Carl, Eddie & Gorden
Name the time and place and I will be there
Peter
pbsummers:
Carl, Eddie & Gorden
Name the time and place and I will be there
Peter
Hi Peter Eddie and Gordon
Unless anyone has any better idea, can I suggest the new pub that has opened on Green Lane Ind Est. I am availabe almost any time after monday and could I ask if no on minds if my son, Paul can come (He has an indirect connection) as he can bring me. Peter knows he will fit in.
Carl
A group of 5 Bedford marsdens. In the sixties I personally numbered each vehicle. (after carefully watchng sign writers for so many years, I did an acceptable job). The reason for this was so that vans that were identical could be recognised from the side. Unfortunatly I never kept a list showing the number next to reg no so even if I can blow up the photo to read the fleet number I still wouldn’t know the reg number. Another complication was that when a vehicle was sold the replacement inherited te fleet number, so several vehicles could share a fleet number.
Carl Williams:
pbsummers:
Carl, Eddie & Gorden
Name the time and place and I will be there
PeterHi Peter Eddie and Gordon
Unless anyone has any better idea, can I suggest the new pub that has opened on Green Lane Ind Est. I am availabe almost any time after monday and could I ask if no on minds if my son, Paul can come (He has an indirect connection) as he can bring me. Peter knows he will fit in.
Carl
Got a bad fortnight ahead so don’t make it now.
Eddie
Carl…Found this old photo while going through some gear 
Eddie
Sorry to hear about the kidney stones problem you will be fine they are clever these days, we will wish you luck & look forward to our visit to the pub when you can make it.
Carl your Paul will be most welcolme he is family anyway & looking forward to meeting him it is many years since he sat in & played with his own Rolls Royce as a toddler up Dean Bank.
Gordon.
Carl - Eddie & Peter.
Colin Watson is alive & kicking i passed the information for this site only days ago to his Daughter Karolyne who worked with my wife @ County Hall Durham before my wife retired.The message was sent by e,mail so hope he finds the website easily so we can hear his stories i bet there are some gooduns.
Gordon
edworth:
Carl Williams:
pbsummers:
Carl, Eddie & Gorden
Name the time and place and I will be there
PeterHi Peter Eddie and Gordon
Unless anyone has any better idea, can I suggest the new pub that has opened on Green Lane Ind Est. I am availabe almost any time after monday and could I ask if no on minds if my son, Paul can come (He has an indirect connection) as he can bring me. Peter knows he will fit in.
Carl
Got a bad fortnight ahead so don’t make it now.
Eddie
Eddie
I feel this is one of your works of art if so it’s a good one.
Gordon.
edworth:
Carl…Found this old photo while going through some gear
Carl
This takes me back to some very happy memories.
Gordon
Carl Williams:
A group of 5 Bedford marsdens. In the sixties I personally numbered each vehicle. (after carefully watchng sign writers for so many years, I did an acceptable job). The reason for this was so that vans that were identical could be recognised from the side. Unfortunatly I never kept a list showing the number next to reg no so even if I can blow up the photo to read the fleet number I still wouldn’t know the reg number. Another complication was that when a vehicle was sold the replacement inherited te fleet number, so several vehicles could share a fleet number.
Eddie
I just wished i had read the Northern Echo & been @ his funeral i only ever pinched a read of my father laws paper once a week but never saw the news of WHW & when his funeral would be he was a well liked man & employer.
Gordon.
Eddie
Regarding the scan @ James Cook Hospital a bloomin long drive it would have been better if it was Bishop Auckland crazy!You will be up & about in nee time.
