Yes I remember Danny 
, a quiet lad and always had time for a chinwag, he was on permanent Nights, but I was on days, I think he went to work for Culina at MK when the depot closed, perhaps I ought to start a new thread on Wincanton cos theâre not really a London firm 
and Marky, yes youâre right the Scammell I was thinking about IS in one of Peter Daviesâs books, Either British Lorries at work in the 60âs or lorries of the 60âs.
Wincanton are not a London firm. They are a Wincanton firm.
Letâs try and add some if I can, when I left the merchant I joined Ralph Hiltons, HTS and they where in Hope and Anchor lane Greenwich, I got my Class 1 with them, and as teabags had just been invented, they had the contract from Lyonâs , so they opened a warehouse in Charlton, something hill, on a ford box van, I used to do about 40 drops in the Southend area, what an earner that was, after that it was Cabmont, but they were called Cables & Montague Ltd and were in Horn Lane Greenwich, they had Scammells, ERFâs, and a six legger Ford, with a Perkins engine in it, the job was either rolls of print, from Convoyâs wharf, or bags of chemicals from somwhere near Gravesend, that went to Crossfields in Warrington, or lead bars out of a smelter in Dartford, that was one of the most back breaking jobs I ever had, having to hand ball on 20 ton of bags, no pallets in those days, rope and sheet it, and then drive up to Warrington and tip it, all in those dogs of motors, no wonder I had arms like popeyeâs, at least we got night out money, but we slept in the cab, or in this old shed up there, that had a stove in it.
I was the Shop Steward with Cables, and they won the contract with ACT lines containers, they then bought a load of Scania 80âs, and we all got new uniforms, I wasnât a Militant, just wanted basic needs, like a toilet in the yard would have been nice, so when they got this deal, the had to put one in, Victory!!
I remember Bob well he was my age, he was a complete idiot, Knobhead, he had a BMW 2002, and I always remember the reg, ROB 858 and then the car model on the back 2002,
as that was there phone number so it looked like that ROB 858 2002 on the back.
He went on to be a multi Millionaire, owning the Global Tiphook Trailer Rental,
hereâs what he is doing now.
Robert J Montague CBE
Aged 58, Executive Chairman
Robert joined the board in December 2003 when the Group was formed. He is responsible for the overall management, strategic direction, and growth of the group. Robert has over 30 years experience in the transport industry. After spending 5 years with Esso, he joined his familyâs transportation business, and seeing the growth opportunities in containerisation and logistics, left in 1978 to set up Tiphook plc. In September 1995 Robert established Axis to take advantage of the growing market for swapbodies as an alternative to road transport in central Europe and has overseen Axisâ growth to date.
Doesnât mention the bit about how Tiphook went bust.
Cabmont moved the operation to the Europa trading estate in Erith, not sure of ther status today.
My next outfit was night trunk for Bowkers, they had a yard in Jamica road bermondsey, I used to changeover in Corley Services on the M6, they had a driver that was called Maurice I beleive, and he was ancient, I think he was well into his 70âs and he couldnât get up into the cab, he sort of had to put his knee up first and then pull himself in, I followed him once, and it was like he was drunk, all over the road, anybody on Bowkers remember him? another hard job, as it wasnât just a straight changeover, I had to tip it out on the way home in Sainsburyâs at Buntingford. and I had a 1968 G reg Atki, with a 150 Gardner in it, what I wanted to say is we shared the yard with Chas Armstrong, and they had Brown 4 wheeled Rigids, AECâs not sure whic model. and they always had an immaculate fleet.
Other London firms, I had dealings with where mainly base around the Tooley Street, area, Black Diamond Cheese, and Anchor Butter at Butlers wharf, and Green TMâs I think it was Galloways, J.B Preistley, and of course George Francis, and later Hilldyke, I also worked for Renwicks, in Greenwhich, as you say a lot of Northern firms with London Depots. let me think some more.
Goodnight and Happy New Year.
Little Al.
