Any more old photos of old Lenham lorries going? (And I have no complaints working for Booker now I’ve moved to Hatfield).
So you never had to drive this old beauty (pictured)? Suppose your Merc is pretty much brand new, the whole Firmin’s fleet is practically new.
Ta
Ben
Mark R:
That’s good to hear Joe, especially as so many drivers continually moan about their employers and their job! I think id probably go for the Mercedes myself but I guess its all down to personal preference. Are you on the containers or general haulage, or do you all do a bit of both?
Here are a couple of Lenham pics (old & new) as we were discussing them earlier.
I do the palletforce work, every so often I do general. Great picture’s of Lenham. I will ask my dad or nan if they have any pictures of Lenham’s lorries
Joe
Hi les my old man used to work for a faversham firm which was east Kent packers driving the old cream and blue E.R.fs it later became south eastern transport which I was a trailer mate on they had sic large and six small lorry’s and trailers then in mid 70s it was taken over by portway by the way I’m still driving for k.n.d.l drinks at favershakby the way I’m Malcolm jackson thanks 
Foden with KCC, not sure where this came from
I can’t swear to it but I think the Alan Firmin Albion may be driven by Curly Smith, it looks to be in Yalding. It was Curly who got me interested in lorries and was ultimately responsible for my choice of career. We had planned for me to accompany him on a journey, when I was still a teenager, but we only got as far as Maidstone bus station in Palace avenue, before we had to turn round and go back to the yard, with a sick UKM 283H. It had broken a piston ring - a fairly common event for an AV505. A few weeks later we had another successful try with a load of newsprint reels to Bradford (Telegraph?) reloading out of a quarry in remotest Derbyshire with bagged something or other.
Curly was a real Gent with a comical sense of humour, he had been knocked down while walking back to the drivers’ car park trying to stop his little dog (Blenheim) being run over by Bootsy, but ended up breaking both legs when he got hit by the car instead. Curly later moved on to Mitchell and Robertson as a day shunter where he worked until he died. Considerate to the end, sadly Curly was found dead in his car one night after he had pulled over near to Teston bridge when he felt unwell.
For those interested in Firmins, names I can recall from my time there would be: Eric Crundwell Transport Manager, Bob Willard Traffic manager, Percy Wakely, traffic clerk (my brother-in-law’s late father-in-law!!), Eddy Wiess an ex German POW who was workshop manager and his 2 sons, Dave Heywood Workshop foreman, who was later responsible for restoring 2 PKR to its current glory; fitters Kevin Butchers and(Two thumb) Fred Zala; and drivers: Norman Dadson and his brother John, George Maitland who had a Gavioli fairground organ and a Scammell which he kept at Wingham Engineering; Bob Benstead who ‘retired to’ Yard Foreman, Peter Boakes who drove the Foden FG 8 wheeler AF 66, Johnny Williams who had a massive Tiger’s head tattooed on his chest and drove 641 NKJ the MkV 8 wheel bulker; George? Blunt one of the night market men who I accompanied to the old Covent Garden several times, Olly Holloway who drove the ■■■■■■■ 180 Guy Invicible (just about the noisiest lorry I have ever come across) and who went on to drive for Safeway, Fred Smith, and poor Stuart ****? who was killed when his Mammoth Minor hit the back of a low loader.
If more come to mind I will add.
Edit: I think I spelt Dave Hayward’s name wrongly.
cav551:
I can’t swear to it but I think the Alan Firmin Albion may be driven by Curly Smith, it looks to be in Yalding. It was Curly who got me interested in lorries and was ultimately responsible for my choice of career. We had planned for me to accompany him on a journey, when I was still a teenager, but we only got as far as Maidstone bus station in Palace avenue, before we had to turn round and go back to the yard, with a sick UKM 283H. It had broken a piston ring - a fairly common event for an AV505. A few weeks later we had another successful try with a load of newsprint reels to Bradford (Telegraph?) reloading out of a quarry in remotest Derbyshire with bagged something or other.Curly was a real Gent with a comical sense of humour, he had been knocked down while walking back to the drivers’ car park trying to stop his little dog (Blenheim) being run over by Bootsy, but ended up breaking both legs when he got hit by the car instead. Curly later moved on to Mitchell and Robertson as a day shunter where he worked until he died. Considerate to the end, sadly Curly was found dead in his car one night after he had pulled over near to Teston bridge when he felt unwell.