Gordon.
edworth:
Gordon…There was a Peter Cleary from Croxdale, he had a brother or uncle called Butch, he only had one arm and worked for Sunter’s of Northallerton as a kind of wagon lad (it was heavy haulage) there was another lad from Spennymoor who worked for them John Eastman or Easter both were good lads,we used to pick them up on the A1 and give a lift home, at the moment I am having trouble with kidney stones,waiting for a scan at James Cook to see what they going to do, do you know if Colin Watson is still around, I would have thought he would have been on here by now if he was, last time I saw him was at WHs funeral with Doc Holiday,Brian Sheldon,Norman Flatman,Dennis from Ness,we were all talking as we waited for the hearse to arrive and a helicpoter flew over, we all looked at each other and said it must be Harry keeping a eye on us…Carl, Gordon is right about meeting up, the way we are all dropping we will not need a big table
Eddie
edworth:
Carl…Found this old photo while going through some gear
Hi Eddie,
Was that JUP653H when it was new, half way through being signwritten. It is exact isn’t it. It brings back memories, athough i cannot remember driving it much, not like its predesessor the D reg J2. I think my experiences with it were sickening enough. In fact I think we still had the J2 and were running them both at the same time. I think it nearly outlasted the JU. BMC had introduced the JU to put everything right that was wrong with the J2. promises-promises…
The first or second week in April would be best for me also, so pehaps we can sort something out for round about then.
Are you going into hospital? if so good luck.
Best wishes
Carl
goggietara:
Eddie
I just wished i had read the Northern Echo & been @ his funeral i only ever pinched a read of my father laws paper once a week but never saw the news of WHW & when his funeral would be he was a well liked man & employer.
Gordon.
Eddie
Regarding the scan @ James Cook Hospital a bloomin long drive it would have been better if it was Bishop Auckland crazy!You will be up & about in nee time.
Gordon.edworth:
Gordon…There was a Peter Cleary from Croxdale, he had a brother or uncle called Butch, he only had one arm and worked for Sunter’s of Northallerton as a kind of wagon lad (it was heavy haulage) there was another lad from Spennymoor who worked for them John Eastman or Easter both were good lads,we used to pick them up on the A1 and give a lift home, at the moment I am having trouble with kidney stones,waiting for a scan at James Cook to see what they going to do, do you know if Colin Watson is still around, I would have thought he would have been on here by now if he was, last time I saw him was at WHs funeral with Doc Holiday,Brian Sheldon,Norman Flatman,Dennis from Ness,we were all talking as we waited for the hearse to arrive and a helicpoter flew over, we all looked at each other and said it must be Harry keeping a eye on us…Carl, Gordon is right about meeting up, the way we are all dropping we will not need a big table
Eddie
Hi gordon,
When would be the best time and place, for you Gordon?
The Pub at Geen Lane?
Second Tues night in April/
Please give your thoughts
Carl
Carl Williams:
edworth:
Carl…Found this old photo while going through some gearHi Eddie,
Was that JUP653H when it was new, half way through being signwritten. It is exact isn’t it. It brings back memories, athough i cannot remember driving it much, not like its predesessor the D reg J2. I think my experiences with it were sickening enough. In fact I think we still had the J2 and were running them both at the same time. I think it nearly outlasted the JU. BMC had introduced the JU to put everything right that was wrong with the J2. promises-promises…
The first or second week in April would be best for me also, so pehaps we can sort something out for round about then.
Are you going into hospital? if so good luck.
Best wishes
Carl
Sorry Carl, I made it up, but it still looks good with the name on it,and I have a lot of memories delivering freemans in one, in them days we delivered to all the pit villages and used there canteens for brekky or dinner, they were subsidised and very cheap and good grub,your son would be welcome anytime, in fact I met him briefly when I called to see your dad at the bungalow.
Eddie
Carl & Gordon…Jim Ferguson as been in touch with me and says he as been trying to get in touch with the both of you, but feels there is something wrong either with site or his end.
Eddie
A photo showing two Mercedes 16 ton gvw rigids with 3 Bedford Vanplan pantechnicon. Mercedes were our first non UK manufactured vehices in the fleet. Dad was persuaded because he had been so satisfied by the mercedes cars we ran.
As I explained in the last post the first non-British goods vehicles we operated were Mercedes Benz and we went on to buy 9 or 10 of these.
However our second venture was a much stranger choice, for us RDC439X Magirus DeutZ 90M79 1984 Luton Van and RDC440X Magirus DeutZ 90M79 1984 Luton Van,
I had been sent away with my car for a two day trip. The first port of call was Sheffield to see the warehouse we were planning to have there. All negotiations had been carried out by telephone after receiving several photos and plans of premises, and it was my first task to look over the premises and provided we were happy sign the lease.
