Photo taken near Maidstone museum. Neither the new road alongside the river nor the second Medway bridge were built when I first frequented the town. The river is at the bottom of the hill but what really interested me about this photo was that possibly the last vehicle in line behind the bus could be a Ford A Series van belonging to Promotor.
This image of St Faithâs Street in Maidstone remains virtually the same today unless one pans around. From the photographerâs viewpoint the right turn arrow nearest the camera points to Museum st where just out of shot in the '70s Corporation Buses would lay over during the off peak. The Mark 3 Cortina is emerging from Havelok Lane where fortunately still stands the Royal Albion pub. The recovery vehicle is passing Maidstone museum, just visible over the top deck of theBristol VR is the roof of the old Maidstone Library. Also just visible on the far side of the river seems to be the site of the town centre lorry park on the site of the former gasworks. Behind that ran St Peterâs st and in earlier times the Courage or originally the Style and Winch brewery. The driver will very shortly be turning into Station rd and running alongside Brenchley Gardens towards the East Station.
Behind the photographer St Faithâs st continues to meet with Week st. on the corner of which stood Dunnings department store. The route into and through Maidstone from Chatham came along Sandling rd passing Hope st on the left where Gatwards had their dealership which supplied so many Kent hauliers with AEC, Dodge, Leyland and at later times ERF and Seddon Atkinson lorries. On the other side of Sandling Lane was Maidstone Barracks. Outside County Hall Sandling Lane met Week st where after a hundred yards orso everything had to turn right into St Faithâs st. A common occurrence was for traffic to come to a sudden halt when a turning car transporter put the top deck through Dunningsâ window! Traffic then ran via Museum st and turned right past Fremlins brewery into Earl street and then left into Fairmedow alongside the river on the approach to the one and only river bridge.
cav551:
This image of St Faithâs Street in Maidstone remains virtually the same today unless one pans around. From the photographerâs viewpoint the right turn arrow nearest the camera points to Museum st where just out of shot in the '70s Corporation Buses would lay over during the off peak. The Mark 3 Cortina is emerging from Havelok Lane where fortunately still stands the Royal Albion pub. The recovery vehicle is passing Maidstone museum, just visible over the top deck of theBristol VR is the roof of the old Maidstone Library. Also just visible on the far side of the river seems to be the site of the town centre lorry park on the site of the former gasworks. Behind that ran St Peterâs st and in earlier times the Courage or originally the Style and Winch brewery. The driver will very shortly be turning into Station rd and running alongside Brenchley Gardens towards the East Station.Behind the photographer St Faithâs st continues to meet with Week st. on the corner of which stood Dunnings department store. The route into and through Maidstone from Chatham came along Sandling rd passing Hope st on the left where Gatwards had their dealership which supplied so many Kent hauliers with AEC, Dodge, Leyland and at later times ERF and Seddon Atkinson lorries. On the other side of Sandling Lane was Maidstone Barracks. Outside County Hall Sandling Lane met Week st where after a hundred yards orso everything had to turn right into St Faithâs st. A common occurrence was for traffic to come to a sudden halt when a turning car transporter put the top deck through Dunningsâ window! Traffic then ran via Museum st and turned right past Fremlins brewery into Earl street and then left into Fairmedow alongside the river on the approach to the one and only river bridge.
Yes, know Hope Street very well. Lived there for four years. Attached photo shows the Scammel demo unit that Mitchell & Robertson had for a while. I am standing there with my son Christopher. I was loaded with 20 tons of Cape apples for T J Poupart in Bristol market. We both went on to work for Promotor but that was still some years away for Chris.
When I drove a rigid I would park, on most occasions, right outside my front door in Hope Street. We lived about halfway up on the right. To get there I would go up Lower Boxley Road then turn left into Alexandra Street then left again into Hope Street. Rarely did I have any problems with access even when I drove the AEC Marshall as seen in the attached photo.
