harry_gill:
hiya,
There was Frans Maas depot in the Chester Le Street/Birtley area have’nt been that way for a while, still there??.
thanks harry long retired.
Hullo “harry_gill”
MAT Transport.! Frans Maas ■■? Have you been on the bottle mate ■■?
Cheers Archie.
hiya,
Sorry Archie wrong thread will move it, doc said to take more water with it, but have worked for MAT years ago via Bowkers and at my time of life am entitled to be a bit confused but will go and stand in the corner for being naughty.
thanks harry long retired.
harry_gill:
hiya,
There was Frans Maas depot in the Chester Le Street/Birtley area have’nt been that way for a while, still there??.
thanks harry long retired.
Hullo “harry_gill”
MAT Transport.! Frans Maas ■■? Have you been on the bottle mate ■■?
Cheers Archie.
hiya,
Sorry Archie wrong thread will move it, doc said to take more water with it, but have worked for MAT years ago via Bowkers and at my time of life am entitled to be a bit confused but will go and stand in the corner for being naughty.
thanks harry long retired.
Hullo Harry,
Cheers mate. Was you by any chance on for Frans Mass, doing Germany together with Popeye. ?
Cheers, Archie.
harry_gill:
hiya,
There was Frans Maas depot in the Chester Le Street/Birtley area have’nt been that way for a while, still there??.
thanks harry long retired.
Hullo “harry_gill”
MAT Transport.! Frans Maas ■■? Have you been on the bottle mate ■■?
Cheers Archie.
hiya,
Sorry Archie wrong thread will move it, doc said to take more water with it, but have worked for MAT years ago via Bowkers and at my time of life am entitled to be a bit confused but will go and stand in the corner for being naughty.
thanks harry long retired.
Hullo Harry,
Cheers mate. Was you by any chance on for Frans Mass, doing Germany together with Popeye. ?
Cheers, Archie.
hiya,
Not guilty Archie the only “over the water jobs” i’ve ever done are a bit of Irish, North and South “oh” and the Woolich ferry, sadly never got to the Isle of Wight either, have driven a lorry from Singapore to Alor Star on the Thai formerly Siamese border aged 19 and also from Inchon to Seoul in South Korea aged 18 but that does’nt count i was young and daft and as I was in the forces it was compulsory and the pay was about £3 a week but free digs and parking and for the most part a free armed ■■■■■■.
thanks harry long retired.
kevmorrow:
Hi Cliff
Do you remember me Kev Morrow?
It only seems last week since working at MAT, MIFT Trafford Park 1974-75. While I was there these are the drivers I remmember. Reg Jacklin, Jimmy Murray, Mick Lunny, Joe Winstanley, Chris Kennworthy (Woolyback), Tony Boylin. Yardman Gordon Nunn and traffic Manager Les Bickerdyke. Les Bickerdyke started at Humko on the weighbridge after his heart attack. Les was not the same bloke as we knew him at MAT. He changed for the better, telling jokes and seemed to have not a care in the world. Mind you it could have been his medication! He left through ill health. I was on the tankers at Humko. Cliff you will remember the driver that got injured on Westinghouse road, he had a limp. He started at High Row haulage Warrington, I cannot think of his name.
I certainly do mate, great times. We used to call Tony Boylin “bump-a-day”,he had more bloody accidents than anyone I know. He once had a crash and got out tying to convince the driver he was a German. He always carried his pass port in his shirt pocket but he had only been at sea on the "Boys Own " at Brid. Chris Kenworthy once let rip in his motor and followd through, he roped his underpants to he catwalk and drove home. Gordon Nunn is dead. Reg Jacklin was an absolute nightmare when he was reversing, he demolished more property than Fred Dibnah. I remember that old Atky, no power steering, you had to give it plenty in reverse or you could not steer the bloody thing. The limping guy was called Dave Lister, when we were on the pop in the Earl de Grey he used to go for a ■■■■■ when it was his round. I could talk all night about MAT but I might get boring. But can you remember Charlie Meehan? he once dropped a trailer in Hull yard and forgot to put the legs down, when he pulled forward and the trailer went onto the ramps for the 5th wheel it shot him out like a bloody champagne cork, he got the sack for that.
kevmorrow:
Hi Cliff
Do you remember me Kev Morrow?
It only seems last week since working at MAT, MIFT Trafford Park 1974-75. While I was there these are the drivers I remmember. Reg Jacklin, Jimmy Murray, Mick Lunny, Joe Winstanley, Chris Kennworthy (Woolyback), Tony Boylin. Yardman Gordon Nunn and traffic Manager Les Bickerdyke. Les Bickerdyke started at Humko on the weighbridge after his heart attack. Les was not the same bloke as we knew him at MAT. He changed for the better, telling jokes and seemed to have not a care in the world. Mind you it could have been his medication! He left through ill health. I was on the tankers at Humko. Cliff you will remember the driver that got injured on Westinghouse road, he had a limp. He started at High Row haulage Warrington, I cannot think of his name.
