Peter Foden son of ER Foden passed away this week he was the last member of the Foden family to be involved at either foden or ERF and was chairman of ERF until the sale to western star in 1996.
kr79:
Peter Foden son of ER Foden passed away this week he was the last member of the Foden family to be involved at either foden or ERF and was chairman of ERF until the sale to western star in 1996.
Another British stalwart from the transport industry of yesteryear has passed away,I met Peter a few times in the 70’s and 80’s and while I did have a soft spot for ERF’s I was basically an Atki man at heart.I did have a difference of opinion with Peter as once during a lunch I attended he said to me " the best favour you hauliers can do ERF is order ■■■■■■■ engined chassis,as we can’t supply all the Gardners you want" this didn’t go down too well with me I can tell you.I had gone off ■■■■■■■ “big style” when they replaced the 220 with the 250 and then ■■■■■■■ went on downhill from that time IMHO! Although we did take delivery of a number of 8LXB B series and C series in later years the Scania marque steadily became our favoured motor and ,of course,sad to say our choice proved correct as the British manufactures went downhill all the way to oblivion,largley due to their own failings and in no small way to their inflexible arrogance i.e. “You WILL buy what we make,regardless of what you may want” !! Cheers Bewick.
As Dennis has stated,another sad loss from an old established company,I think the name Foden is synonymous with the “haulage” industry,
not the “logistics” industry,RIP Peter Foden. 
Read it in the obituary column of our local paper this morning while sitting checking my name’s not in there yet.
RIP.
How old was he?
Hiya sad loss. i knew him well back in the late 60,s. he had his aston nicked and damaged, i did the body repair work on it
peter come to see how the repair was going on daily
i think he had turned 80 years old. i spoke to him at kelsall rally last july.
John
Sad to here the loss of Peter Foden i had the pleasure of meeting him on two occasions, sadly ERF as many others did not move with the times but if you look at our industry how many where true lorry builders apart from Leyland and AEC the rest where just bitsers i know this sounds very negative but it is true i may be wrong but that is my opion.
And it is still bloody hot here high 40c for the last 3 weeks good for the wine
3300John:
Hiya sad loss. i knew him well back in the late 60,s. he had his aston nicked and damaged, i did the body repair work on it
peter come to see how the repair was going on daily
i think he had turned 80 years old. i spoke to him at kelsall rally last july.
John
hi john,i am sure i was told when on a factory tour that peter foden was 20 years old when his father died in 1950.sad news rip.
regards andrew.
bestbooties:
Read it in the obituary column of our local paper this morning while sitting checking my name’s not in there yet.
RIP.
Me too. Except I was checking to see if my ex wife was in there.
R.I.P Mr Foden
Me too. Except I was checking to see if my ex wife was in there.
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haha i like that
Bewick:
Another British stalwart from the transport industry of yesteryear has passed away,I met Peter a few times in the 70’s and 80’s and while I did have a soft spot for ERF’s I was basically an Atki man at heart.I did have a difference of opinion with Peter as once during a lunch I attended he said to me " the best favour you hauliers can do ERF is order ■■■■■■■ engined chassis,as we can’t supply all the Gardners you want" this didn’t go down too well with me I can tell you.I had gone off ■■■■■■■ “big style” when they replaced the 220 with the 250 and then ■■■■■■■ went on downhill from that time IMHO! Although we did take delivery of a number of 8LXB B series and C series in later years the Scania marque steadily became our favoured motor and ,of course,sad to say our choice proved correct as the British manufactures went downhill all the way to oblivion,largley due to their own failings and in no small way to their inflexible arrogance i.e. “You WILL buy what we make,regardless of what you may want” !! Cheers Bewick.
Hey Dennis!
Interesting, very interesting piece of unofficial history into the demise of British truck manufacturing. You won’t find that in any official record or commentary.
Solly:
Bewick:
Another British stalwart from the transport industry of yesteryear has passed away,I met Peter a few times in the 70’s and 80’s and while I did have a soft spot for ERF’s I was basically an Atki man at heart.I did have a difference of opinion with Peter as once during a lunch I attended he said to me " the best favour you hauliers can do ERF is order ■■■■■■■ engined chassis,as we can’t supply all the Gardners you want" this didn’t go down too well with me I can tell you.I had gone off ■■■■■■■ “big style” when they replaced the 220 with the 250 and then ■■■■■■■ went on downhill from that time IMHO! Although we did take delivery of a number of 8LXB B series and C series in later years the Scania marque steadily became our favoured motor and ,of course,sad to say our choice proved correct as the British manufactures went downhill all the way to oblivion,largley due to their own failings and in no small way to their inflexible arrogance i.e. “You WILL buy what we make,regardless of what you may want” !! Cheers Bewick.Hey Dennis!
