I can remember pulling seabourne trailers way back in the early 60,s when i was driving for a company called DEWES out of DONHEAD ST MARY near shaftesbury dorset,we had a regular run,tipping talbot/simca parts that came in from LA ROCHELL then when empty we would load whiskey out of johnny walkers in kilmarnoch, then head back down to barking and drop the trailors there for export,those were the days when we were on log books. 
Hi Bev, although not an HGV driver at the time you were pulling trailers for Seabourne, I was Clive Bournes driver/chauffeur during the mid sixties and
wondered if you can remember who you dealt with at Barking. I mentioned a few names in my original post, these being Ron Davies, salesman; Norman? traffic, Wendy? office: and Jim Knott, office manager; who bought a brand new Morgan 2+2 E reg whilst I was their. Did you call into the office at Cambridge Road adjacent to Barking station? Cheers for now, Ed.
Inadvertently wrote Ron Davies as Clive Bournes Salesman, wrong his name was Ron Willis and drove a beautiful 1963/4 Jaguar Mk.2 3.4 , reg. 333 KOK,
Just putting the record straight in case anyone remembers any of Seabournes office staff iin Barking during 1966/7. cheers Ed.
WHEN UPS WHO I WORK FOR BOUGHT seabourne we got some of the dafs like the one in the pic.we had them for a good while over her in our dublin office
they still use the barking hub as a road hub.
Hi, 1st Post but just like to say what a brilliant forum this is.
Around 4 years before I inadvertently became a lorry driver, I worked for Seabourne at Cambridge Road, Barking (next to Barking Station) starting in 1966 as a Chauffeur to the boss Clive Bourne. I was 19 at the time and his car was a Ford Mustang reg. DOE 3C. I got the job through a friend of a friend and naturally felt Jack the Lad. At the time I wasn’t really interested in trucks and just drove Clive around to business meetings etc. He lived in Chigwell, up from Bobby Moore in Grange Hill. I lived on the prefab estate at the top of Forest Road , Hainult and used to catch the tube from Fairlop to Grange Hill to pick him up in the morning. The pay was average but I loved driving that car.
The business was mainly european unaccompanied trailers and pretty successful I believe. Does anyone remember Seabournes trailers and anyone who pulled them in UK.
The names I remember in the offices are Ron Willis (salesman lived The Drive, Ilford),Malcolm ?, Mr. Knott ( drove a Morgan 2+2) and Wendy? lived Becontree way.
I know the names are a long shot but someone may remember them.
After nearly forty years, I looked up Clive on the internet and learnt that he had been knighted but had sadly died of prostate cancer a couple of years back.
It’s a long time ago so perhaps no one will remember but you never know.
All the best, Ed Marshall.
Taken Dun Laoghaire,Ireland,1980i
By whiplash_012 at 2008-10-16sh.
Same again,a guy called Dave
By whiplash_012 at 2008-10-16.Absolutely enormous guy,awful nice though.
Thanks for putting the photos on whiplash. The SPTS logo on the front of the body brings back memories. When I left , Clive Bourne gave me a brilliant reference on Seabourne headed notepaper with the SPTS logo on. I kept them for years( he had written 4 or 5 separate ones). Got lost when moving a couple of years ago. thanks again, Ed.
I remember seabournes when they were just off of river road near the volenteer pub barking in about 1971.They had a lot of bedford tk and km,s and did london to paris.I knew a few of the drivers on this run,one called harry who later left an went to sca
Thanks for your input Boyzee. Have read a lot of your posts and you obviously have connections with SGH. SCA. and Brains. Perhaps I should start another thread with regard to how I got started as a lorry driver and in part it concerns a connection with Brains. All the best, Ed.
Well bulwark like me you seem to like this site of trucknet,i think its fantastic to see all the photo,s and read the storys of the good ol days.It brings a smile to me every time i look on here.
