I cam remember Herbie Smart in the late Eighties from the Porstmouth - Caen ferry route, also the guy with grey hair who used to park up in France to listen to the Archers, it was rumoured that this guy wore black silk pyjamas at night in his cab,
Frankie Flintstone:
I cam remember Herbie Smart in the late Eighties from the Porstmouth - Caen ferry route, also the guy with grey hair who used to park up in France to listen to the Archers, it was rumoured that this guy wore black silk pyjamas at night in his cab,
Herbie now drives a coach for Barnes Coaches out of Swindon doing mainly european work.
His brother Allan was also a long serving Syms driver.
Just heard that Ivor Wheeler passed away yesterday (23rd December). Ivor was at Syms in the late eighties and has spent most of his life driving throughout Europe and the Middle East, spending many years hauling boats for R A Bugler of Poole.
His brother Brian was also a long serving Syms driver with 20 plus years.
Our thoughs go out to the family at this sad time.
Just found this great forum today, and what a surprise to see an entire thread about Syms. I know most of the guys mentioned on here, Chris Oldham, Ivor Wheeler and I recognise some of the other chaps on the photos, if only I could recall the names. I started driving for Frank Allison ( usually known as “Plummer”) who had six motors in Syms colours, I started off in 1985 with an F88, OHT 987R which I’m sure came from a coal or maybe a scrap dealer at Driffield near Cirencester. Frank packed it in after a year or so and we all went on for Syms, this was just after I’d acquired my new “Wendy House”, an FL10 which was C750 MMW. The other guys from Frank’s crew were Ray Whiston ( brother of Chris whose wagon went up in flames ), Phil Lee, Dave Taylor, Keith (Rigsby) Thomas, John (Budgie) Burgess, and Brian Allison who was Frank’s son. Frank did pass away at Christmas time in 2010, he was a good mate and he’s sorely missed.
I still have a book here at home with all of Syms registrations and whose motors they were, this was between 1985 and when Syms went belly up in 1991 I think. I used to have lots of photos, most now lost, but I do have one of me in C750 in Syms yard, if only I could work out how to upload it.
A couple of hours later and I’ve worked my way down through this thread. As most on here know, Syms had as much work as he wanted out of British Gypsum at East Leake, sometimes we would work out of there all week. We also did a lot of work for CCSB ( Coca Cola Schweppes Beverages) out of their various bottling plants and warehouses. CCSB opened up an enormous new bottling plant at Wakefield and told Syms that they could have as much work out of the new plant as they wanted. In order to cover the commitment to CCSB, Syms gave up a lot of his Gypsum work but we were running around here, there and everywhere empty to collect loaded trailers at Wakefield, it wasn’t unusual to tip in Birmingham, Stoke or somewhere up there and then run empty to Wakefield to pick up a load to Leeds or Manchester, we as drivers could see there wasn’t any money in it.
By all accounts, and I’m sure the guys from those East Leake days can confirm this ( or otherwise), Syms went back to Gypsum and asked for the work back, but was told that the other hauliers there had covered all the work so basically, “sling yer hook”.
Several of us drove back to the Calne yard one Friday evening with loaded trailers ready for Monday deliveries, to be told by the transport manager, Richard Outram, that it was all over and to muck out our cabs. The leases were due for the motors ( owned apparently by Westward Commercials in Avonmouth) and there was no money to pay. The blokes from Westward were already there waiting to drive the motors away.
And that was it.
Plummersmate:
0FL10 C750 MMW, which was my motor with a rental tautliner in Syms yard, around 1987-ish
do you remember the rep based at calne who worked for Westwards ?
This just brings back so many memories. Syms did have a MAN, B332 VOU I think which they used to pull trailers out of MAN Truck & Bus in Swindon. It was never used that much but was the motor many of us got to drive when our own motors were in for their MOTs. It used to fox some of the guys who were used to the 8, 12 and 16 speed synchro boxes on the F10s and F12s, the MAN had a Fuller twin splitter if I recall. When I first joined Plummer’s crew, he had a Maggy Deutz in his line up, two F88s, the Iveco OOU 223Y which was his son Brian’s motor, two old “S” regF10s with the bakelite steering wheels and John Burgess had a 2800 DAF. We often parked them in Syms yard so some might think that they were actually Syms motors. The Plummer sold them all and leased six new FL10s which we all hated. He got himself a very nice F12 with a tag axle and the 12 speed box. 385 horses doesn’t seem like much now but that thing would have pulled your house down. I got to drive it a few times when he was on holiday, it was like moving up to a mansion from the Wendy House
Hi Shaky
The office wallers at Syms were Richard Outram, he was general manager, Dave Chivers, transport manager, Eddie Maggs was his number two, there was an accountant chap who worked upstairs and we rarely saw, I might remember his name, and the workshop manager was Keith something.
