I was still at school when Dad was on Breakers, he got a brand new Foden Fleetmaster GKM 419V ive got a photo of it coupled up to one of JWQs flat trailers, i also remember helping a driver move his gear from a 1418 Merc into a brand new 1626, i think V reg. Hard to believe it was nearly 30 years ago!!.
those 1626 ,s oh what a pile of ■■■ they were ,A456 WRX a twin steer or a left ■■■■■■ ? and they were happy days doing NOBBYS work we did it out of dover and southampton , then portsmouth trailers always overloaded, we used to top the flats up in sheerness using the dock they had that was fun in the dark ,
what was the pub called on the corner of rushendon road , TEDS other office ha ha ha 
The DAF in the photo is a left ■■■■■■ with a lift axle, and the pub you refur to is probebly the Queen Phillipa.
thats the one , they had 5 or 6 of those left hookers , got them when weights went up , do,s your dad remember the steel strike , and the fun we had then 
daf3300:
steve have you looked at scrapbook memories page 2, half way down , KEN SMITH (animal) tried to drive it but llu used to to wipe the floor with it
The Hollis Bedford TM ■■ Ken works for K & N at Colthrop at the Scottish and Newcastle depot - Do you remember his brother in law - Paul MacMillan ■■
Steve
oh yes , and ken is on k&n doing local or distance
it was one day on M4 going up the climb near leigh delamere he thought i was empty then when i went past him he saw 21ton of steel from sheerness ha ha
mark r weres those pictures, heres some drivers i remember tommy mee ,charlie norton roger smith, johnny herbert , john faulker , shaw ballard, chris rigby ,bob clark roger arlott, bill mckinnon, caddy (he knows who he is the jockey) , martin willis, ■■■■■, steve somebody, terry lewis , his dad pete lewis, steve lacy (flower pots in window) ken smith, dave pithers, les turner, tony cannon (lurch),and of course matt parfitt , thats all for reading depot, wally bradford tony mayhew, ian logan, paul parkin ,irvin rachael, thats all for swindon, brian savage, pixie,george vipond, womble(the shunter)mick conroy (with that bloody snake)colin tarrant, poppe, steve vaughan , the memory has gone but fague memories of the one who could eat light bulbs from sheerness we used to meet at toddington happy days, and the snake i remember from red lion j16, some body reckond he was blocking him in so he said move it mate , bloody python on drivers seat enough of my ramblings
Nicely ropped and sheeted load leaving Sheerness.Early 80s i think.
nice picture mark, its a 280 so its either swindon or reading depot, and knowing the drivers who had them at reading , i would say its from swindon , to neat a job , and did your dad remember anything of steel strike ?
Yes he remembers the steel strike very well. My uncle ( who also drove for Jim Breaker ) was on the local news and even in the paper. We even managed to get a copy of the photo that appered in the Sheerness Times.
Next time i go over to see him i,ll ask if i can borrow it , it shows Breakers Foden leaving Sheerness Steel, with picketts throwing stuff at him.
By the way, the Berliet was loaded with oranges out of Sheerness docks, quite an unusual load for JWQs i believe?.
Rgds Mark.
hi mark, i have studied that picture oh what a sad git i am the legs on trailer are down , and the sheets are the wrong colour , some body else has loaded it thats why its neat ha ha , i made the news at ten going into steel works ted told me all the pickets had gone to ridham dock so he sent me to mill to load oh dear on my own and about 2000 pickets happy days , i made news at ten plain white 2800 with red stripe and pauls rig on sun visor
I took that photo myself, and now you mention it, those legs are a bit on the low side arnt they!.Should be getting a couple more photos in a week or so.
Hi there my name’s Terry Lewis and I worked for Jwq at Reading (like my Father, Pete Lewis, before me-corny but true!), from 1985 to it’s demise in 1990. The best of times and the worst of times were had at Jwq and I worked with some real diamonds. I remember people like Bill Mckinnon, Rick Meehan, Ken Smith, ‘■■■■■’, ‘Pixie’ Pierce from the Sheerness depot, Paul Watson , Brian ‘Haggis’ Davidson, ‘Alchy’ MalcyHawkins, Richard Briggs, Bernie ‘The Bolt’ Mckeowan to name but a few. Being a bit of a sad git, I took an interest in photography, so I have quite a few pics of Jwq lorries and drivers so as i get time I’ll post a few more pics.
- My 7.5 ton Merc 814- I did 100,000 miles in 15 months in thiat one!
