Hello to any of the original Swallow International drivers (1973-1982) having just found this website I would be pleased to hear from anyone who might remember me and the company from those days
Mike Swallow
Hi Mike
There is a thread on here dedicated to M J Swallow Photos opened in 2014 by trucknet member 900X20 just type in the search box and it will bring it up for you.Oh and welcome to the tnet forum.
John (Stanfield)
Hi Mike, Yes had the pleasure of working for you, doing the Mc Cain chip contract alll over europe. Your office at the time IIRC was a shed at the bottom of your garden. Good times then, what you doing now.?. Regards Tony Rainbird.
Tony R:
Hi Mike, Yes had the pleasure of working for you, doing the Mc Cain chip contract alll over europe. Your office at the time IIRC was a shed at the bottom of your garden. Good times then, what you doing now.?. Regards Tony Rainbird.
Hi Tony
Good to hear from you - I am now living in South Devon and have been retired for past 8 yrs
How about you?
Its certainly been sometime since the days I operated from my shed ! - I did progress to an office in the village and ultimately had a depot at Penn St - as you say good times then but very hard work !
Regards
Mike
Mick, I Have been officialey retired 9 yrs, but still do a bit of 3.5 ton van work to europe when I can get it, it is very sporadic. the local chap I work for is finding it hard so nothing on a permanent basis, even for uk runs. I now live in north Norfolk,moved from east London in 1980. I still like driving so if you know anyone looking for a van driver let me know. still have Hgv license but no dcpc, cannot be bothered to sit in classroom for 35 hrs and pay £450 for the privledge …Last job before retirement was driving bulk cement tankers for lafarge at ebbsfleet kent. regards Tony.
Hello Mike - fancy seeing your name pop up.
My name is Michael Hannon - Horace’s son. I remember you well from the Taunton Meat Haulage days. Didn’t you jump ship to Christian Salvesen before setting up on your own?
You might also remember my wife Ann, who worked at the Bathpool office in the early 1970s.
I am now retired myself from my lifetime in newspapers (father died in Australia in 1991) and have lived in France for many years. But my son still lives with his family in Taunton and is a Class 1 HGV driver with the Bidvest group. Seems you just can’t get away from the big wheel.
Back along I visited Jack Hobbs’ son Richard (my cousin) in Killarney. He’s coming up to retirement now but is still driving a 44-tonne outfit. He said the same…
Best wishes
intertype7:
Hello Mike - fancy seeing your name pop up.
My name is Michael Hannon - Horace’s son. I remember you well from the Taunton Meat Haulage days. Didn’t you jump ship to Christian Salvesen before setting up on your own?
You might also remember my wife Ann, who worked at the Bathpool office in the early 1970s.
I am now retired myself from my lifetime in newspapers (father died in Australia in 1991) and have lived in France for many years. But my son still lives with his family in Taunton and is a Class 1 HGV driver with the Bidvest group. Seems you just can’t get away from the big wheel.