Boyzee/Bulwark,do either of ye remember Colin,Big Dave,or a small sized Scotch man,obviously went by the name of Jock?I remember the TKs and KMs coming over to Dublin,late 70s early 80s.
Sorry whiplash, didn’t know any drivers . Only had connection with Seabourne for about a year in 1966/7 and at the time I believe Seabourne owned just trailers which were pulled by sub contractors both here and on the continent. I remember taking the boss (Clive Bourne ) to customers in Leeds , Reading and quite a few other places and I think the London-Paris regular run was just in its infancy, so The Bedfords came along long after I left.
I suppose I was hoping somebody was around who worked for Seabourne late 60’s early 70’s.
Couldn’t agree more Boyzee, only just joined , brilliant entertainment and really interesting. Some great names also. ‘Crackon to Macon’ ,Superb.
whiplash:
Boyzee/Bulwark,do either of ye remember Colin,Big Dave,or a small sized Scotch man,obviously went by the name of Jock?I remember the TKs and KMs coming over to Dublin,late 70s early 80s.
Sorry whiplash but i did,nt know the names of many of their drivers only harry.
I’m catching up with a few old threads, here’s some pics of Seabournes subbies…
S. John from Bedford had 7 or 8 units on Seabourne in the 70’s
My little F.86 at the back of the Gennevilliers warehouse, Seabournes depot in Paris…
Ron Fensomes F.88 in Scandiahamnen docks in Goteborg…
My F.88 at the Volvo BM works outside Eskilstuna, Sweden in 1977,
My first MAN 16.232 in Stockholme loading a silkscreen printer…
top half of this one is in France…lower part is Sweden.
Two of us in Goteborg about to ship back home.
Rear of Seabournes yard in Sweden, Ringon,Goteborg 1980, with one of the KM four wheelers behind the Scania.
whiplash:
Boyzee/Bulwark,do either of ye remember Colin,Big Dave,or a small sized Scotch man,obviously went by the name of Jock?I remember the TKs and KMs coming over to Dublin,late 70s early 80s.
I started with Seabourne as a subby in the mid-seventies, Jock by then was in the yard as a shunter after a bad accident I think, Clive Bournes driver was a chap called Ken.
Mr. Knott, Jim Morgan and John Lee (office) Bill Fox was in the transport office, drivers included…Brian Levitt, Ron ‘Penquin’ Lear, Charlie, Peter ‘Norweigian Jack’ Fricker, big Ron ‘Daddy Cool’, Tom Brown, Fred Brown (ex-SCA) Alan Stroud, Alan Bright are ones I remember.
Regular subbies pulling trailers were:
Colin Mason…Arthur Green transport (Yorkshire)
Pete Stelland…Arthur Green (occasional)
Ralph Simmons…C. ■■■■(Northampton)
Snowy…C. ■■■■(occasional)
Nigel ?..C. â– â– â– â– (occasional)
Ron Odell…S. John (Bedford)
Ian Robinson…S. John "
Ron Fensome…S. John "
Stan Nowak…S. John "
Nick Eagle…S. John "
■■■■Clelland…S. John "
Alan Shaw…S. John
Syd Basson…S. John "
Pete Merris…S. John "
There were others from these three firms who did occasional trips and subbies tipping trailers in the UK.
Cheers,
Nick
brilliant photos nick - good to see pete stelling mentioned, anybody know if he still runs his own motor(s)?
I’ve found a few more Seabourne pics…
This was taken at the back of Thames Road depot, Barking.
Colin Mason (pictured) and I dropping Seabourne rented trailers at Seabournes Manston Airport depot for customs after transit through Felixtowe.
Great pictures Nick,bless your foresight of the photographs.
I remember they used to clear customs at manston,when they moved out of river road barking a dutch company called bleckmans took the wharehouse,s over.Great photo,s they bring back the old memorys.I would some times clear customs in Pantin paris and there would useually be a seabourne tk clearing there but i think Genvillers was their main clearing place in paris.