midgeteler:
altitude:
and what a great cafe Walters was.
Parking was a bit of a bâŚr though,
Yeah your right there, I was always lucky enough to find somewhere but sometimes had to walk a bit, but well worth the walk. 
Im going back a bit , yes BOOTYâS they ran car transporters as well out of morris motors.
Thankâs for that Toshboy, Iâm pleased that SOMEONE remembers them and I hadnât imagined it! Dad did go on transporterâs when his 7 ton BMC was either off the road or work was slack, but I never went with him on transporter jobs.
Pete.
davidcox:
Hi Big G-unit
Yes this looks like their Wotton yard, storage shed from around the 60s, but it obviously isnâ t because the caption states itâs Frome. The Wotton depot was of a very similar design
Other lines of transport they ran were;-
PREMIX ready mixed concrete.
A Plant hire section at Wotton (for whom I drove a low loader!) also had mobile cranes.
And the âStorage and distributionâ section. In the Oxford area they ran mainly small vans as in your photo and four or five small BMC/Leyland flat bed artics that were all rope and sheet and where at a tender age I learnt how to tie a âDOLLYâ knot.
They also owned COWLEY CONCRETE which was situated off the Radley road Abingdon. (I used to take pre-stressed beams from there) and is now Radley green housing estate.
They also owned CONBLOCK out at Stanton Harcourt.
Also AMEY ASHPHALT with tippers running hot ashphalt from Sutton Courtney.
David
:Hi Davidcox
Youâre obviously familiar with the pre Hanson Amey group, browsing through this thread reminded me of Cowley Concrete and beam carrying. would you have known Jim Collins? he was on that job a while around 57/58 to CHISWICK ,we were together on BRS OXFORD 51/54 .i was on the distribution vans at that time before being transferred to PREMIX where i stayed for 20 years until Hanson eventually got the better of me.
toshboy:
Im going back a bit , yes BOOTYâS they ran car transporters as well out of morris motors. CURTIS of Botley were very much into Pressed Steel bodies to the Midlands. AMEYS transport were another dominant carrier for Sandford paper mill and Bewoid, timber for Timbet â â â â â â â Boniface tannery Abingdon,Didcot canning factory,etc(i used to work for them before i went to BRS Scotts at Mayfield rd Oxford)prior to the move to long lane depot next HARDINGS . WERRELS were mainly at Osberton radiators (morris motors) MILEHAMS at Kidlington ,TUCKWELLS mostly cement out of Cherwell works .wish i had photos of that era.
Hi toshboy, Thanks for your very interesting post. I mentioned earlier of reading in a BRS. book that a Charles Scotts Transport was taken over by BRS along with J. Hardings. Is this the same company you mention and were they in the Mayfield road, off Banbury road. As I stated before I had never heard of them at all, so would be interested in any information you have of them. I covered the cement job on Tuckwells, I think it would have been 1960 and they were still running a lot of the bonneted Bedfords before the TKâs.
BigG-Unit:
toshboy:
Im going back a bit , yes BOOTYâS they ran car transporters as well out of morris motors. CURTIS of Botley were very much into Pressed Steel bodies to the Midlands. AMEYS transport were another dominant carrier for Sandford paper mill and Bewoid, timber for Timbet â â â â â â â Boniface tannery Abingdon,Didcot canning factory,etc(i used to work for them before i went to BRS Scotts at Mayfield rd Oxford)prior to the move to long lane depot next HARDINGS . WERRELS were mainly at Osberton radiators (morris motors) MILEHAMS at Kidlington ,TUCKWELLS mostly cement out of Cherwell works .wish i had photos of that era.Hi toshboy, Thanks for your very interesting post. I mentioned earlier of reading in a BRS. book that a Charles Scotts Transport was taken over by BRS along with J. Hardings. Is this the same company you mention and were they in the Mayfield road, off Banbury road. As I stated before I had never heard of them at all, so would be interested in any information you have of them. I covered the cement job on Tuckwells, I think it would have been 1960 and they were still running a lot of the bonneted Bedfords before the TKâs.