However, one night I was parked there loaded with fifteen tons of processing apples ready for a five oâclock start next morning when, late evening, I had a knock on the door. An old guy was standing there who explained he had been a lorry driver and he thought my lorry was creeping forward, Hope Street being on a slight hill. We both stood by my lorry and listened and sure enough every now and again there was a slight tick. I fetched my keys, started the engine and turned the wheels into the kerb and left it in reverse which seemed to address the problem. The next time I parked up there I made sure I had a piece of timber to wedge under the rear wheels, just to allow me to get a descent knights sleep.
^^^
A common potential problem with the AEC and a cause of MOT failure. The handbrake lever operated an air assistance valve at the bottom of the linkage, this as the name implies directed air to the rear brake chambers when the handbrake lever was operated. If this failed to work then the brakes were only applied by sheer muscle power, which was not enough to hold the vehicle. The valve made a fairly quiet and not very noticeable chuff as the driver let go of the lever after applying the brake and releasing the air. You could easily fail to notice the slight kick as the boost was applied.
Some very interesting old Mitchell & Robertson photos have come to light via F/B thanks to Darren Goldup.
Three more Mitchell & Robertson photos from Darren Goldup. Iâm always interested in photos or information concerning this company as its where I started as a driver back in late 69. If the Merc on the left in the first photo is GUG 913N then that was my old lorry, the last one I drove before I left.
When they sold up I was always under the impression Woods moved them to premises at Detling and ran his business from there, however, somebody has told me they went to Teynham! So where did they go and whenâ â ?
sandway:
Three more Mitchell & Robertson photos from Darren Goldup. Iâm always interested in photos or information concerning this company as its where I started as a driver back in late 69. If the Merc on the left in the first photo is GUG 913N then that was my old lorry, the last one I drove before I left.When they sold up I was always under the impression Woods moved them to premises at Detling and ran his business from there, however, somebody has told me they went to Teynham! So where did they go and whenâ â ?
That Merc on the right, EKR 107V must have been repainted into A&RJ Wood livery because this is what it looked like when I drove it on casual work in 1984. It was a 1626 and IIRC it had a ZF upside-down gearbox installation (common with RHD 1626s) so you changed gear away from you in the double-H pattern. Regarding Teynham and Detling. A&RJ Wood occupied the Teynham depot / coldstore until A Wood separated from RJ Wood and took his company and vehicles up to Detling on the hill behind the aerodrome. I drove for both in a casual capacity! Ro
ERF-NGC-European:
sandway:
Three more Mitchell & Robertson photos from Darren Goldup. Iâm always interested in photos or information concerning this company as its where I started as a driver back in late 69. If the Merc on the left in the first photo is GUG 913N then that was my old lorry, the last one I drove before I left.When they sold up I was always under the impression Woods moved them to premises at Detling and ran his business from there, however, somebody has told me they went to Teynham! So where did they go and whenâ â ?
That Merc on the right, EKR 107V must have been repainted into A&RJ Wood livery because this is what it looked like when I drove it on casual work in 1984. It was a 1626 and IIRC it had a ZF upside-down gearbox installation (common with RHD 1626s) so you changed gear away from you in the double-H pattern. Regarding Teynham and Detling. A&RJ Wood occupied the Teynham depot / coldstore until A Wood separated from RJ Wood and took his company and vehicles up to Detling on the hill behind the aerodrome. I drove for both in a casual capacity! Ro
[/merc 1626 v8 totally reliable but hard work on the hills at 38 tonnes and a steering wheel as big as a bin lid.
Couple of little anecdotes regarding Mitchell & Robertson.
The first photo is of a Frank Idiens bushel box. For a few years Idiens were perhaps our most important customer. We ran Bramley processing apples from the Kent orchards to the large factories in both Evesham and Wisbech as well as small factories in Stratford Upon Avon, East London and Worcester. As they say, âif I had a pound note for every bushel of apples I transported on my lorryâ ye well, you know the rest.
