos soon.
All the best, Tony.
Hi Terry,
Here’s a few more details on the photos.
Photo 14, Commer HGG. It came from George Baldry of Stepney and was bought for the ‘A’ licence that came with it. Your grandfather had run on restricted ‘B’ licences (40 mile, later 25 mile radius). Fred remembers one trip to Scotland in the Commer with Alan Tolley and another incident when it broke a N/S rear spring. Alan was driving it and pulled into the kerb loaded with hanging beef. It promptly settled down and lent on a nearby lamp post. Your uncle Fred managed to talk 2 coloured fitters from the Rootes main dealer into rebuilding the TS3 when it blew up. Bruce and Brooksey went on to do the maintenance and engine rebuilds on the fleet at weekends for years until Jock took over. Father used to do a lot of Bedford gearbox rebuilds. Your grandfather had a puller made by a blacksmith from Green & Siley Wier’s the ship repairers. It was feather edged to get behind the races in the Bedford 'boxes and never bent. Your father used to do a lot of the punctures then, no mean feat on general motors when the tyres had often been on for many years.
Photo 16, Meredith St. This is how it was when father first drove for your grandfather. He had an ‘S’ type, possibly the one in the photos but there were several TKs by then.
I’ll write more soon. All the best, Tony.
Thanks for the input Tony and Fred, It’s great to read the old stories with such detail and fond memories, here is a picture of George and Jock with Audi LME 94P at the original yard in Chobham Road and one of the Sherpa service van UMK 431S as new in 1978.
![ccf1511201200020[1].jpg](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/trucknetuk/original/3X/2/d/2dae90668e51cd2489f48e80f89c98336c2c1d9b.jpeg)
![sherpavan1978[1].jpg](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/trucknetuk/original/3X/5/6/563dee171f80c5862d9359e2c50a54ef2e9c8131.jpeg)
Great photographs. Brings back memories. I think it is Tony O’Connor in the photo with George Sherman. It must have been hot, wearing socks with his sandals. (Typically English). The group photo possibly Eddie Kendal, Freddie Fairman, Joe Ryan, George Hammond, Bernie Mott, Johnny James, Freddie Hammond and George Hatton.
I was driving the 111 Scania with the FG Hammond international trailer in one of the photos.
Nice photo of Bill Kitts Volvo (FG Hammond International)
Sadly I read that Bill is no longer with us. Nice bloke.
Nice to see that Tony, Freddie Fairman’s son is showing interest in his dad’s past. Remembering his time and memories spent working with the Hammonds in East London.
He could probably write a book about it.
Tony give my regards to your dad Fred. Great old days. All the best George Hammond.
Hi Terry,
Great to hear from your brother and to see 2 more photos.
George, Fred’s read your message and was well pleased to hear from you after so long.
Back to the photos,
Photo 18, Scania 80 ‘BLC’. As you know Terry, this was the first Scania bought and father had it from new in 1970. A forklift knocked the Crane Fruehauf badge off the back of the trailer on the first morning out. The colour caused a bit of a stir, you didn’t see trucks painted in colours like that back then, not many now. The colour was ‘Petunia’ and the livery was specified by Bellferry. It was your father’s idea to have Hammond on the headboard but Bellferry weren’t impressed. They wanted their symbols on the doors and nothing else but what was on the headboard stayed. The LB cabs were a revelation, when it was new you couldn’t shut the door unless the window was dropped slightly, the thing was that air tight. This was unheard of back then. The clutch was that light that everybody stalled it the first time they drove it. It lacked the power and brakes of the 110’s that came later but was still a great truck. Denis Driscoll bought it from your father and fitted a breakdown crane to it. We still see Denis so I’ll ask him if he can remember what happened to it.
Photo 25, Guy KHP amongst the others. This had been a tanker unit from new and was rough when it was first brought back to the yard. Father spent a lot of time on the cab and chassis before painting it. Jock rebuilt the splitter unit of the David Brown gearbox, the engine was a Gardner 6LX. Splitter 'boxes were rare on these vehicles and not really relevant with a Gardner. Once up and running it ran OK and was actually as fast as the Scanias on the flat…eventually. Father was no stranger to Gardners having driven Foden tippers for Charlie Brain (J.C.Brain t/a George Batten) and St. Albans Sand & Gravel on his stints away from general haulage. The problem was that compared to the Scanias the Guy was uncomfortable and hard work. He remembers coming out of Southampton loaded one night in the summer with the window open. He could here a grinding sound echoing off the buildings coming from the front axle. He pulled up but couldn’t see anything wrong but wasn’t happy so phoned your father. George told him to leave it there if he wasn’t happy so that’s what happened. Your uncle went out to it the following morning and jacked up the front axle only to watch the front wheel,drum and hub fall off in the road. It was only the weight holding it on, the bearings and hub nut had broken up completely.
Anyway I’ll write more soon, all the best, Tony.
Tony a George Battern Foden
Ken, thanks for posting such a good photo. It’s only the second one I’ve seen of the Fodens, the other’s in one of Peter Davies’ books. It shows a similar S20 cabbed FG reg. 8280 PU but fitted with a ribbed Neville body. Most had bodies similar to the one in your shot. Father remembers doing 3 trips to a dealer near Ludlow delivering the older Fodens when Charlie sold them. There was a sawmill on site and the trucks were all stripped and the engines and running gear crated for export.
