BigG-Unit:
I can see them all running for cover every time you turn into the yard
It’s a surprise for me to go in there George! Had a tyre changed last week, I think that was the first time this year I’d called in Had Pete James sat with me today (he went to Eddies funeral on Friday) and during conversation asked whether I remembered the days when drivers could take lorries home and I thought of you… Apparently Derek Blackwell left Smiths when the parking at home was stopped and he went to drive for Alcan at Banbury…
Neil B:
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
Mick “Clippy” Sergeant was batcher there in it’s later days before moving to Cassington when John Balls got took off the job and put on the mixers. Mick retired December 8th 2010. My uncle used to do Barford plant occasionally and like you said, they closed it and relocated to Atherstone trading estate. The plant at Stratford was made mainly of what was left of the old Ardley plant that closed pretty much after RAF Upper Heyford closed and all Cherwell work was done by Blackthorn (Bicester)
Smiths “inherited” Pioneers old Warwick plant when Hanson took over Pioneer, along with the now closed Brackley Plant. As far as I know, Ralph Adams hauls material to Warwick from Bubbenhall Pit but I stand to be corrected by Neil…
Got this newspaper cutting from butlerboy, of a different era. I wonder how many happy trips these lads had out and about with not much of “what might happen” according to H&S, actually happening. (From Oxford Mail, but don’t know who author is.)
MR MUCKAWAY , Whats happened to buckingham ,■■? hes a rare one , I have seen him park in some rare places and take a break
Also wash your truck please …
JAKEY:
MR MUCKAWAY , Whats happened to buckingham ,■■? hes a rare one , I have seen him park in some rare places and take a break
Also wash your truck please …
Buckingham Transports’ dead, long live DB Plant! My truck’s in the workshop at the moment; I’m on a museum piece today and tomorrow, and it’s great fun!
I’m worried I’ve got a stalker now (if big titted then not so worried) give me a clue who this is?
JAKEY:
MR MUCKAWAY , Whats happened to buckingham ,■■? hes a rare one , I have seen him park in some rare places and take a break
Also wash your truck please …
He was parked in Redbridge Park and Ride slip road the other day with his head out the window.
JAKEY:
MR MUCKAWAY , Whats happened to buckingham ,■■? hes a rare one , I have seen him park in some rare places and take a break
Also wash your truck please …
He was parked in Redbridge Park and Ride slip road the other day with his head out the window.
That’s a change; It’s normally the sliproad into Thornhill Park and Ride; he makes me laugh, he don’t give a
Muckaway:
I think if I’d been driving, I’dve kept the windows wound up; the writing says some scouts had been suffering from TB!
Ah, not sure if that bit is right Nathan as I seem to remember as a boy the TB hospital (think it was called the Ousler, not sure of spelling though) being on the Abingdon road, near the weirs, close to where the ring road is now. I can remember always running past there in fear of something catching us! Just a bit after that photo was taken I used to do voluntary work at the Wingfield with the Red Cross boys and they were mostly long term Orthopedic patients. There were french window type panels all along the front of the building and in summer we would open them up and push the beds out on to the patio/slabbed area, so I guess the sun was deemed beneficial.
hey muckaway , , bucky is shot to bits , i like looking at the nice legs in the cars but at times his head is right out side the cab window and he parks on double yellows at lunchtime etc . . you dont know me buddy .
Muckaway:
I think if I’d been driving, I’dve kept the windows wound up; the writing says some scouts had been suffering from TB!
Ah, not sure if that bit is right Nathan as I seem to remember as a boy the TB hospital (think it was called the Ousler, not sure of spelling though) being on the Abingdon road, near the weirs, close to where the ring road is now. I can remember always running past there in fear of something catching us! Just a bit after that photo was taken I used to do voluntary work at the Wingfield with the Red Cross boys and they were mostly long term Orthopedic patients. There were french window type panels all along the front of the building and in summer we would open them up and push the beds out on to the patio/slabbed area, so I guess the sun was deemed beneficial.
Hi BigG-Unit
The hospital at the end of the Abingdon Rd., opposite Redbridge was originally called Cold Arbour Hospital and was for infectious diseases, it later became (mid 50s)) a rehabilitation centre ( people recovering from serious accidents etc.) and was renamed Rivermead Hospital. The Osler was off Osler Road, Headington and was for people with TB, it closed as a hospital when the John Radcliffe (JR1) was being built, the buildings were turned over to admin offices. After leaving lorries I had contracts to work for the Oxford Area Health Board which took me into those buildings.
oiltreader.
ps apologies for straying from lorries, but hopefully of interest to some.
Muckaway:
I think if I’d been driving, I’dve kept the windows wound up; the writing says some scouts had been suffering from TB!
Ah, not sure if that bit is right Nathan as I seem to remember as a boy the TB hospital (think it was called the Ousler, not sure of spelling though) being on the Abingdon road, near the weirs, close to where the ring road is now. I can remember always running past there in fear of something catching us! Just a bit after that photo was taken I used to do voluntary work at the Wingfield with the Red Cross boys and they were mostly long term Orthopedic patients. There were french window type panels all along the front of the building and in summer we would open them up and push the beds out on to the patio/slabbed area, so I guess the sun was deemed beneficial.