The chap who was asking way back on this thread about his “heavy load” he collected from Syms old yard in London Road, I’d imagine that was stillages of rubber slabs which Syms collected from Enichem’s chemical plant down at Hythe near Southampton, and this stuff went to tyre factories all over the UK and Europe.
Plummersmate:
Hi ShakyThe office wallers at Syms were Richard Outram, he was general manager, Dave Chivers, transport manager, Eddie Maggs was his number two, there was an accountant chap who worked upstairs and we rarely saw, I might remember his name, and the workshop manager was Keith something.
The chap who was asking way back on this thread about his “heavy load” he collected from Syms old yard in London Road, I’d imagine that was stillages of rubber slabs which Syms collected from Enichem’s chemical plant down at Hythe near Southampton, and this stuff went to tyre factories all over the UK and Europe.
The rep was Steve Bennett AKA Shakysteve.!!!
Well then, good job I was polite!!! ;0)
Plummersmate:
Well then, good job I was polite!!! ;0)
so where are you now ? Steve.
Steve, after Syms I went on for Spurlings at South Marston but they were awful, the favoured drivers got the best work, for the first month all I did was drive empty to a toy factory in South wales, load up, take it to a Toys R Us warehouse in Milton Keynes, tip and then empty back to Swindon. I had a good moan and so the following week, I got back to the yard at 5.30pm on a Thursday, and the transport manager handed me a bunch of delivery notes an inch thick, said, “you’re always f***ing moaning, here’s 15 drops in central London” on a 16 foot tall tautliner, I had a wedding to go to early on Saturday morning which they knew about, so I told them to stuff it and walked out.
After that, I worked for Benham’s at Bromham, on grain and coal/coke but the money was dreadful and the motors were held together with baler twine. So, went back to doing what I did prior to driving, and joined a paper company making soft tissue products. I work for a company in that market still and look after around two million quids worth of business for them.
Do I miss driving? - definitely, sometimes, but I don’t miss the time away from home and certainly don’t miss having to ring the missus on a Friday night when I was 20 miles from home, expecting to be home, then getting everything changed around. It’s also a sad fact that the only time I see any of the lads these days is at a funeral. Dave Taylor lives here in Devizes, I see him regularly, and I bumped into Robin Huband, Rigsby, and several of the other blokes at Plummer’s funeral in 2010.
Plummersmate:
Steve, after Syms I went on for Spurlings at South Marston but they were awful, the favoured drivers got the best work, for the first month all I did was drive empty to a toy factory in South wales, load up, take it to a Toys R Us warehouse in Milton Keynes, tip and then empty back to Swindon. I had a good moan and so the following week, I got back to the yard at 5.30pm on a Thursday, and the transport manager handed me a bunch of delivery notes an inch thick, said, “you’re always f***ing moaning, here’s 15 drops in central London” on a 16 foot tall tautliner, I had a wedding to go to early on Saturday morning which they knew about, so I told them to stuff it and walked out.After that, I worked for Benham’s at Bromham, on grain and coal/coke but the money was dreadful and the motors were held together with baler twine. So, went back to doing what I did prior to driving, and joined a paper company making soft tissue products. I work for a company in that market still and look after around two million quids worth of business for them.
Do I miss driving? - definitely, sometimes, but I don’t miss the time away from home and certainly don’t miss having to ring the missus on a Friday night when I was 20 miles from home, expecting to be home, then getting everything changed around. It’s also a sad fact that the only time I see any of the lads these days is at a funeral. Dave Taylor lives here in Devizes, I see him regularly, and I bumped into Robin Huband, Rigsby, and several of the other blokes at Plummer’s funeral in 2010.
im now working for a recycling company who recycle cardboard ,paper ,glass wrap etc ,if your in Devizes you must know Eugene Hiller ,Brian revell , gravel guts who drove for Pearce of potterne ,hams tpt ,etc,perhaps we should talk paper !.