The second photo is of a Merc which was driven by Long John Godward. I posted this photo on F/B recently and a guy by the name of Phil Moemken contacted me and said his father Tony drove this lorry. I can only assume that he drove it after I had left M & R and for some reason Long John was no longer driving it. Tony was German and had been a prisoner of war but stayed on, married an english girl and made his home here. What is interesting though is Tony, effectionally known to us as Jerry, was perhaps one of the main inspirations behind my driving abroad. I would listen to him telling stories of his visits back to Germany passing Gent, Brussels, Aachen etc on his way to see family and friends.
ERF-NGC-European:
sandway:
Three more Mitchell & Robertson photos from Darren Goldup. Iâm always interested in photos or information concerning this company as its where I started as a driver back in late 69. If the Merc on the left in the first photo is GUG 913N then that was my old lorry, the last one I drove before I left.When they sold up I was always under the impression Woods moved them to premises at Detling and ran his business from there, however, somebody has told me they went to Teynham! So where did they go and whenâ â ?
That Merc on the right, EKR 107V must have been repainted into A&RJ Wood livery because this is what it looked like when I drove it on casual work in 1984. It was a 1626 and IIRC it had a ZF upside-down gearbox installation (common with RHD 1626s) so you changed gear away from you in the double-H pattern. Regarding Teynham and Detling. A&RJ Wood occupied the Teynham depot / coldstore until A Wood separated from RJ Wood and took his company and vehicles up to Detling on the hill behind the aerodrome. I drove for both in a casual capacity! Ro
0
My understanding of the split (as told to me) was that A&RJ Wood had moved to Detling. At some point Alf and Roy had a falling out, and Alf retained the Detling yard and the A&RJ Wood fleet, and Roy was to give up transport.
Roy then bought the name Mitchell & Robertson and set up operations at Teynham in direct competition with his brother Alf. If you look on the door of EKR107V in Woods colours it says Mitchell & Robertson Teynham.
The Merc LP814 JKJ87V was also transferred to the RJ Wood fleet and painted white. I donât know how many other M&B trucks were acquired.
One thing I hadnât noticed before was the âA&RJâ and âSHEERNESSâ over the WOOD fleetname on the roof spoiler of EKR107V
tyreman:
ERF-NGC-European:
sandway:
Three more Mitchell & Robertson photos from Darren Goldup. Iâm always interested in photos or information concerning this company as its where I started as a driver back in late 69. If the Merc on the left in the first photo is GUG 913N then that was my old lorry, the last one I drove before I left.When they sold up I was always under the impression Woods moved them to premises at Detling and ran his business from there, however, somebody has told me they went to Teynham! So where did they go and whenâ â ?
That Merc on the right, EKR 107V must have been repainted into A&RJ Wood livery because this is what it looked like when I drove it on casual work in 1984. It was a 1626 and IIRC it had a ZF upside-down gearbox installation (common with RHD 1626s) so you changed gear away from you in the double-H pattern. Regarding Teynham and Detling. A&RJ Wood occupied the Teynham depot / coldstore until A Wood separated from RJ Wood and took his company and vehicles up to Detling on the hill behind the aerodrome. I drove for both in a casual capacity! Ro
0
My understanding of the split (as told to me) was that A&RJ Wood had moved to Detling. At some point Alf and Roy had a falling out, and Alf retained the Detling yard and the A&RJ Wood fleet, and Roy was to give up transport.
Roy then bought the name Mitchell & Robertson and set up operations at Teynham in direct competition with his brother Alf. If you look on the door of EKR107V in Woods colours it says Mitchell & Robertson Teynham.The Merc LP814 JKJ87V was also transferred to the RJ Wood fleet and painted white. I donât know how many other M&B trucks were acquired.
