Swifts old bosses, the good, the bad and the ugly
When I fist started out in transport my first experience was with Swifts in Northampton. I arrived for my interview, went into the front office and was greeted by a youngish man called ‘Neil Askham’ I hardly ever saw this man smile in all the years I worked there but he actually had a great but very dry sense of humour. “I’ve come to see Mr Spencer” I said.
“It’s Spencley” he grunted “And if you want the job I sugest you put your car in the car park and out of the executive space”
I moved the car, then went up to the Bosses office, as I climbed the stairs I heard him say to someone else “There goes our newest employee”
Neil was known as a very hard man, but down inside he was a very likeable guy. He called me to the office one day and said “I have a special run for you tomorrow, you have to deliver a bus to Thurso”
“Thurso ! but thats as far north as you can get, it will take days”
“You can hitch hike back” he grinned, then told me the truth, he really wanted me to collect a Manchester Transport double decker from Allison transmisions and return it to Manchester on trade plates. That night as I slept in my bed the phone rang AT 1.00am 
it was Neil “I want you to go to Thurso” he then laughed and put the phone down.
Neil stuck up for me through several very bad moments. Like the time he asked me to check a truck for a driver and get it ready for a very early and importain delivery next day ;-
“Will you hook up that Mandator to that container skelly, check the oil and water, fuel it up and leave these export documents on the dash for me before you go home Pat ?”
“Will do Neil” and I did so at 3.00 am … or so I thought.
The next morning he phoned me at 11.00 am and asked “Did you do that job for me last night ?”
“Yes”
“Did you check the oil ?”
“Yes”
“Did you check the water ?”
“Yes”
“Did you fill the tank ?”
“Yes”
“Did you hook it to that skelly ?”
“Did you put the documents on the dash ?”
“OH [zb] !” there on my living room table were the documents.
“You have cost us about 30,000 pounds in loast revenue and the cost of delaying the ship for 24 hours”
“Sorry Neil”
“See me when you get in tonight”
I went into work expecting the chop and he wandered out into the warehouse right up to me, I handed him the documents and he said "It’s ok lad, don’t do it again.
In 1977 we had a nationwide transport strike which bought the country to it’s knee’s. I was a single guy and found it very hard to survive, but did it with the help of fellow married drivers who took me to their houses for diner each day and the Rifle ■■■■ inn in Duston who kept me in food and booze. After a couple of weeks a group of drivers who worked for a food company and earned good money introduced me to their boss (in the Rifle ■■■■) who offered me a job, they were exempt from the strike because the carried food and earned better pay anyway, I accepted and went to see Mr Spensley and hand in my notice.
“You shouldn’t be here Pat, there is a strike on” he said as I enetered his office.
I explained that I was broke and had no alternative but to quit.
“Don’t leave, you are one of our best men” he said, “The strike is about to end, we are going to pay the demands, if you withdraw your notice I will acvance you any money you need to get out of the red, as much as you need, go home and work out exactly how much you need to get sorted and in two days when the strike is over come and see me and I will give you all the cash you need”
I felt guilty and went back to the food company and told them I was staying with Swifts, then went home to work out my finances. Two days later, just as he had told me the strike ended, I was back at Swifts for an hour when along walked Mr Spensley, I stopped him.
“Errr … about that money” I said.
“What money ?” he growled.
“The money you said you would loan me to get out of the red” I said.
“WHAT !!! … you expect me to pay you money for going on strike ! what do you take me for ?”
“But you told me you would help”
“I never said anything of the sort ! now get out on the road”
It was too late to take the other job which had been given to some other luck sod.
Believe it or not, I very much liked both of these guys, Neil in particular
One boss there (No names mentioned) was a true Vilain I was off loading a flat bed full of brand new engines from Fords one day and had sorted them into the various dealership addresses when he came up to me and said “You are 10 V6’s short for this dealer”
“No I’m not, ther are all over there” I said, he wandered over and ripped all the labels off and said “You are now” about an hour went by and I saw him and some fellow vilain loading them onto some body’s transit pick up.
This was a common occurence untill I got into work one day to find that he had been found out and fired.
He was quite helpfull with drivers car problems though I owned a Ford Cortina 2000E and the alternator went dead one day, they were expensive and he saw me looking worried, he asked what was wrong and I told him.
“Come with me” he said and led me to a security lock up that only he had keys for. he searched through boxes of altrnators and found one very similar but the opposite way around so it fiited the engine on the opposite side. “Take that and exchange it at one of your drops” he said.
Next day I went to a regular drop and expained the situation to the reciever guy, he told me to take the alternator to his front desk and complain that I had bought it there and it was the wrong way round. I did this and some salesman asked for my reciept, at this time the other guy comes to the front and said “Hello Sir, did I sell you a duffer ?”
I went along with him and said that it was the wrong way round, he switched it.
Yet more language edited. L.
L.