Hi BigG-Unit, yes the same ,as far as i know they were general haulage with a daily London service i dont know how many vehicles ,they had been nationalised a while before i joined, we used to park north oxford at the rear of univerity press with workshops and shipping at mayfield road, we moved to Littlemore after a while to Hardings but managed separate, we had a number of Morris Commercial units /carrimore with Antony tail lifts for Prescold freezer/fridge nationwide delivery, painted navy blue, similar unit / transporters for Morris Motors. i had a Seddon Mk5 artic/Carrimore 25 ft, Perkins P6 David Brown 5 speed with 2 speed axle on tramping;it was a busy place with cased car exports to every dock in the country ,being a tramper i was away most nights often over a week end,trampers had no control where you backloaded to that was the job --get on with it! i stuck it for a few years until a family came along and then switched to day shunting.more later toshboy
-BigG-Unit RE TUCKWELLS
Before your time? I remember Tuckwells way back,when i was a kid living in Kingston Bagpuize on the A420,a busy road even in those days.Tuckwell trucks ,lots of them daily going towards Swindon loaded ,flat beds with square tanks tied down and sheeted carrying cementâthe first bulkers?? some big job, probably an airfield ,returning with the empties rattling .you reminded me of this ,so i always knew tuckwells as cement carriers after that.,
Another story about them-----when i was on BRS I was loaded out of Timbet â â â â â â along with another from the Tommy Mileham depot from Kidlington.his truck was an old ex Tuckwell ERF 5 POT Gardner 6 wheel dd and to travel to Glasgow together (it must have been on "A"licence to have been taken over). it was winter time and a flue epidemic in Glasgow we were loaded coffin boards so there was some urgency !.we got to Kendal next day and Shap had been re-opened ,double drives had priority, but i took a chance with an artic, the ERF to give me a â â â â â â when needed .the old Tuckwell towed me up Shap no problem!.so Tuckwells to my rescue -always a soft spot for them
toshboy:
-BigG-Unit RE TUCKWELLSBefore your time? I remember Tuckwells way back,when i was a kid living in Kingston Bagpuize on the A420,a busy road even in those days.Tuckwell trucks ,lots of them daily going towards Swindon loaded ,flat beds with square tanks tied down and sheeted carrying cementâthe first bulkers?? some big job, probably an airfield ,returning with the empties rattling .you reminded me of this ,so i always knew tuckwells as cement carriers after that.,
Another story about them-----when i was on BRS I was loaded out of Timbet â â â â â â along with another from the Tommy Mileham depot from Kidlington.his truck was an old ex Tuckwell ERF 5 POT Gardner 6 wheel dd and to travel to Glasgow together (it must have been on "A"licence to have been taken over). it was winter time and a flue epidemic in Glasgow we were loaded coffin boards so there was some urgency !.we got to Kendal next day and Shap had been re-opened ,double drives had priority, but i took a chance with an artic, the ERF to give me a â â â â â â when needed .the old Tuckwell towed me up Shap no problem!.so Tuckwells to my rescue -always a soft spot for them
Theyâre only a shadow of what they used to be nowadays, Toshboy. One of their (now retired) drivers, Percy ?, told me they would also do cement out of Chinnor works.
Anybody remember Millers transport from Wantage? I didnât work for them ( they closed before I left school) but went to school with Teddie Millers grandson.I think they did a lot on the M4 construction-light blue TK tippers.
Chazzerâsent you a pmâdid you get it?