I certainly do mate, great times. We used to call Tony Boylin “bump-a-day”,he had more bloody accidents than anyone I know. He once had a crash and got out tying to convince the driver he was a German. He always carried his pass port in his shirt pocket but he had only been at sea on the "Boys Own " at Brid. Chris Kenworthy once let rip in his motor and followd through, he roped his underpants to he catwalk and drove home. Gordon Nunn is dead. Reg Jacklin was an absolute nightmare when he was reversing, he demolished more property than Fred Dibnah. I remember that old Atky, no power steering, you had to give it plenty in reverse or you could not steer the bloody thing. The limping guy was called Dave Lister, when we were on the pop in the Earl de Grey he used to go for a ■■■■■ when it was his round. I could talk all night about MAT but I might get boring. But can you remember Charlie Meehan? he once dropped a trailer in Hull yard and forgot to put the legs down, when he pulled forward and the trailer went onto the ramps for the 5th wheel it shot him out like a bloody champagne cork, he got the sack for that.
I somehow doubt that and if you do I will stick up for you.
More great stories from MAT will be welcome
carlc:
“certainly do mate, great times. We used to call Tony Boylin bump a day”
I moved to Kings Lynn 25 years ago. I worked for the MOD and was based at Raf Marham. A MAT driver came in the camp to off load. He was from the Wisbech. He said he worked out of Frank Perkins Peterborough. He was singing your praises but did not know many of the old drivers at MIFT. This was over 10 years ago at least; he was about 60 something and very smart. He mentioned a driver that worked out of MIFT and left to go to Safeway’s Warrington. He remembered (Glass back) Jimmy Murray. Do you remember a driver from MAT Felixstowe or Harwich? He was an American ex serviceman who was based at Raf Woodbridge Suffolk; I think his name was Chris! he married an English girl and settled down in Ipswich. He hit a low bridge with a 30’ container with the aluminium removable roof. He came into Ronnie Bowers portable Cafe at MIFT. He was telling us the story were he hit the low bridge and the removable roof peeled back. I was eating my breakfast and had just taken a slurp of tea; He said “it was a good job the roof was made out of aloooooooonium” in a Deep South American accent. I started choking with laughter.
My wife’s eldest nephew’s son was going out with a girl from Droylsden Manchester. He was talking to her Grandfather who he said was ancient 60! The Grandfather said he said was going to be a footballer and play for Manchester City! He damaged his angle. So he decided to be a Lorry driver! You guessed it Tony Boylin!
[album]1217[/album] 35 years and a few grey hairs later
[album]1215[/album]
carlc:
“certainly do mate, great times. We used to call Tony Boylin bump a day”
I moved to Kings Lynn 25 years ago. I worked for the MOD and was based at Raf Marham. A MAT driver came in the camp to off load. He was from the Wisbech. He said he worked out of Frank Perkins Peterborough. He was singing your praises but did not know many of the old drivers at MIFT. This was over 10 years ago at least; he was about 60 something and very smart. He mentioned a driver that worked out of MIFT and left to go to Safeway’s Warrington. He remembered (Glass back) Jimmy Murray. Do you remember a driver from MAT Felixstowe or Harwich? He was an American ex serviceman who was based at Raf Woodbridge Suffolk; I think his name was Chris! he married an English girl and settled down in Ipswich. He hit a low bridge with a 30’ container with the aluminium removable roof. He came into Ronnie Bowers portable Cafe at MIFT. He was telling us the story were he hit the low bridge and the removable roof peeled back. I was eating my breakfast and had just taken a slurp of tea; He said “it was a good job the roof was made out of aloooooooonium” in a Deep South American accent. I started choking with laughter.
My wife’s eldest nephew’s son was going out with a girl from Droylsden Manchester. He was talking to her Grandfather who he said was ancient 60! The Grandfather said he said was going to be a footballer and play for Manchester City! He damaged his angle. So he decided to be a Lorry driver! You guessed it Tony Boylin!
[album]1217[/album] 35 years and a few grey hairs later
[album]1215[/album]
Hullo,
I remember Chris the Yank on MAT, he was a very good friend of Johnie Overton’s. He came I belive from the New England Area of the USA. The last time I saw him I was spending the night at Johnie Overtons and the next morning we went visiting. His (chris’s) marriage was gone and he was living in two lorry backs in a sort of scrap yard place, but when the shutters were lifted both backs were all done out with good furniture, just like home. He was I remember doing Containers out of Harwich. But that was years ago, I have’nt heard from anybody for ages. Johnie Overton was doing regular Swiss work.
