An after life at Henley Transport picture of JKK 120V originally new to Rochdale depot.
Seen here after being sold to D & R Pike of Tonbridge who also done a bit of subcontacting for us.
I had forgotten that Frank Martin set up on his own.
I think that was the third ‘modern’ lorry home. I have a feeling that it sat in the corner shed for a while along with the old Matador before going on the road. I’m struggling to remember who had that new. So far it’s a toss up between Richard Harris, Alec Hay and Roy Pilbeam. They were all Spelmonden drivers though. I can’t recall which Paddock Wood driver had the first B series or 400.
PKO 398R was new to the late Terry Barden.
It looks like the driver in the photo is George Waghorn who came to work for us from The Hops Marketing Board where he was a warehouseman.
Hiya Lawrence, is Mr. Jack still alive and kicking ? had a few boozy evenings with him in the mid 90’s when we were still involved with WRM, as the evenings wore on Jacks abuse toward WRM used to gather pace ! he viewed the “Three Amigos” like something he’d trod on in the yard ! I kid you not ! And how is Roy Hook keeping, I got on well with him but I think “reading between the lines” he was ■■■■■■ off that Jack had sold out, but a decent bloke IMHO. Cheers Dennis.
Well Dennis , Jack is still about and last time I had contact with he was as busy as ever as he has a keen collection in clocks and of course his beloved car collection (google Jack Henley Bentley) and I know he is travelling all over the world.
I do feel that Jack realised he made a mistake selling out to the three idiots who basically screwed his business up and it ended up disappearing into the fowler welch concern and I also know that he is very annoyed with the fact that the fowler welch concern lost Macks work out of Paddock Wood which was Jacks bread and butter , in Jacks words I done that work for 35 years all on a handshake , fowler welch had it 5 minutes and lost it !
Roy is retired from what I hear now ,very well deserved after all those years of putting up with Jack.
Yes of course Terry Barden, which makes sense as he was a Paddock Wood driver. IIRC he was the first to do continental, bringing oranges back from Spain, for Mack presumably, which would mean that it was probably 398 he was talking about when he said how the Gardner struggled for hours getting over the Pyrenees. What did he take out though and was he pulling the fridge which ended up in Coolchains yard at Teynham or one of the new Insuliners?
It would be interesting to hear a bit about the operations across the channel since it was restricted to the two sherry tankers running to and from Newhaven in my time.
A picture of the man himself Jack Henley.
This was taken from the company brochure which I can date from about 1989 as it was taken in front of our new offices.
This was taken from the company brochure which I can date from about 1989 as it was taken in front of our new offices.
It is with regret i wish to inform followers of the Henley thread the passing of Gordon Taylor aka Sooty.
Sooty was one of Jacks very first drivers he was a real character.
Thoughts are with his family and those he has left behind.
lawrence2765:
It is with regret i wish to inform followers of the Henley thread the passing of Gordon Taylor aka Sooty.
Sooty was one of Jacks very first drivers he was a real character.
Thoughts are with his family and those he has left behind.
Gone but not forgotten. R.I.P. Sooty.
Sad news indeed. I saw Sooty last year at Lofty’s funeral, he was the same old rascal as ever - the codgel king - the spark was still there, the jokes were coming and he still had ■■■■■■■■ to a T, but sadly time was catching up with him. Once met, Sooty and his Tam o’ Shanta were unforgettable, mess times with Sooty were always entertaining, his take on what Jack was up to, or had said, normally rasied a laugh. He was a master of the ■■■■-take, but the mark of the man was that if he thought he had gone too far then it stopped there and then and he would make some disarming comment.
Sooty and his great friend Lofty, were the two Spelmonden shunters, each always had a story to tell about the other. Sooty was always on about Lofty’s socks being on fire because he couldn’t sit down for five minutes. A Henley shunter loaded lorries or trailers for those who had a really early start the next morning and we did start early, 10 pm or midnight starts were frequent. Wigan or Leeds markets among others, for 5 am or earlier were a fair way from the Weald. A Sooty load would not only be neat and secure, but very clearly marked with what belonged to which drop and there would likely be a note of some sort in the cab about it. Henley’s always took on young drivers, putting a fair number through the test so it would likely be Sooty who would be showing how to tie a dolly, stack tomato boats on top of onion nets or to sheet up. Sooty was one of the few who loaded hops, he came off the top of a load once breaking both wrists in the process, but he was straight back on top again when he rcovered.
I am sure the Wadhurst greengrocer will not be the only one to have happy memories of dear old Sooty. Goodnight old friend.
Hello All,
My name is Rob Gibson, eldest son of “Lofty”, and married to one of Sooty Taylor’s nieces.
I knew Soot since I can remember, and before I knew of the branch of the family I married into!
What an absolute joy to have known him, and there so may tales to tell!
I will post details of arrangement when I have the details.
Regards,
Rob.
Sooty Taylor’s funeral will be at Tunbridge Wells crematorium on Tuesday 29 August at 12.15pm.
great pics your putting on dan love the manc stuff wilds etc , haseldens on the left were a kent firm and im sure they bought new , the other motors a lancs reg thanks mate
Thanks for the info Bob .
Punchy Dan:
0 A pair of Kent numbers ? Ex Henley ?
Dan’l the CK reg is a Preston number 
Just keeping you right mate ! 
Cheers Dennis.
G0UOO:
Hello All,My name is Rob Gibson, eldest son of “Lofty”, and married to one of Sooty Taylor’s nieces.
I knew Soot since I can remember, and before I knew of the branch of the family I married into!
What an absolute joy to have known him, and there so may tales to tell!
I will post details of arrangement when I have the details.
Regards,
Rob.
Looking back its strange I can still recall my first recollection of Sooty and my last.
The first time when he was shunting there was him my Dad and one other all parked up in the Lorry park in the Transfesa terminal in Paddock Wood waiting to be called in for loading , it was a hot summers day and I was up on the back of my Dads trailer playing football with a yellow melon seeing how long it would last be kicked against the trailer headboard and Sooty bellowing out stop that cos those bloody bees will sting you! I would have been about 5 or 6 then I am now 49.
The last meeting was sadly at the Late Richard Harris funeral another old Henley driver.
I had a lot of times with him when I was in the office on Henleys , even when we moved into the new offices just off transfesa road.
I quite often would wander into the Norman Collett shed where he looked after the fruit coming in and going out , quite often helping myself to fruit and getting shouted at along the lines of FFS youre worse than your old man (an ex Henley Driver) or I will cut your bloody hands off.
Happy days RIP Sooty.
The W E Haselden ERF was new to them and nothing to do with Henley Transport.
The only similarity between the two companies was that W E Haselden along with E H Nicholls of Sittingbourne tried to copy Jack Henleys idea of the bull bar on the front of the lorries.
The bull bar was the Henley Transport Trademark and went on all the vehicles when new with the exception of the 7.5 tonners.