Carrying on from Sheffield I had to call at a commercial vehicle dealer near Brownhills Birmingham and look at some vans with a view to buying four 7.5 ton gross that we were planning to base in Sheffield at the new warehouse. These were to form the nucleus of our operation there to be augmented by sub-contractors using similar sized vehicles. We had already appointed a manager who lived in Sheffield but was up in Spennymoor, at our expense for four weeks being ‘trained’ by dad.
When I arrived at Brownhills I found they had six vans that in my eyes suited the bill, three Bedfords one Ford D series and the two Magirus, which strangely as it seemed had belonged to Durham Pine, at Sherburn Hill, who had, I believe just gone bankrupt. They were virtually new and two very smart vans. Had I rang dad and told him about them he would have said, ‘forget them’, but I chose not to as I wanted them. Doing my figures I made an offer for the six. After doing an old trick of my grandfathers and going over to my Mercedes to leave, when they refused my offer, I was pleased to find they ran over to stop me driving off and said they would accept.
Ringing dad up I told him I had bought three Bedfords and a Ford and the price I had paid. He said he was pleased, telling me I had got them cheap. I then went on and said I had got two Magirus less than a year old thrown in, telling him that we could send the Ford down to London and use one of the Bedfords at Spennymoor.
I stayed overnight on the outskirts of Birmingham just off the M5 so that I could be in Worcester the next morning to meet representatives of GUS Transport GUS mail order catalogues and Kay’s (the mail order company that was also part of GUS group) in Kay’s head office to tell them all of how our Sheffield depot was progressing.
It was late in the afternoon that I was able to get away from Kay’s and very late when I got home, and when I went into work the next morning dad had got the vans, I had bought, back from Birmingham and one of the Magirus was already in the paint shop.
Here is a photo of the Ford I bought, along with them and the three Bedfords.
Carl Eddie & Peter 2nd Tuesday night in April for the pub meet up sounds OK for me.
Gordon
Carl Williams:
goggietara:
Eddie
I just wished i had read the Northern Echo & been @ his funeral i only ever pinched a read of my father laws paper once a week but never saw the news of WHW & when his funeral would be he was a well liked man & employer.
Gordon.
Eddie
Regarding the scan @ James Cook Hospital a bloomin long drive it would have been better if it was Bishop Auckland crazy!You will be up & about in nee time.
Gordon.edworth:
Gordon…There was a Peter Cleary from Croxdale, he had a brother or uncle called Butch, he only had one arm and worked for Sunter’s of Northallerton as a kind of wagon lad (it was heavy haulage) there was another lad from Spennymoor who worked for them John Eastman or Easter both were good lads,we used to pick them up on the A1 and give a lift home, at the moment I am having trouble with kidney stones,waiting for a scan at James Cook to see what they going to do, do you know if Colin Watson is still around, I would have thought he would have been on here by now if he was, last time I saw him was at WHs funeral with Doc Holiday,Brian Sheldon,Norman Flatman,Dennis from Ness,we were all talking as we waited for the hearse to arrive and a helicpoter flew over, we all looked at each other and said it must be Harry keeping a eye on us…Carl, Gordon is right about meeting up, the way we are all dropping we will not need a big table
EddieHi gordon,
When would be the best time and place, for you Gordon?
The Pub at Geen Lane?
Second Tues night in April/
Please give your thoughts
Carl
Hi Carl,Have you any pictures of the Sheffield depot?
jeffreyk:
Hi Carl,Have you any pictures of the Sheffield depot?
Hi Jeffreyk
Unfortunatly I have not, but wh knows some might turn up. I do not have any photo of the vans we had based there either, but again they might turn up.
I cannot even remember the address or phone number, but we did have large advert in 1986 Yellow pages for Sheffield area. Perhaps one day I might locate a copy of that, or again who knows someone might post a scan on here.
Best wishes
Carl
Hi Carl,I have a feeling that your sheffield depot may have been on walker street, i may be wrong though.
jeffreyk:
Hi Carl,I have a feeling that your sheffield depot may have been on walker street, i may be wrong though.
Hi Jeddreyk,
I am not sure but I am putting together some more information about Sheffield at the moment and will be posting the next day or so that you might find of interest.
Best wishes
Carl