Hi BigG-Unit
The hospital at the end of the Abingdon Rd., opposite Redbridge was originally called Cold Arbour Hospital and was for infectious diseases, it later became (mid 50s)) a rehabilitation centre ( people recovering from serious accidents etc.) and was renamed Rivermead Hospital. The Osler was off Osler Road, Headington and was for people with TB, it closed as a hospital when the John Radcliffe (JR1) was being built, the buildings were turned over to admin offices. After leaving lorries I had contracts to work for the Oxford Area Health Board which took me into those buildings.
I delivered to the housing development that was built on the Rivermead site about 8 or 9 years ago; I think what they did moved to either the Nuffield or the JR…
Hi oiltreader, Once again your crisp and clear memory shines through. I wasn’t too far out and remember the name Cold Arbour now.I think that area was known as that as well wasn’t it? My childhood memories sometimes get a bit fudged but it was about sixty years ago! That’s my excuse anyway and I’m sticking to it! Looking at the Google map, am I right in thinking The Wingfield used to be where the Nuffield Hospital is now?
Muckaway: how did you get your post in there? !!
oiltreader:
Another wee bit of history and the origin of J Harding Haulage.
oiltreader
Just realised where I’ve heard the name J Harding; Harding had premises at Wharf Road Eynsham (now Siemens/Oxford magnets) which were originally the short-lived Sugar Beet & Crop Driers works from 1928-1931. During the war they were used as an ordnance and Naafi rail-served store until the early 50s. I think Big G might remeber the site from his time on the railway, although the sidings were probably taken out by then. My inlaws live in Eynsham and they remember Morris cars being stored there.
oiltreader:
Another wee bit of history and the origin of J Harding Haulage.
oiltreader
Just realised where I’ve heard the name J Harding; Harding had premises at Wharf Road Eynsham (now Siemens/Oxford magnets) which were originally the short-lived Sugar Beet & Crop Driers works from 1928-1931. During the war they were used as an ordnance and Naafi rail-served store until the early 50s. I think Big G might remeber the site from his time on the railway, although the sidings were probably taken out by then. My inlaws live in Eynsham and they remember Morris cars being stored there.
I have been churning through the grey matter and it is now coming back to me that BMC had a Stores Depot at the back of The Talbot, most likely Wharf Rd area, this was in the 50s,60s and the forerunner of Unipart at Cowley.
I used to get treatment from a Mr Taylor, Osteopath, who lived in a nice cottage, next door to Water Extraction Plant( I think that is what it was) at Swinford Toll. An hour of Mr Taylor’s time was often a history lesson of the surrounding area.
oiltreader
oiltreader:
I have been churning through the grey matter and it is now coming back to me that BMC had a Stores Depot at the back of The Talbot, most likely Wharf Rd area, this was in the 50s,60s and the forerunner of Unipart at Cowley.
I used to get treatment from a Mr Taylor, Osteopath, who lived in a nice cottage, next door to Water Extraction Plant( I think that is what it was) at Swinford Toll. An hour of Mr Taylor’s time was often a history lesson of the surrounding area.
oiltreader
That’s it Oiltreader, the Talbot was the boatmans’ pub in the days before the railway came. Just upstream from the Toll Bridge is where the River Evenlode meets the Thames and it’s also (I believe) the worlds’ shortest canal-the Cassington Canal; It only runs from the Thames to Wharf Farm, Cassington Road Eynsham. Apparently paid for by a Duke of Marlborough, he died and the son showed no more interest in having the Evenlode navigated as the railway had arrived and he was more interested in getting a railway to Woodstock (which it did in 1894) but this was never very profitable and shut totally in 1954.
The waterworks housing you’ve mentioned; I saw one for sale a while back;I think guide price was in region of £400,000!
On the subject of houses, Big G might be interested to know that the old Stationmasters’ house in Witney was sold last year for about the same price!
It’s all very interesting, and when you think at the start of the '60s I bought a caravan on Franklin’s farm just at the foot of Swinford toll bridge. There was only three on there and I paid 7/6d (37.5p) a week ground rent. Then the council brought in new rules and regs. with minimum requirements, concrete standing, flush toilets etc. and the farmer said it wasn’t worth him bothering and they closed him down. When I was there in the winter I took a job across the road at the water works with a firm contracted to put a treatment plant in. We dug out 4 or 6 (can’t remember!) cone shaped pits, about 20/30ft deep. When the steel was in place I remember we made hundreds of tiny concrete squares with wire sticking out and tied them to the steel to keep the shuttering at the right spacing. then we shuttered them and then poured concrete. We batched the concrete on site and on pouring days I would operate a scoop on an electric pully thing which put the sand and gravel into the hopper on the mixer. It was sort of like a wheelbarrow but with no wheel and you knew you 'd done a days graft by 5 o’clock! Never saw the finished job though as we got laid off in bad weather and I moved on. House prices were always fairly high in the area though, and it was a struggle to get a foot on the property ladder even then.
That’s all business units there now George; most taken up by a swimming pool company. Driving near there yesterday, I saw that Werrells’ have bought a Daf XF; I should think their Olympics must be on borrowed time…
Had Pete James sat with me today (he went to Eddies funeral on Friday) and during conversation asked whether I remembered the days when drivers could take lorries home and I thought of you… 
Apparently Derek Blackwell left Smiths when the parking at home was stopped and he went to drive for Alcan at Banbury…
(From Oxford Mail, but don’t know who author is.)