Spardo:
mrken:
dormers was taken over by brains when it was just c e brain before they used brain haulage name in 1969 and it was ran as ce dormers as was dales transport tankards and george battern fand ceb transportThanks for that, but what became of the British Oxygen connection? Mal, who left this site a couple of years ago to start his own, says he remembers Reg. Coopers yard in Wednesbury as a depot for BO and I seem to remember G.L. Bakerâs lorries appearing in Transhield livery. Are we talking about the same Dormers?
dormers wasnât just one company, he had a building firm as well as the transport, as a for instance, the truck i drove on there had Jelks removals on the licence but we never did a removal, it was bought for the âaâ licence, when charlie dormer died the whole thing was sold off in lots, so brain may well have had some of it, once again for the A brief, his house at snaresbrook was sold, so i am informed, to a singer who was popular at the time, a well known skiffle singer, i phoned round a couple of people i know who worked for him, one in particular âbaccy billâ was a right little mine of info. the bo/g l baker tie up, when i worked for baker in stratford fruit mkt (ronnie muggleton was the manager,anyone remember him, he left bakers and started his own company, i think with brother billie) all the trucks in that depot were g l baker, transhield, which belonged to bo were based at faversham and at the time it was three companies, now its just one, i don`t know what became of the baker family, living off the interest i expect.
Anyone remember Myers, Blackwall Tunnell area, Freightline based in
the Royal Docks, Expo Freight out of Loughton ?
Paul5464:
Anyone remember Myers, Blackwall Tunnell area, Freightline based in
the Royal Docks, Expo Freight out of Loughton ?
b j myers. long gone.
expofreight aka ray phillips, still about as far as i know, if i`m wrong someone will let me know. freightline, was they a bristol based firm?
Paul5464:
Anyone remember Myers, Blackwall Tunnell area, Freightline based in
the Royal Docks, Expo Freight out of Loughton ?
Worked for Ray Philips,(Expo Freight)from '80 till '83.
I canât say Iâve seen any of their motors about for years.
I stand to be corrected.
was that about same time as jed clampitt was on there?
Little Al:
My next outfit was night trunk for Bowkers, they had a yard in Jamica road bermondsey, I used to changeover in Corley Services on the M6, they had a driver that was called Maurice I beleive, and he was ancient, I think he was well into his 70âs and he couldnât get up into the cab, he sort of had to put his knee up first and then pull himself in, I followed him once, and it was like he was drunk, all over the road, anybody on Bowkers remember him? another hard job, as it wasnât just a straight changeover, I had to tip it out on the way home in Sainsburyâs at Buntingford. and I had a 1968 G reg Atki, with a 150 Gardner in it, what I wanted to say is we shared the yard with Chas Armstrong, and they had Brown 4 wheeled Rigids, AECâs not sure whic model. and they always had an immaculate fleet.
The Bowker reference will (no doubt) soon be clarified by another member on here who worked there for a lot of years - 240 Gardner.
Chas Armstrong ran a fleet of Leylands - Comets, Super Comets and latterly Lynxes. Iâm looking at a feature article in an old copy of the Headlight which has a picture of them as I type this.
SUPERCUBE:
was that about same time as jed clampitt was on there?
Donât recall the name.Only few names I do recall were:Gordon McMillan,(Jimbo)Jim Coton,Alan Shaw,Chris (Hooperman) Hooper,Alan Jones.
I can picture a lot of faces but I canât put names to them.
Little Al:
My next outfit was night trunk for Bowkers, they had a yard in Jamica road bermondsey, I used to changeover in Corley Services on the M6, they had a driver that was called Maurice I beleive, and he was ancient, I think he was well into his 70âs and he couldnât get up into the cab, he sort of had to put his knee up first and then pull himself in, I followed him once, and it was like he was drunk, all over the road, anybody on Bowkers remember him? another hard job, as it wasnât just a straight changeover, I had to tip it out on the way home in Sainsburyâs at Buntingford. and I had a 1968 G reg Atki, with a 150 Gardner in itLittle Al.
Yes, Maurice was a well-known character at Bowkerâs, although he had finally finished befored I started in Blackburn in 1982. If you were working at Old Jamaica Road, youâd have come across another Bowker character: John Hemelryk? He had the well-known E-reg Mk.1 Atki with the 180 Gardner. The G reg Atki you had must have been number 44?
