Brilliant Will, cheers! I was doing Maroc when that pic was taken and I remember you going down with the other wagon in those days. Remember me to your uncle! Robert 
The Godfather of my father, Theum Fransen, worked more than 40 years for Stoof which became Breda Transport. He lived also on the Breda site untill his last day about 4 years ago (actually on three sites of them in/near Breda). I still have fond memories of visiting "ome Theum"and hanging around al those trucks and being allowed to have a short drive on the premises as 12 year old (being a country boy driving a tractor started when I was 10 or so). Also his stories about his trips and of the other drivers where fantastic.
Thom Fransen
ps: a good friend of mine worked a few years at the Breda planning (not Marrocco as far as I know) Coen Hedrikx (a chubby blond guy always drinking cola).
thomfr:
The Godfather of my father, Theum Fransen, worked more than 40 years for Stoof which became Breda Transport. He lived also on the Breda site untill his last day about 4 years ago (actually on three sites of them in/near Breda). I still have fond memories of visiting "ome Theum"and hanging around al those trucks and being allowed to have a short drive on the premises as 12 year old (being a country boy driving a tractor started when I was 10 or so). Also his stories about his trips and of the other drivers where fantastic.Thom Fransen
ps: a good friend of mine worked a few years at the Breda planning (not Marrocco as far as I know) Coen Hedrikx (a chubby blond guy always drinking cola).
Your first post on the forum [hello and wellcome] 
Hello and welcome Thomfr.
Jeff…
thomfr:
The Godfather of my father, Theum Fransen, worked more than 40 years for Stoof which became Breda Transport. He lived also on the Breda site untill his last day about 4 years ago (actually on three sites of them in/near Breda). I still have fond memories of visiting "ome Theum"and hanging around al those trucks and being allowed to have a short drive on the premises as 12 year old (being a country boy driving a tractor started when I was 10 or so). Also his stories about his trips and of the other drivers where fantastic.Thom Fransen
ps: a good friend of mine worked a few years at the Breda planning (not Marrocco as far as I know) Coen Hedrikx (a chubby blond guy always drinking cola).
I knew Theum,he helped me out many times in the yard. Sad to hear he’s passed away.
Harry, the picture on page 7 of “Mr Jed”, do you have more on him? I was an apprentice at a company in 81and he looks like one of the drivers that done North Africa. Jed G is the guy I know and Beaver was the company.
murphy01:
Harry, the picture on page 7 of “Mr Jed”, do you have more on him? I was an apprentice at a company in 81and he looks like one of the drivers that done North Africa. Jed G is the guy I know and Beaver was the company.
Sorry mate,its Ged Shaw an O/D from Liverpool who had a F12 Globby,subbing for DTS.
That’s is him, I was thinking of someone else, great guy, worked on his first motor as an O/D a W reg F7,
He was a great guy, bumped into him when he upgraded to a new FH around 94-95,
Thanks
Jedd from Liverpool was one of the wittiest drivers I think I’ve ever met. He could pull devastating comments out of thin air at a micro-second’s notice. I remember sitting in his cab having a beer with him while we were waiting to ship out of Tangiers one hot evening. Below us was a seething mass of humanity: drivers, agents, runners, dockers, stow-aways, customs officers etc. Jedd took a sip of beer and said, ‘It’s like watching Wild Life on One, isn’t it?’ Dead pan - typical Jedd.
Here is a Maes pic I found elsewhere in cyberspace. Robert 
I’ve been sorting through some old stuff in UK and came across this spoof examination paper that I devised when I was driving on the North Africa run.
We used to head south across Spain to get the Morocco ferry and the journey across the mountains could be very pleasant in summer. The first time I crossed the Pyrenees, I was driving a car back in September 1972. The roads were still pretty rough then and I distinctly remember cresting a high pass and in the powder-white heat of midday seeing horse-drawn caravans silhouetted against the sky ahead. As I overtook them, I could see barefooted gypsy children walking beside the wagons, perhaps in search of work in the olive groves - who knows. Robert
Not a driver but felt compelled to sign up and post in this thread after seeing the John Mann pics!