Cheers, Archie.
carlc:
“certainly do mate, great times. We used to call Tony Boylin bump a day”
I moved to Kings Lynn 25 years ago. I worked for the MOD and was based at Raf Marham. A MAT driver came in the camp to off load. He was from the Wisbech. He said he worked out of Frank Perkins Peterborough. He was singing your praises but did not know many of the old drivers at MIFT. This was over 10 years ago at least; he was about 60 something and very smart. He mentioned a driver that worked out of MIFT and left to go to Safeway’s Warrington. He remembered (Glass back) Jimmy Murray. Do you remember a driver from MAT Felixstowe or Harwich? He was an American ex serviceman who was based at Raf Woodbridge Suffolk; I think his name was Chris! he married an English girl and settled down in Ipswich. He hit a low bridge with a 30’ container with the aluminium removable roof. He came into Ronnie Bowers portable Cafe at MIFT. He was telling us the story were he hit the low bridge and the removable roof peeled back. I was eating my breakfast and had just taken a slurp of tea; He said “it was a good job the roof was made out of aloooooooonium” in a Deep South American accent. I started choking with laughter.
My wife’s eldest nephew’s son was going out with a girl from Droylsden Manchester. He was talking to her Grandfather who he said was ancient 60! The Grandfather said he said was going to be a footballer and play for Manchester City! He damaged his angle. So he decided to be a Lorry driver! You guessed it Tony Boylin!
[album]1217[/album] 35 years and a few grey hairs later
[album]1215[/album]
The guy who left to go to Safeways was George English, he started with MAT driving that Leyland Boxer with the test bed Perkins engine in it carting groupage out of Hausers on 5 shed. Then they sold it. We also had Scania with a Perkins V8 engine in it. It went like split ■■■■ but if you backed of the revs when taking a tight corner the steering pump dropped dead and you had to dip the clutch and rev the nuts off it to make it steer again. I do remeber Chris, great guy and so bloody laid back he was nearly asleep most of the time. There was also another guy called Chris who used to run out of Ripple road Barking but eventualy worked out of MAT Dover. If Tony told me it would get dark before midnight I would have trouble beliving him. Mr Boylin is one of lifes great story tellers. Can you also remeber a guy called Ted? he had done a bit of amature boxing and I think he was boody puddled. We had some Bedfords on hire from Salford van hire and he was picking a skelly up and missed the pin and put the trailer into the back of the cab.
cartran:
no, sorry, my dad did,nt have anything to do with bognor or electrolux. Who was the guy who ran mat in grays, i remember him as a driver, good bloke
Hullo “cartran”,
That was Chris Newman, sort of ginger hair ? A really nice chap, I knew him very well all those years ago, though more when he was driving than when he went into the office.
Cheers, Archie.,
cartran - sorry, wires crossed long time ago. I do remember your dad of course, the other Bob
was Bob Morris.
Archie, as usual is correct - Chris Newman was the guy at Grays, an absolute gentleman, our Chris.
I first knew Chrissie (as he was called) in 1972 when he was a driver at Barking. In 1974 Barking
was closed and Chris was taken on by the Muggleton Brothers driving a new Seddon painted in
MAT Livery (well, it was white, with MAT Transport in blue, HEV ■■?N) working for MAT London.
After the Muggletons packed up, and Chris was taken very ill, with heart trouble I think, he went in the office
at Grays.
The Muggletons were two old East Londoners who I remember very well, they were owner
drivers who had two Seddons in G.L. Baker colours but unsignwritten. Their names were Harry
and Charlie if I remember correctly. Both worked for MAT Barking at the time and as I recall
they didn’t like nights out!
Just a few pictues of some of the motors I drove for MAT out of Manchster MIFT. Great days, great people. I have loads of pictures from my MAT days.
My last motor with MAT ABW 11Y
Waiting for ferry to Larne
Mat 49 in MIFT
MAT 69 brand new in Buxton
The old wrecker MAT 1
MAT 69 JAT 579V in MIFT with new tri-axle
MAT 49
MY first Scania MAT 7
ME on left (with hair) on ferry out of Dover
carlc:
“Just a few pictues of some of the motors I drove for MAT out of Manchster MIFT. Great days, great people”
I remember we had to weigh off each time we loaded. Put the front axle on then the whole vehicle then the rear. Add the front and rear weights together, and deduct from the gross to find the drive axle weight! If wrong on the drive move the 5th wheel. Weigh off again and if the drive was still over weight, phone Boris (Les Bickerdyke) and he would get it picked up by a Volvo F86. I am sure the Scania’s were a ton heavier.