Hi 240 Gardner
I dont recall John, as I was on nights, it was a lonely job and and I didnât get to meet many of the other blokes, the number 44 rings a bell for that motor though.
What I can remember is Maurice brought down a Scania Vabis 76 from Blackburn one night, and I was allowed to bring it to London, I am not sure why, but I thought how nice that motor was, with its sprung seats, and power steering, after that cold atki, it was pure luxury.
I also remember them starting a Blackburn Flyer, and a new Scania 110 or 111 not sure which, it was a day cab, and had L registration which made it 1972, the drivers used to do that job didnât last long, as it was a 12 hours a night driving job.
I also recall doing a Sunday job, I had a tiny 20 ft Trailer, and used to pick up Cucumbers around the farms in the Lea Valley, that was also a hard game, getting the trailer in and out of these small places, and handballing everything on, still when your only 22 it was a breeze.
If you have any photos of those motors I would really like to see them or obtain a book with them in. as I did not take any photos of that time in my driving career.
Regards Alan
Hereâs No 44 - taken in June 1977:
bestbooties:
SUPERCUBE:
was that about same time as jed clampitt was on there?Donât recall the name.Only few names I do recall were:Gordon McMillan,(Jimbo)Jim Coton,Alan Shaw,Chris (Hooperman) Hooper,Alan Jones.
I can picture a lot of faces but I canât put names to them.
as you can imagine jed clampitt was a nickname, he aquired it on davies, IIRC it was hubby gave it to him and it stuck. real name is reg caukill, but he was of traveller stock and hubby thought it suited.
gordon mcmillan? was he the thin lad with glasses and used to boast he had the filthiest cab(inside) in europe, if its the same one he was jeds mate.
Little Al:
Cabmont, but they were called Cables & Montague Ltd and were in Horn Lane Greenwich, they had Scammells, ERFâs, and a six legger Ford, with a Perkins engine in it, the job was either rolls of print, from Convoyâs wharf, or bags of chemicals from somwhere near Gravesend, that went to Crossfields in Warrington, or lead bars out of a smelter in Dartford, that was one of the most back breaking jobs I ever had, having to hand ball on 20 ton of bags, no pallets in those days, rope and sheet it, and then drive up to Warrington and tip it, all in those dogs of motors, no wonder I had arms like popeyeâs, at least we got night out money, but we slept in the cab, or in this old shed up there, that had a stove in it.I was the Shop Steward with Cables, and they won the contract with ACT lines containers, they then bought a load of Scania 80âs, and we all got new uniforms, I wasnât a Militant, just wanted basic needs, like a toilet in the yard would have been nice, so when they got this deal, the had to put one in, Victory!! Little Al.
I worked for Cabmont from 71-82 out of their Jackson St, St Helens depotâŚthere were two of us on nights, Alex Mac and myselfâŚOtis Elevator load downâŚand usually reels of paper or lead back (for me). The changeover was at the Blue Star garage on the A45, Stretton-on-Dunsmore (the lad I changed over with was named Parnell) then we started doing the âFlyerâ, to Earls Court first, and then to Kings X. We both had Leyland Comets, then I was given Teddy Snipps A series 180 Gardner ERF,(50 mph flat out) then we got the 2200 Dafs.
The shop steward I remember at Erith was John HigginsâŚa real nice bloke.
SUPERCUBE:
bestbooties:
SUPERCUBE:
was that about same time as jed clampitt was on there?Donât recall the name.Only few names I do recall were:Gordon McMillan,(Jimbo)Jim Coton,Alan Shaw,Chris (Hooperman) Hooper,Alan Jones.
I can picture a lot of faces but I canât put names to them.as you can imagine jed clampitt was a nickname, he aquired it on davies, IIRC it was hubby gave it to him and it stuck. real name is reg caukill, but he was of traveller stock and hubby thought it suited.
gordon mcmillan? was he the thin lad with glasses and used to boast he had the filthiest cab(inside) in europe, if its the same one he was jeds mate.