Muckaway:
toshboy:
-BigG-Unit RE TUCKWELLSBefore your time? I remember Tuckwells way back,when i was a kid living in Kingston Bagpuize on the A420,a busy road even in those days.Tuckwell trucks ,lots of them daily going towards Swindon loaded ,flat beds with square tanks tied down and sheeted carrying cementâthe first bulkers?? some big job, probably an airfield ,returning with the empties rattling .you reminded me of this ,so i always knew tuckwells as cement carriers after that.,
Another story about them-----when i was on BRS I was loaded out of Timbet â â â â â â along with another from the Tommy Mileham depot from Kidlington.his truck was an old ex Tuckwell ERF 5 POT Gardner 6 wheel dd and to travel to Glasgow together (it must have been on "A"licence to have been taken over). it was winter time and a flue epidemic in Glasgow we were loaded coffin boards so there was some urgency !.we got to Kendal next day and Shap had been re-opened ,double drives had priority, but i took a chance with an artic, the ERF to give me a â â â â â â when needed .the old Tuckwell towed me up Shap no problem!.so Tuckwells to my rescue -always a soft spot for themTheyâre only a shadow of what they used to be nowadays, Toshboy. One of their (now retired) drivers, Percy ?, told me they would also do cement out of Chinnor works.
Always sad to here, but not uncommon as time marches on!.. I think I have said on here before, from what I can remember they only had a couple on the cement out of Shipton when I was there. Flats, with steel bins on , just like you said. We used to run to Bradleyâs at South Cerney, but down through Bladon/Long Hanborough, skirt round Witney, sort of Hailey side, then turn right at the island and up a steep hill. From then on it was all across country and we came out on the 419 right by South Cerney. I loved it for the short time I was on it, as I was only covering for drivers that were off. Most of Tuckwells fleet at that time were tippers though, with only a handful of flats. Another job I did on one of their flat motors was on timber for Johnsons down the Botley road, but that wasnât so good! a lot of hanging about. 
M G b:
Muckaway:
More firms have sprung to mind, God knows how I remember these, I was only born September '79 (makes me a V-reg!)
Hebborns Skips (Think they had the scrapyard on the site of Becket Street sidings,Oxford)-possibly related to the fairground people?
J.C Waste of Abingdon (were owned by J Curtis, had yellow dustcarts?) Curtis sold JCW and Oday Hill Landfill to Hales Waste now Biffa. Oday Tip now full, though McKenna recently put the muck capping on it once it was clay-sealed.
James Marriott (Coal merchants of Witney, ran Bedford Tks and TLs as I remember)
PJ Meagher Plant Hire (Ran MANs and Mercedes-possibly a Maggie Deutz?)
Trux (Mercedes 8 Wheel tippers and Low loaders)
Charlie Buckingham of Carterton-(Had an orange Dodge 4 wheel tipper)Remember Charlie Buck as well nice bloke.
Muckaway,Is Buckingham Transport still about ? As they are owned by David one of Charlies sons. Pete another of Charlies sons is a great bloke, last I heard he worked for W R Cross on a Hanson 8 wheeler.
Pete Buckinghamsâ lorry;
toshboy:
davidcox:
Hi Big G-unit
Yes this looks like their Wotton yard, storage shed from around the 60s, but it obviously isnâ t because the caption states itâs Frome. The Wotton depot was of a very similar design
Other lines of transport they ran were;-
PREMIX ready mixed concrete.
A Plant hire section at Wotton (for whom I drove a low loader!) also had mobile cranes.
And the âStorage and distributionâ section. In the Oxford area they ran mainly small vans as in your photo and four or five small BMC/Leyland flat bed artics that were all rope and sheet and where at a tender age I learnt how to tie a âDOLLYâ knot.
They also owned COWLEY CONCRETE which was situated off the Radley road Abingdon. (I used to take pre-stressed beams from there) and is now Radley green housing estate.
They also owned CONBLOCK out at Stanton Harcourt.
Also AMEY ASHPHALT with tippers running hot ashphalt from Sutton Courtney.
David:Hi Davidcox
Youâre obviously familiar with the pre Hanson Amey group, browsing through this thread reminded me of Cowley Concrete and beam carrying. would you have known Jim Collins? he was on that job a while around 57/58 to CHISWICK ,we were together on BRS OXFORD 51/54 .i was on the distribution vans at that time before being transferred to PREMIX where i stayed for 20 years until Hanson eventually got the better of me.