One thing I hadnât noticed before was the âA&RJâ and âSHEERNESSâ over the WOOD fleetname on the roof spoiler of EKR107V
That sounds right. The trailers had Sheerness on them too. I mentioned the 1626 having a double-H pattern erroneously: I meant the 6-gate pattern, as they were 12-speed splitters (I think ZF AK-80s) - it was the later 1625s that had the double-H. Cheers!
Ro
sandway:
Couple of little anecdotes regarding Mitchell & Robertson.The first photo is of a Frank Idiens bushel box. For a few years Idiens were perhaps our most important customer. We ran Bramley processing apples from the Kent orchards to the large factories in both Evesham and Wisbech as well as small factories in Stratford Upon Avon, East London and Worcester. As they say, âif I had a pound note for every bushel of apples I transported on my lorryâ ye well, you know the rest.
The second photo is of a Merc which was driven by Long John Godward. I posted this photo on F/B recently and a guy by the name of Phil Moemken contacted me and said his father Tony drove this lorry. I can only assume that he drove it after I had left M & R and for some reason Long John was no longer driving it. Tony was German and had been a prisoner of war but stayed on, married an english girl and made his home here. What is interesting though is Tony, effectionally known to us as Jerry, was perhaps one of the main inspirations behind my driving abroad. I would listen to him telling stories of his visits back to Germany passing Gent, Brussels, Aachen etc on his way to see family and friends.
Hi Sandway, What a strange coincidence, Yesterday, you posted a picture of a Frank Idiens fruit box on this thread, and around the
same time, I posted a picture of a wooden fruit box from Kent on the new " Wholesale Markets " thread, Spooky or what â â Have a look. 
Cheers, Ray Smyth.
A few photos from the web of a local company we all knew so well. Is that Mr Woodcock on the right in the first photo?
Another Woodcockâs lorry from the web. Someone mentioned it may have been a load of bones parked up for the weekend and that a temporary sheet was thrown over it. Not sure if that was to keep the flies away or to stop the neighbours looking in.
cav551:
Apart from the Firmin family the only person I can positively identify is Percy Wakely (3rd from left front row.) I am pretty certain Eric Crundwell is 3rd from right front row as well. I would not wish to offend anyone by misidentifying their relatives since it is around 50 years since I last saw them, and they were then âa fewâ years older than in this picture - Ian Firmin would have been in his mis twenties. I have two possibles for Eddie Weiss and also Norman Dadson unless I am mixing him up with his brother (John?). Quite a few in the picture would have been employed on the farm.
I know a few , I was there that day I was about 9 years old, front row from left 1 Fred , run workshop, 2 Ron, worked in yard, 3 percy wakley, 4 Kurt run farm 5 david martin office manager, 6 Ian Firmin, 7 Mrs Firmin, 8 Alan Firmin, 9 Paul Firmin 10 mr stevens transport manager, 11 Peter back office 12 eric crundwell 13 dont know â â
far right Eddie my dad, bob Willard , john dadson I recognize , my mum is also in picture
karl weiss:
cav551:
Apart from the Firmin family the only person I can positively identify is Percy Wakely (3rd from left front row.) I am pretty certain Eric Crundwell is 3rd from right front row as well. I would not wish to offend anyone by misidentifying their relatives since it is around 50 years since I last saw them, and they were then âa fewâ years older than in this picture - Ian Firmin would have been in his mis twenties. I have two possibles for Eddie Weiss and also Norman Dadson unless I am mixing him up with his brother (John?). Quite a few in the picture would have been employed on the farm.I know a few , I was there that day I was about 9 years old, front row from left 1 Fred , run workshop, 2 Ron, worked in yard, 3 percy wakley, 4 Kurt run farm 5 david martin office manager, 6 Ian Firmin, 7 Mrs Firmin, 8 Alan Firmin, 9 Paul Firmin 10 mr stevens transport manager, 11 Peter back office 12 eric crundwell 13 dont know â â
far right Eddie my dad, bob Willard , john dadson I recognize , my mum is also in picture
Lets see again who you are talking about Karl. Photo from the web but I have blown it up a bit.