Do you remember a driver at MIFT Joe Collins; he was only there for about a couple of months. He was collecting copper coils from BICC Prescott with a Scammell Crusader with a 30foot container. The forklift driver told him to move over out of the way of traffic, so he did without closing the doors and somehow crushed the back corner of the tractor unit body. He loaded up and came back to MIFT yard. Before seeing Boris for his cards he asked me what he should do. I had a look and the metal of the cab was bulging in to the cab interior! I got a piece of 2” x 2” timber flat up against the bulge and got Joe to hit the wood with a dodgy lump hammer that was in Joes cab. Mick Lunny had lost a lump hammer he nicked from a camel herder in Iran, It was Micks hammer! It shot back to near normal. Joe never even bought me a cup of tea or, even thanks mate you saved my job.
Who was it used to run with the air filter taken out of his Scammel, it used to whistle like a kettle on the boil.
carlc:
“Just a few pictues of some of the motors I drove for MAT out of Manchster MIFT. Great days, great people”
I remember we had to weigh off each time we loaded. Put the front axle on then the whole vehicle then the rear. Add the front and rear weights together, and deduct from the gross to find the drive axle weight! If wrong on the drive move the 5th wheel. Weigh off again and if the drive was still over weight, phone Boris (Les Bickerdyke) and he would get it picked up by a Volvo F86. I am sure the Scania’s were a ton heavier.
Do you remember a driver at MIFT Joe Collins; he was only there for about a couple of months. He was collecting copper coils from BICC Prescott with a Scammell Crusader with a 30foot container. The forklift driver told him to move over out of the way of traffic, so he did without closing the doors and somehow crushed the back corner of the tractor unit body. He loaded up and came back to MIFT yard. Before seeing Boris for his cards he asked me what he should do. I had a look and the metal of the cab was bulging in to the cab interior! I got a piece of 2” x 2” timber flat up against the bulge and got Joe to hit the wood with a dodgy lump hammer that was in Joes cab. Mick Lunny had lost a lump hammer he nicked from a camel herder in Iran, It was Micks hammer! It shot back to near normal. Joe never even bought me a cup of tea or, even thanks mate you saved my job.
Who was it used to run with the air filter taken out of his Scammel, it used to whistle like a kettle on the boil.
It was Mick Seger with the air cleaner. I remember being in Hull one Friday night with Chris Kenworthy and my Motor was in Hull for MOT they gave me that old Atky SYL 212F. Chris had a cruisader and I set off before him and he passed me on the 62 but when I got to the top of windy hill I knocked the Atky out of gear and off we went down hill like a rocket I caught and passed Chris and the speedo passed the 60 mark and was flapping about above the MPH sign. I couldn’t stop and I couldn’t get it back in gear again so I had to wait till I started climbing again. When we got back to MIFT I was dead casual about it but I absolutly ■■■■ myself. Talk about showing off, I never did that again.
Hi archie
how could i have forgotten bob bennet with his perfectly formed beer belly lol!!.
Trevor tuckey started up on his own, last i saw of him, he was based round the rear of boal alluminium by the side of shepshed truckstop, think he nicked the contract from mat . He was a top bloke, i used to run with his son subbing on mat, silver scanias. Charlie was eddie creeds brother. Oh & bytheway Bob Bennet was last seen on BRS oxford (DHL) shunting Rover/Mini factory.
Carlc:
Just a few pictues of some of the motors I drove for MAT out of Manchster MIFT. Great days, great people. I have loads of pictures from my MAT days.
ME on left (with hair) on ferry out of Dover
Had taken the Unit home for the wife (Hazel) to clean the cab out!
Taken about 1976
My cab needed cleaning so I had taken the unit home for Hazel my wife to clean!
If you look at the passenger’s side we never had seats fitted, it was to leave room for the massive tool box. I had thought many times if we had rolled the wagon over the tool box would do you some serious damage as they were heavy.
I remember this day; I was picking Jimmy Murray (Glass back) up at Irlam ferry as he lived in Irlam & I lived in Flixton. He would walk over the lock gates. Boris (Les Bickerdyke) and Mick Lunny also lived in Irlam.
great photos carlc i knew some one would have some of the dafs volvos scanias. i started for mat in 1991 my frist truck was a daf 2800 great to see again.
fantastic photos kev, got any more of MAT, love to see them.
Hi cartran
I worked for Smiths of Eccles Urmston and Williames Transport Group Ireland since 1968 and prior to working at MATs I had taken loads of photos. I cannot find any of them except the 2 MAT photos. I have started looking through old negatives still no joy. I recon when we moved house they have gone adrift!
[album]1260[/album]
[album]1261[/album]
Just a Few more MAT motors and one very strange Leyland soft top. I met this French guy on KG dock in Hull, he was taking the unit to Paris for some show or other. If I find any more pics I will put them on.
Cliff Carl.
Carlc:
Just a Few more MAT motors and one very strange Leyland soft top. I met this French guy on KG dock in Hull, he was taking the unit to Paris for some show or other. If I find any more pics I will put them on.
Cliff Carl.
That was the Leyland T45 Cabriolet built by Tickford. a one off I believe.