Yes, I sort of knew Jim, he left just after I joined. He transported Concrete beams on a Foden S20 6 wheel artic and steering dolly of weights up to 65 tons. One of his jobs was beams from âCowley concreteâ, Radley road, Abingdon to build the Chiswick fly-over. I later drove the sister wagon with a low loader trailer.
Heard the sad news yesterday that Eddie Harrison (ex Priors/AW Cleaver and Smiths Bletchington) passed away suddenly on Wednesday evening
EDDIE HARRISON R.I.P
Double Post
Thatâs bad news RIP Eddie, any idea how old he was Nathan ? he must have been pushing on a bit, it was years ago that I first got to know him, a good old boy one of the best.
That is sad news Nathan. Good fella was Eddie. RIP Eddie !
He mustâve been around 70 as he left Cleaversâ with only about a year to go (wanted something a bit easier to take him to retirement) and after a few months had my old S reg when I had the Alpha new in January 2005. Apparently, heâd been taken ill after coming home from pub (heâdâve been happy not to have missed his 2 pints ), and died at the hospital. Smiths laid him off about 6 weeks ago when work went slack as he was taken back as relief driver, and Iâve been told they were going to ask him to come back for 2 weeks end of January
Eddiesâ funeralâs tomorrow (Middle Barton church Iâve been told). Apparently, he didnât want flowers but donations to RSPCA and a Donkey Sanctuary. Anyone who knows Smiths will know of the Donkey News Donkey points system. You hit something, you were given points for it by âthe Editorâ eg knocking over a wall =50000 pts. Every year, a spoof award would be given to the biggest donkey. It was all done in good humour, however itâs been stopped now as a few people in authority didnât find it funny when they earned donkey points. In effect, Eddieâs still having a laugh at our expense! 
BigG-Unit:
Seeing the picture of the Smith & Sons of Bletchington Foden on Bubblemanâs thread reminded me of when I used to run up and down the old Banbury road in the 60âs. In the evenings there was always one of their motors parked on the side of the road, overnight, outside a cottage. I must have passed it for well over twenty years so obviously a long time servant of the company. Anyone remember it or know of the driver?
MYSTERY SOLVED
The driver you are referring to was Derek Blackwell! He lived/lives in North Aston (Banbury Road) in the cottage that backs onto the layby that the local â â â â â â got blocked up with tarmac planings (near the speed camera, opposite side of the road). According to Pete James, Derek had a Foden 8 wheeler when Pete was on there originally in the '70s and he reckons it was âa square cabbed one and a one-offâ (One off for Smiths I presume). He used to do Banbury Premix running out of Ryton on Dunsmore gravel pit before Smiths Concrete opened Bubbenhall Pit. Not sure who owned Ryton, (Iâm thinking Mr Bartlett might know) but Pete said they ran orange lorries so Iâm guessing Hoveringham or Hall and Co?
Hi Mucka, managed to get on here just in time it would seem, been a bit busy of late. Sounds like you could be right and as you say another mystery solved. Hope you havenât been badgering Smithâs employees too much on my account! I can see them all running for cover every time you turn into the yard. Wouldnât it be wonderful if a photo turned up as well! Ah, too much to ask I suppose, but thanks for all your effort and a tidy result. Cheers mate.
HI LADS I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO REMEMBER DERICK SECOND NAME I REMEMBER THE LORRY IT D REG ITHINK HE HAD THE A REG BEFORE IHAVE ACOUPLE OF PHOTOS OF THE A REG AFTER D REG HE HAD AJ REG HAVE A PHOTO OF DERECK STANDING BE SIDE THE J REG MUST FIND IT AND PUT IT ON TO ANSWER YOUR OTHER QUESTION RYTON PIT WAS RAN BY BLUE CIRCLE UNDER THE NAME MIDLAND GRAVEL THEN TOOK OVER BY ARC SMITHS ALSO COLLECTED SAND OUT WALTON GOODY AT BARFORD IN 1971 THEY PUT A CONCRETE PLANT IN AND QUARRY CLOSED 1976 WE DELEVERD SASAND &GRAVEL TO BARFORD UNTIL THEY MOVED TO S O A