- Headlight Dec 86 left - Ray Thodays left ■■■■■■ Right - Mat Parfitts lorry
- Oh dear ! The first Artic a Renault R310
Hi my names ian warren but during my two and a half year stay with jwq at the swindon depot i was known as nipper.I had done 5 years in the merchant navy then sat my hgv 1(3 times if my memory serves me right) then about 4 months with les smith haulage of swindon, any one remember them?,then pestered Burt Carvey to give me a go, which im glad to say he did. My first ever run (which i remember as if it was yesterday) was pulling steel coils out of sheerness as there was a steel strike or something going to happen and Harry Hurst wanted as much steel at the stratton st margret factory as possible.My first ever artic big banger was a 1418 benz,i was king of the road,i seem to recall that i went down to sheerness with a bloke called curly who used to load the trailers with laminations at the yard. I then graduated on to a 1924 benz and then i think all the benzs got shunted down to sheerness and swindon depot had dafs, berliots and fiats, sorry spelling was never my strong point. Burt was the manager (and very sorry to here of his passing away)several years ago, Maxime ran the office,(im still in contact with maxime and shaw) Alan,Burts son was also in the office. In the trucks were Wally Bradfield daf, Tony mayhew berliot, Geoff Gales (windy) passed away in the late eightys, Paul parkin, Fred ,cant remember his surname, he had one of the fiats (went to work for break brothers not long after i left in september 82) A bloke called Ricky Godden from Cirencester, Clive,also known as wally no surname for him ether. Gary Darling who used to drive the little ford. Irvin Rachel from Cricklade, what about big Mavis who ran the canteen at lintern and hurst ,(you didnt give her any lip) Dave Robbins was the fitter/yardie he is driving taxis in swindon so i am told. As for some of the Reading drivers,Matt with that awesome looking scammel,chip board lacy also comes to mind. I can remember bying my first ever cb radio (highley illigal at the time) from one of the fitters at Reading but for the life of me i can not recall his name. Also the name of the dispatcher in sheerness, something tells me he was irish but i could be wrong about that. Any way thay were a great mob to work for with some outstanding charactors who i still remember fondly to this day, nearly 27 years later.If any of you read this please feel free to get in contact as it would be good to find out where we all went to in this life .take care Nipper
HELLO THERE ‘NIPPER’ I Never knew you but my dad Pete Lewis worked for the Reading depot for 11 years- maybe you knew him■■? -BUT one chap from the Swindon depot i remember called ‘Chas’ (can’t remember his surname) often talked of you. He was from the north-east somewhere, dark hair, quite short, and had a bad accident to do with a fire engine so he walked when i knew him with a bad limp- remember him at all?
Hi Nipper
The Ricky Godden you mention would have been my brother in law ■■■■ as he is called in Cirencester. If I remember rightly he wasn’t on JWQ to long, don’t think ■■■■ was really cut out for distance work, I don’t think he drove anything big after leaving JWQ he was in and out of factories for a few years, he then went as a drivers mate on a 7.5 tonner running explosives to quarries for a few years, I think he maybe still doing it I last saw him about 12 months ago had a couple of pints with him he was ok then, not a lot of change in ■■■■ like us all getting older but still a good lad. next time I’m back I will mention your name to him see if he remembers you.
cheers
John.
Hello Nipper. I must have been fitting tyres at the time you was at JWQ. Les Smith Haulage are still going,i think it is run by one of his sons now (Danny)? .Do you remember a driver called Mark Matthews @ Swindon - used to work with him at NTS, dont think he stayed long.
Wasnt Dave Robbins known as “ginge”?
Good day to you all. Tautliner terry, i dont recall your dad but yes the name chas has opened up the memory somewhat. I recall takeing him over to shorko films at channey manor to give me a hand to load rolls of plastic film for scotland,I do remember something about an accident with a fire engine but i am not sure if that happened while i was still there, i think it took place at gorse hill traffic lights but dont quote me on that . I can also remember a bloke from reading depot, cant think of a name but i think he was a welshman and also the union delegate ,john someone seems to come to mind.Altitude You are right on the money. Ricky was called ■■■■, he had a bit of a mishap with a load of plastic coated steel shelving out side the crown at stratton pub(awfull slippery stuff and a shocking left hand camber on that side of the road did not help). Ricky left not long after that which was a dam shame as he was a top bloke who always made me laugh. Burt carvey was always trying to nail him for dodgy nights away on his log book but ricky was allways one step ahead of poor old burt. I have had meny a cup of tea and bacon roll at the little mobile canteen that used to be at the first roundabout in cirencester with ricky when he used to park his daf there. I suppose thats all long gone. Please send my regards to him next time you see him. Suedehead We must have crossed paths back then, I remember turning left at bamptons panel beaters and going down into a small industrial estate to get new tyres fitted or regroved, I was only at les smith for a short while and i think he had some very young kids I no that his yard at the time was over gorse hill way and a right sod of a place to get in and out of. Mark Matthews must have been at jwq after i left (oct82) can you remember les smith main man at the time a bloke called roy from cricklade. Dave robbins was called ginge and i am told he is driving taxis and still In swindon cheers Nipper