Back along I visited Jack Hobbs’ son Richard (my cousin) in Killarney. He’s coming up to retirement now but is still driving a 44-tonne outfit. He said the same…
Best wishes
Hi Michael
Many thanks for making contact
I have many happy memories working with your father and I had heard of his sad passing over in Australia
You are correct on my leaving Taunton I joined Salversens very briefly and then set up MJ Swallow International Ltd until sadly the whole industry took a nose dive in the 1980’s
I returned to Taunton in 1983 and operated the local Authority contract for Taunton Deane until 1999 when my second wife Sue (I sadly lost my first wife to cancer in 1994) moved down to live in South Devon where I am now happily retired
What part of France are you living in ? We have French friends in Fontainebleau and St Brieuc Brittany who we often visit
Best wishes
Mike
Hello Mike,Have been out of the loop for some time, saw you were on here so time to recall. My name is Dave Townsend, used to live in Mitcham and we met when I did a trip or two with LGB Transport of Maidenhead.That Lucci was a smooth talking man could con anybody into doing anything for him.I then went on to do some reliefs for you direct.At the time you had the famous Alan Mcoy,Mick Baker ,and Harry Evans from Huddersfield working for you. When you went for a forth truck I joined you full time.After me came Johnny Edwards and so on.I did a couple of years with you then pressure from home said I had to stop doing the journeys and be at home more.When Micky Baker left I took over his virtually new rig and no crap it was the finest truck I had ever driven at the time, and still brings very fond memories even now. I did the McCains trips,also the Horse meat from Yorkshire to Holland.The boss there looked after us when we got there smashing man and team. I did have one horrid trip with the truck it had been serviced before I went.Did the delivery in France got reloaded and on the return journey the gearbox just fell apart.Managed to get into a service area near Tours and there we stayed. Got Micky Collins out of bed on a early Sunday morning,you can guess how pleased he was,he organised a big lad called Tiny to rescue the truck and owed us to Princes at Canterbury.It was diagnosed as the splitter gearbox had been drained during the service but had not been refilled. I do not know how many miles it had lasted but it was superb engineering by Volvo that it lasted so long.The new box was very notchy and hard to change gear with so we went into Princes at Southampton and they put another in.Which was as good as the original.Like you am now retired have very fond memories,I moved from Mitcham and now reside on the coast near Bognor, also still in constant Harry Evans, and Alan Veal who pulled for LGB. Enough rambling nice to know you are well and enjoying.Best wishes Dave.
I remember a J reg F88 often parked in Sudbury Suffolk Lorry park some weekends back in the 70’s
Hi Mike, you wouldn’t know me but my father drove for you , his name is John Warren.
It would be great if you could contact me. I’d be really interested in seeing some old photos of the trucks you had.
My Dad will be eighty next year and I’d love to get some nostalgia put together for him.
Regards
Alan.
Hi Mike, I trust you and family are well. Im a voice from the past when you were in Penn Street,.
Back then you use to phone me when needed, I had a cab office in Waterloo. Still miss that Job.
Life has passed on now, Im 74 and retired. So nice to catch up with you .
best regards Barry Elvy.
Alan Warren:
Hi Mike, you wouldn’t know me but my father drove for you , his name is John Warren.
It would be great if you could contact me. I’d be really interested in seeing some old photos of the trucks you had.
My Dad will be eighty next year and I’d love to get some nostalgia put together for him.
Regards
Alan.
Hi Alan
I must apologise for not responding sooner to you but unfortunately we have had some family issues during Covid which has distracted me away from this website - fortunately all OK now
I would be more than happy to sort out some photos for your father but not being too IT friendly I am not sure I will be able to email them but happy to make copies and post ?
Can you remind me the years that your father drove for me please and which trucks ? I note he is now the grand age of 80 which I will be myself in 2023 - how time flies !
Look forward to hearing from you
Kind regards
Mike Swallow
Heres a couple Paul Gee took at Poole docks.
I wonder if the bumper had been stolen in the first picture,
Second pictures shows a time when bearing/hub problems were dealt with in any location.
dave docwra:
I wonder if the bumper had been stolen in the first picture,
Second pictures shows a time when bearing/hub problems were dealt with in any location.
Its possible that the bumper may have departed the F10 on the ferry where the crew never took a chain off,seen that happen a few times. 
DEANB:
Heres a couple Paul Gee took at Poole docks.2
1
0
Hi Dean
Many thanks for photos posted by Paul Gee - I do have copies myself but makes for a nice reminder for me
All the best
Mike Swallow
pennstreet:
“DEANB” Heres a couple Paul Gee took at Poole docks.Hi Dean
Many thanks for photos posted by Paul Gee - I do have copies myself but makes for a nice reminder for me
All the best
Mike Swallow
My long term friend Ron Davies drove for MJ Swallow. I remember the day he visited the yard at Penn and came away with the job. I can’t remember the year. He continued international truck driving for many years (Cadwallader, Simon International and others) until leaving UK to live in Thailand where he married and built a house near Kanchanaburi. Sadly he died in 2015 after a long illness.