Steve, I know Eugene quite well, in fact I saw him to say hello to last night in town. He was on the grain when I was on for Tony Benham and the other guy Tony was in a loose partnership with, Barry something ( might be Evans) who lived at Ratford near Bremhill. Haven’t seen either for many years. In one of the photos here taken in the yard, I see Ted Slade’s motor on the left, he pulled mainly bricks and blocks but would sub out to Syms when he was quiet. Then there’s that white Daf Space Cab, I’m sure there was one like that or even that one that was driven by a chap called Simon who also subbied out to Syms and we would see him at East Leake, nice bloke.
As for Syms, names that come back include Johnny Wells, Gerry Halhead, the Redmond brothers, Pat, Kevin & Jim, Ralph Holland, Billy Bell, Bob House, Andy something, he was one of the shunters, Wrecker Matthews, John Broadbent, Ticker Neil, Herbie & Alan Smart, Tony Perry, Les someone (Thorpe?), he packed it in and bought a guest house in Blackpool before Syms went pop, John Carr ( the fastest roper and sheeter I ever saw), Benny & Ivor Wheeler, Doug Crew, Robin something, his brother was in the workshops, and another Robin, Robin Huband who did night trunk for years with Plummer.
Then there were the guys at East Leake, Tommy and Maurice were drivers based there, and the shunters were Chris, Paddy and Paddy’s son ( Malcolm?). I remember Maurice lost a Kidd’s spreader off the back of the trailer half way up to East Leake.
I just found a couple more photos, this shows me with C750 MMW on her very first day out, somewhere in Yorkshire at a Britvic depot, tipping empties and reloading.
Keith Blackman was the workshop foreman and there was a chap called Ray Crook who was based upstairs. Still can’t recall the accountant’s name but it will come to me.
One of the funniest things I ever saw in the yard was when one of the shunters was parking loaded trailers up on a Saturday morning, getting them in as tightly as possible. For whatever reason, after parking one fully loaded tri-axle, he jumps out the cab and instead of dropping the legs and then uncoupling the airlines, he just pulls the pin - the trailer starts to slide off the fifth wheel and he’s running alongside the trailer with his hands on the sides actually thinking he can stop it.
The other one was again on a Saturday morning, there were two agency blokes parking the trailers. Adjacent to Syms yard ( the old one) was another yard, separated from ours by a 6 foot tall chain link fence with concrete posts. A couple of trailers were already parked so their plan was to line up all the headboards with the two already parked. This they did, parked about 15 trailers then found out that they had taken out the entire length of fence, posts and all.
Symmo was less than impressed
Plummersmate:
Keith Blackman was the workshop foreman and there was a chap called Ray Crook who was based upstairs. Still can’t recall the accountant’s name but it will come to me.One of the funniest things I ever saw in the yard was when one of the shunters was parking loaded trailers up on a Saturday morning, getting them in as tightly as possible. For whatever reason, after parking one fully loaded tri-axle, he jumps out the cab and instead of dropping the legs and then uncoupling the airlines, he just pulls the pin - the trailer starts to slide off the fifth wheel and he’s running alongside the trailer with his hands on the sides actually thinking he can stop it.
The other one was again on a Saturday morning, there were two agency blokes parking the trailers. Adjacent to Syms yard ( the old one) was another yard, separated from ours by a 6 foot tall chain link fence with concrete posts. A couple of trailers were already parked so their plan was to line up all the headboards with the two already parked. This they did, parked about 15 trailers then found out that they had taken out the entire length of fence, posts and all.
Ray Crook, Keith Blackman,remember both ,Keith i think now works for Rygor in swindon,Ray was a hospital car driver in Swindon ,other names , Doris Neal ,mandy and steve crook ,nigel ■■?,herbie knott ,kevin ,merv hulbert ,paz ■■?,shirly ■■?,phillis,
sherell,lardy ,george potts ,big jer ,clive hatwood ,geoff ■■?,Steve.Symmo was less than impressed
Only just saw the post about Ivor Wheeler passing away. Such a shame. I learnt a lot from Ivor. We had some good times together out of work as well. He would think nothing of driving from Calne to Weston to go bowling and back again in his Volvo car.
Ivor would always be the one to stop and help you if you were sheeting in a gale, or stuck on the hard shoulder with a blow out or engine problems. I remember once, I pulled into a layby somewhere around Milton Keynes and Ivor’s motor was already parked there. He walked across and said that he had a load of food in his cab and that I’d be most welcome to join him. So, I got cleaned up and walked to the passenger door on his motor, climbed up into the seat and saw Ivor sat on his bunk, picking his feet. He said, " have a sandwich, and used the hand he’d been picking his feet with to give me it.
Tastiest sarnie I ever ate.