No,Gordon was the old geezer,even 20 years ago he was old.Used to roll his own â â â â ,(mind you,so did a lot of guys),was very laid back,and his cab was as clean as most drivers.He was pretty long serving and had one of the pair of 142âs when they were new.I inherited mine from Rasputin,(Chris Rasmussen),the Danish driver after two years.
Woh, bloody near gave me another heart attack when I saw that, thanks Marky, thatâs the beast alright, LBV 186G, just could not get it warm, used to put sheets of cardboard over the rad, to see if that would help it, not a chance, just froze me nuts off each night.
Little Al
marky:
Hereâs No 44 - taken in June 1977:
Viking:
Little Al:
Cabmont, but they were called Cables & Montague Ltd and were in Horn Lane Greenwich, they had Scammells, ERFâs, and a six legger Ford, with a Perkins engine in it, the job was either rolls of print, from Convoyâs wharf, or bags of chemicals from somwhere near Gravesend, that went to Crossfields in Warrington, or lead bars out of a smelter in Dartford, that was one of the most back breaking jobs I ever had, having to hand ball on 20 ton of bags, no pallets in those days, rope and sheet it, and then drive up to Warrington and tip it, all in those dogs of motors, no wonder I had arms like popeyeâs, at least we got night out money, but we slept in the cab, or in this old shed up there, that had a stove in it.I was the Shop Steward with Cables, and they won the contract with ACT lines containers, they then bought a load of Scania 80âs, and we all got new uniforms, I wasnât a Militant, just wanted basic needs, like a toilet in the yard would have been nice, so when they got this deal, the had to put one in, Victory!! Little Al.
I worked for Cabmont from 71-82 out of their Jackson St, St Helens depotâŚthere were two of us on nights, Alex Mac and myselfâŚOtis Elevator load downâŚand usually reels of paper or lead back (for me). The changeover was at the Blue Star garage on the A45, Stretton-on-Dunsmore (the lad I changed over with was named Parnell) then we started doing the âFlyerâ, to Earls Court first, and then to Kings X. We both had Leyland Comets, then I was given Teddy Snipps A series 180 Gardner ERF,(50 mph flat out) then we got the 2200 Dafs.
The shop steward I remember at Erith was John HigginsâŚa real nice bloke.
Hi Viking, Teddy Snipps rings a bell, and Jackson St, St.Helens, thatâs where we spent our nights, I beleive there was a working mans club nearby, Otis Elevators as well, I think where silver motors with Hiab Cranes on them, and the Otis Logoâs, I never went to Erith, I think I left just as they moved, was the the Transport Manager Bert Petchey, or something similar, I also had the six wheeled Ford, and used to go tramping with it, it was me as well who wrote off a Scammell in the newsprint warehouse up north, they had bad ratchett handbrakes on them, so to be sure I used to leave it in gear, as the forklift took out the bottom reel, the top one hit the trailer bed with a thump, the motor started up, and off it went, no chance of catching it, and bang, ran into the huge steel girders around the door, bloody destroyed the fibre glass cab, that split into a million peices, just leaving the two seats and engine on the chassis sitting, Mr Monatgue was none to pleased.
Little Al
Some of the London lads I remember who used to park up at St Helens were: Ted Snipp, Bob Philips, âShakeyâ Colin. Joe Simons (black Joe), Richie Aucott.
You are right, Bert (aka) Harry Petchey was the tm and a fellow named George was his clerk.
Cabmont had the Otis Elevator contract out of Kirkby. They were just coming to the end of changing the lorries from Dodge to Leyland Comets complete with Hiabs, and the livery from green to silver (for the Otis contract) when I started in 71.
Was â â â â Stafford in the Greenwich/St Helens office when you worked there Al?
Bob Phillips, and Teddy, where two I remember very well, was Bob a very small man, with blondeish hair and blue eyes, sort of mini me version of robert redford, and Ted was a big Bloke with a Beard, I cant recall the others, and I can see those Comets with the Hiabs right behind the cab in Cabmont colours, was it green diamond on a buff sort of colour motor, or the other way round? also what was the firm where we used to tip out the newsprint?
Alan