I’ve always had a thing for trucks ever since my dad used to drive for London Carriers out of Heywood for years and pick me up in the school holidays in his Seddon Atkinson (hence why I have a nosey on Trucknet now and then)
Anyway - I lived and worked in Morocco from the mid ish 90’s to early 2000’s with another bloke - ‘Nobby’ Mason. We were working on a big UN funded engineering job with all the big polyurethane foam producers of Maroc (Dolidol, Richbond etc).
We both had newly married wives/young families at home and we both wanted to get our heads down get the 6 month job done and get home again…however as with most things in Morocco it didnt go to plan and we ended up stuck there for years slowly going insane dealing with the factories, local government and the general chaos&hassle!
Our factories were often near to the garment factories so we’d see John Manns especially parked up in the middle of nowhere, they seemed to venture further off the beaten track than Davis Turners that we’d also see knocking about and who delivered our spares/machine parts.
The one thing that kept us a little bit sane was spotting English trucks as we spent a lot of time driving to Casa/Fez/Meknes/Rabat/Sale and all the back streets and roads inbetween. They were our little mobile connection to the UK and life back home when you were living and surround by Morocco 24/7. Just seeing a GB sticker and English number plate really lifted our day! We became an unofficial John Mann spotters club!
As a result I’d always be hanging out of our knackered old Clio waving at John Manns in the middle of nowhere and giving them the thumbs up!
We used to bump into and occasionally have a natter with Brit drivers in the Seamans centre when we were in Casa which used to be our watering hole after work and on the way back to our digs.
So thank you guys for unknowingly keeping two bored English guys happy and it was good seeing the pictures of familiar places and trucks but for different reasons to you drivers!
4133kyle:
Not a driver but felt compelled to sign up and post in this thread after seeing the John Mann pics!I’ve always had a thing for trucks ever since my dad used to drive for London Carriers out of Heywood for years and pick me up in the school holidays in his Seddon Atkinson (hence why I have a nosey on Trucknet now and then)
Anyway - I lived and worked in Morocco from the mid ish 90’s to early 2000’s with another bloke - ‘Nobby’ Mason. We were working on a big UN funded engineering job with all the big polyurethane foam producers of Maroc (Dolidol, Richbond etc).
We both had newly married wives/young families at home and we both wanted to get our heads down get the 6 month job done and get home again…however as with most things in Morocco it didnt go to plan and we ended up stuck there for years slowly going insane dealing with the factories, local government and the general chaos&hassle!
Our factories were often near to the garment factories so we’d see John Manns especially parked up in the middle of nowhere, they seemed to venture further off the beaten track than Davis Turners that we’d also see knocking about and who delivered our spares/machine parts.
The one thing that kept us a little bit sane was spotting English trucks as we spent a lot of time driving to Casa/Fez/Meknes/Rabat/Sale and all the back streets and roads inbetween. They were our little mobile connection to the UK and life back home when you were living and surround by Morocco 24/7. Just seeing a GB sticker and English number plate really lifted our day! We became an unofficial John Mann spotters club!
As a result I’d always be hanging out of our knackered old Clio waving at John Manns in the middle of nowhere and giving them the thumbs up!We used to bump into and occasionally have a natter with Brit drivers in the Seamans centre when we were in Casa which used to be our watering hole after work and on the way back to our digs.
So thank you guys for unknowingly keeping two bored English guys happy and it was good seeing the pictures of familiar places and trucks but for different reasons to you drivers!
Welcome to the thread - I’m glad we brought some joy to someone in Morocco while we were toiling in the heat! Maybe I met you in the Seaman’s in Casa at some time: I went there often enough! I was chatting to a merchant seaman at the bar one afternoon and he asked me what ship I was on. When I told him I’d come by lorry he didn’t believe me, so I had to take him to the door to survey all the British-registered lorries littering the side-streets - he was amazed.
By the way, I pulled trailers for both John Mann and Davies Turner and I think they covered more or less the same kind of territory. Here’s a picture to remind you… Robert
robert1952:
0
Dashboards motor?
harry:
robert1952:
0Dashboards motor?
No mate, it was Roger Guild’s. I believe you’re right in remembering Dashboard Dave as having a John Mann Magnum, but when I came on the scene Dashboard was piloting an Actros for Breda Transport. Robert
You mean Roger Rabbit?
When I was there Roger got fired from Manno’s and started with Breda. Now you tell me that he swapped jobs with Dashboard ? Those companies were all in their deathroes anyway… I could see it coming from Breda mile off and got out.