For those interested in Firmins, names I can recall from my time there would be: Eric Crundwell Transport Manager, Bob Willard Traffic manager, Percy Wakely, traffic clerk (my brother-in-law’s late father-in-law!!), Eddy Wiess an ex German POW who was workshop manager and his 2 sons, Dave Heywood Workshop foreman, who was later responsible for restoring 2 PKR to its current glory; fitters Kevin Butchers and(Two thumb) Fred Zala; and drivers: Norman Dadson and his brother John, George Maitland who had a Gavioli fairground organ and a Scammell which he kept at Wingham Engineering; Bob Benstead who ‘retired to’ Yard Foreman, Peter Boakes who drove the Foden FG 8 wheeler AF 66, Johnny Williams who had a massive Tiger’s head tattooed on his chest and drove 641 NKJ the MkV 8 wheel bulker; George? Blunt one of the night market men who I accompanied to the old Covent Garden several times, Olly Holloway who drove the ■■■■■■■ 180 Guy Invicible (just about the noisiest lorry I have ever come across) and who went on to drive for Safeway, Fred Smith, and poor Stuart ****? who was killed when his Mammoth Minor hit the back of a low loader.
If more come to mind I will add.
Olly Holloway is still driving for Firmins
I remember most of those names - Bob Willard became a director, retired then went on to run a flower importer near Ulcombe. Fred Zala left to run his own repair business and is now based in Sutton Valence. Peter Boakes was my oppo on one of the night changeovers and Johnny “Tonto” took me out on my appraisal (for a week!). Didn’t he cycle to Clacton every week to visit his estranged kids? I remember George’s patience teaching me to rope & sheet and his collection of player pianos squeezed into his tiny front room. Bootsy I recall unbolting and removing the new-fangled suspension seat so he could clean the cab properly, and I remember the old hands giving me a useful tip about how to restore a shine to the matt paintwork on my A series ERF - wipe it over with a rag soaked in diesel. Looked great until it went out on the road and came back with all manner of dead flies, grit and ■■■ ends stuck to it. They must have laughed their socks off!!!
Hello Misterbreeze and Joedriver.
I’ll try a few more from Wares Farm days. Peter Hopkins (AF 29?) who would only have been about 23 back then and IIRC was a driver at Tesco Snodland the last time I saw him. Ron Latter, Robin Turk who had come off the road to run the fertilizer warehouse, Carl and Rudy?? Weiss who were Eddy’s sons. Two I can see the faces of now from over 40 years ago, but the names escape me: The driver of the BMC Laird boxvan artic which did the Shell oil deliveries round Kent and Sussex was? Mick Thomsett?? The driver who came off AF80, which was a Mammoth Major 8 cut down into a unit, to drive the 1st ERF A series with a Gardner 8 pot was stocky and had light brown sticky-up hair, but who was he? And who was it who did the Sainsbury’s chicken runs in a Park Royal cabbed Mercury with a demountable chill box chained on?
I had forgotten Johnny Williams’ nickname is Tonto, so thanks for reminding me. I too was taught to rope and sheet by George Maitland as well as by Curly and given a driving assessment by George as well; a trip in a puddle-jumper to Pascual at Paddock Wood. Which reminds me of trips as mate over to PW via Hunton and Yalding in various Mandators, and how sensibly and slowly they were driven around country lanes; in contrast to what one sees nowadays. I can’t recall Bootsy’s real name these days, but for years he would always acknowledge me if we passed in town. IIRC Bootsy demolished one of the bus shelters in Loose one day. The last I heard of Fred Zala was when he and the family ran the garage in the old M&D bus garage in Postley rd. Eric Crundwell, who was elbowed out as TM by Bob Willard, is AFAIK still running his Small-Plant hire business in Staplehurst. I am surprised to hear that Olly Holloway is still working, he must be in his 70s by now, does he still wear cloggs?
Mention of AF80 brings a shiver to the spine, it was being used as a shunter when I drove it but was also used to run trailers to and from Pattenden Lane, it was on its last legs then. The throttle pedal consisted of an old wooden chock as I recall. Did my share of the chicken run as well, with blocks of dry ice thrown in the back to keep the temperature down.
I think I made a mistake about the driver of AF80 taking on an 8 cylinder Gardner ERF, now I think some more he had a brand new 6 cylinder one… and after a few days he wanted AF80 back again! I don’t think Alan was very pleased.
I take it you never had the privilege of the naughty boy’s motor, AF57 the MkIII tin-front MM8?
No, that must have been before my time. I used to get the fish meal jobs to Nitrovit instead!
Ah Nitrovit out of Colchester docks. With a run of empty Shell Barrels to Barking on the way up? AF57 was still about in the mid 70s IIRC. I guess you ended up in Ince and Sandy too.
Dempsey used to have a yard in Whitstable and run regular services to Ireland.
And here’s a Henleys line-up of B-series with their distinctive nudge-bars. Robert
robert1952:
Dempsey used to have a yard in Whitstable and run regular services to Ireland.1
And here’s a Henleys line-up of B-series with their distinctive nudge-bars. Robert
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Henley Transport a bloody good firm to work there I thoroughly enjoyed my time there even though I was behind a desk !