Interesting, very interesting piece of unofficial history into the demise of British truck manufacturing. You won’t find that in any official record or commentary.
Well “Solly” I looked at it this way at the time,would he have said the same to Alf Sutton or Gordon Plant or one or two of the larger Scottish hauliers ? No I don’t think he would have dared! At that time ERF were producing about 3000 chassis per year,1000 Gardners,1500 ■■■■■■■ and the remaining 500 were RR which were usually for the Oil Companies and Supermarkets.Out of the 1000 Gardners,once the “favoured ones” had got what they wanted then the “no marks” could have the scraps !! Sorry, but thats how it was,so as a “no mark” you voted with your feet and 50 or 60 Scanias later you dare not suggest to your drivers that Hey! Lads, we can go back to buying British motors as they are now struggling and we can get what we want !!!cue deafening sound of “You must be joking boss”!!! Cheers Bewick.
Well RIP Peter you & your team turned out some good motors in your day, & Im sure a lot of Foden drivers like myself looked upon them as good motors to drive, & own in my case, The Derby hauliers had them & as the old saying goes a gear for every hill, Regards Larry.
BEST OF BRITISH, the name will go on for ever.
I can understand you felt insulted…if that’s the right word… by his comments. I agree I doubt very much whether he would have said the same to the larger hauliers for obvious reasons.
Ha! History is a funny subject, it is usually written to hide many truths or include many untruths. You, by personal experience have uncovered that which has never been mentioned as a cause of the downfall of British truck manufacture. That’s why I say you have revealed something that is not found in British truck manufacturing history. Nor likely too. I honest believe that in the circumstances you found yourself in…namely considered a “No-Mark” you did the right thing. Why should you have stayed faithful to the British truck industry? You didn’t have, or were offered any incentive to do so.
Apologies for being off topic people. 
I remember Peter Foden had a disagreement with a truck magazine about a poor vehicle test; Something tells me it was the model after the EC finished but I stand corrected…
Strange isn’t it that if someone on the Foden board had looked to the future and admitted steam wagons were old hat, ERF may never have happened and Foden could still be in business.
Bewick:
Solly:
Bewick:
Another British stalwart from the transport industry of yesteryear has passed away,I met Peter a few times in the 70’s and 80’s and while I did have a soft spot for ERF’s I was basically an Atki man at heart.I did have a difference of opinion with Peter as once during a lunch I attended he said to me " the best favour you hauliers can do ERF is order ■■■■■■■ engined chassis,as we can’t supply all the Gardners you want" this didn’t go down too well with me I can tell you.I had gone off ■■■■■■■ “big style” when they replaced the 220 with the 250 and then ■■■■■■■ went on downhill from that time IMHO! Although we did take delivery of a number of 8LXB B series and C series in later years the Scania marque steadily became our favoured motor and ,of course,sad to say our choice proved correct as the British manufactures went downhill all the way to oblivion,largley due to their own failings and in no small way to their inflexible arrogance i.e. “You WILL buy what we make,regardless of what you may want” !! Cheers Bewick.Hey Dennis!
Interesting, very interesting piece of unofficial history into the demise of British truck manufacturing. You won’t find that in any official record or commentary.Well “Solly” I looked at it this way at the time,would he have said the same to Alf Sutton or Gordon Plant or one or two of the larger Scottish hauliers ? No I don’t think he would have dared! At that time ERF were producing about 3000 chassis per year,1000 Gardners,1500 ■■■■■■■ and the remaining 500 were RR which were usually for the Oil Companies and Supermarkets.Out of the 1000 Gardners,once the “favoured ones” had got what they wanted then the “no marks” could have the scraps !! Sorry, but thats how it was,so as a “no mark” you voted with your feet and 50 or 60 Scanias later you dare not suggest to your drivers that Hey! Lads, we can go back to buying British motors as they are now struggling and we can get what we want !!!cue deafening sound of “You must be joking boss”!!! Cheers Bewick.
I have heard this story almost verbatim from my Father when he sold trucks for a while, because he worked for a small dealer set up to service the local area, the customer had to have what he got, because that is what Leyland sent them, so it wasn’t the dealers fault either, they had to convince the buyer that a ■■■■■■■■ Gardner, Kirkstall, Rockwell, Spicer etc. was the best, even if the salesman didn’t believe in the product
Well Bewick your the first I have heard with that complaint both ERF & FODEN were well known for their one off’s and not just for big companys alone small firms and owner drivers were welcome at both. Eddie.