It was interesting to read by chance in the Scrapbook thread your posting in Sept.‘08 regarding Hales’ yard in Humberstone Road, Plaistow. It was in response to Rob Campbell’s posting of his father’s time there. My father started his driving career from that yard for Bert Scammell. Originally he started on machines with a JCB 4. Bert had several other machines, a Chaseside, Drotts BTD6 and B100, Fiat FL6 and a 955 Cat. After time on the machines he drove tippers and the Dempster and Meiller bin trucks, all Thames Traders including a County 6x4 tipper. Latterly he drove for St.Albans’ and worked out of the same yard after they’d bought the business from Bert and were running it under the Hales name.
He was last there in '67 and had an S21 eight wheel Foden tipper, the only big truck in the yard. He was told the Foden was going to be replaced by a new Foden eight wheel Meiller outfit (in the Scrapbook thread) but he wasn’t interested. He’d had enough problems getting a four wheel Trader to sum of the bin jobs, there was no way an eight wheeler was going anywhere near some of the small firms so he left.
Thanks again for the photo, regards, Tony.
Thanks Tony I will sort some more out Charles had some Trader tippers at the time from Hensmans at Brentwood and that was the first truck I ever went in then a Comet unit DMU which my uncle had after my Dad went on to a Beaver GTW ■■?B
Hi Terry,
Here’s a bit more info on the photos,
Photo 27, D1000, XGC. This was one of the pair bought new rated at 28 ton gross but invariably run at 32 ton. They were a real pain in the arse, both having ■■■■■■■ V8s. The headgaskets would weep coolant water into the integral fuel galleries in the heads and it would be forced into the spillage lines, gradually filling the fuel tanks with water. Drivers would have to use litmus paste on a stick to check the fuel tanks and if neccessary drain the water off. Some didn’t bother with the inevitable result of spluttering to a halt. The problem got so bad that the pickup pipes in the tanks were shortened to give them a bit more range between drainings. Father remembers the heads being off at least 4 times on both motors. There was no way of telling if one or both heads were leaking, they both had to come off. Father had one of the 'D’s later in '69 when Alan Tolley left and did a lot of steel through Patsy Creasey. The most frustrating thing about the ■■■■■■■ V8 was that when on form (rare), it sounded like it would pull a house down. You only had to get near a gradient and you were stirring, actually on a hill and you had a job to change down fast enough before the inevitable crawler all the way up.
I’ll write more soon, regards, Tony.
Hi Terry,
Here’s a bit more info on the photos,
Photo 30 showing father working on one of the 110’s. He used to do most of the welding, cab, chassis and trailer repairs. Run-up bars would get twisted and rear wings torn off a unit if a driver turned too soon coming out of a firm, up a steep ramp on to the road. Trailers would often need work from accidents or normal wear and tear.
Photo 32 showing your brother and Jock. Father remembers making the gates for the yard back at Meredith St… They were taken to Chobham Rd on one of the TK’s on one of the glass racks ‘aquired’ from Woodcocks. I remember being there one Saturday morning when the gate posts were being put up. Norman tipped the ■■■■■■■■ for the yard and one of Alan Beard’s (AB Demolition) trackshovels tracked it in. Father and your uncle Fred built the workshop, pit, mounted the fuel tanks and concreted the first part of the yard. The photo is of how I remember the yard before we left the Eastend in '75. I remember going to collect some wood with father when he borrowed one of the TK’s, not long before we moved. I can remember sitting there with my knees up around my ears, the footwell was full to the top of the seat cushion with wood, chocks, toggle bars and rope. A proper general haulage motor. I regret not being old enough to have gone out with him on the proper dock work during the '60s which hadn’t really changed much since horse and cart days. This was all long before ISO boxes came along and everything changed.
That’s about it for now, hope this has been of interest not just to you but to a few others on here. I’ll scan the Hammond International brochure and put it on here soon.
Regards, Tony.
Brochure scans as promised.
I can scan individual photos from any of the pages if anyone’s interested,
Regards Tony.
Hi Terry,
I spoke to Denis Driscoll a couple of days ago about the ‘80’, BLC. He confirmed that he did buy it from your father but didn’t convert it to a breakdown truck as I’d been told. He used it as a unit with a car transporter trailer, bringing cars back from auctions. He sold it on to be used as a shunter in Folkestone Docks but what happened to it after that I’ve no idea. He asked to be remembered to you, he met you when you visited his yard near Mile End where his brother in law’s son was using part of the yard for truck fitting. He remembers your father and uncle chopping firewood in your grandfather’s yard in the '50s, his father’s yard was only just down the road. He started his own firewood round after watching them.
All the best, Tony.
tony24713:
Hi Terry,
I spoke to Denis Driscoll a couple of days ago about the ‘80’, BLC. He confirmed that he did buy it from your father but didn’t convert it to a breakdown truck as I’d been told. He used it as a unit with a car transporter trailer, bringing cars back from auctions. He sold it on to be used as a shunter in Folkestone Docks but what happened to it after that I’ve no idea. He asked to be remembered to you, he met you when you visited his yard near Mile End where his brother in law’s son was using part of the yard for truck fitting. He remembers your father and uncle chopping firewood in your grandfather’s yard in the '50s, his father’s yard was only just down the road. He started his own firewood round after watching them.
Allthe best, Tony.
Does anyone know if this is the Hammonds that used to do a changeover at Stibbington with Achbolds , one of the drivers was called Fred Michell
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mrken:
I remember them well Trevor Starkes had a KM Bedford which used to belong to them and Joe Ryan had a Scania 80 on there
Always remember them in Chobham Farm.
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i live near chobham road and remember hammonds and worked for terry a few years back ,trevor starkes must be the father of my old friend trevor starkes his son as trev[son] has had his own wagon for a few years i lost contact with young trev as we always went to the royal tottenham together great days i am now retired but sometimes miss it on the road mick