Nice photos Marc,
Thanks for the BMC one, the Laird I started with before getting my Mandator was a box van SHU ■■?.
I only wrote this bit down as the motor blew up near High Wycombe and was in the garage there for a few days.
I found the reg number in my little red “transport drivers pocket guide” 
I didn’t used to put the reg numbers down but I kept a record in the centre pages of wages, trailer numbers, drops and loads.
Some interesting facts from my red book records from early '70s on Westerns.
Wages £38.32 for guaranteed 11 hour day [not counting breaks - 10hrs drive + 1hr work etc]
Night out £2.00
Early start money 88p
Dirty money £1.35 [not sure if this was per day though]
Load & tip or tip & load + 160 miles - £1.00 bonus
Load or tip + 240 miles - £1.00 bonus
Course, this was all before the strike that got us all £1.00 hour for the basic 40 hours, all down to Scottish BRS in the first place, I believe.
Regards
Nig
Nig
Can’t remember the wage or bonuses as they developed, but I do remember Night out money was £7 rising to £15 when I left.
Early start was 75p for a 6 o’clock start £1.50 for a 5 o’clock and £5 for a 4 o’clock.
Dirty money was 12p an hour I think.
Geoff
Hi Geoff
Yes, I can remember night out money getting up to that later on in '70s, I was on for Pandoro in 1976 and I think I was getting about £5 or £6 for a night out, wages were about £55.00 for a full week based on £1 hour basic for 40 hours.
The 88p early start for Westerns was for a 5 o’clock start so that looks like it almost doubled from when I left in '74 till when you started.
£2.00 for a night out job to get a pint for that now, mind most transport digs were £1-£1.50 for b&b, I even had a few that did b&b + evening meal for £1.00,
Mrs Hext , Radford Road in Plymouth was one of those I remember.
Regards
Nig
Elmo
Keep em coming, my scanner has decided to go on strike, ruddy thing. I will get some piccies on here somehow.
Cheers
Geoff
Bloody hell Elmo, were you Westerns official photoragher
WARNING ANORAK TIME
This is for Nig (jazzman)
Your B.M.C.Laird was SHU 485G mate, WT ran 5 of them altogether,the others were
UAE120G a 4 wheel flat fleet no 694
UHU701H a 4 wheel boxvan fleet no 741
UHU702H a 4wheel boxvan fleet no742
VHY 57H a 4 wheel flat fleet no 620
Your Laird Nig carried the fleet number 652
OK anorak off
Cheers Marc
bubbleman:
WARNING ANORAK TIME
This is for Nig (jazzman)
Your B.M.C.Laird was SHU 485G mate, WT ran 5 of them altogether,the others were
UAE120G a 4 wheel flat fleet no 694
UHU701H a 4 wheel boxvan fleet no 741
UHU702H a 4wheel boxvan fleet no742
VHY 57H a 4 wheel flat fleet no 620
Your Laird Nig carried the fleet number 652
OK anorak off
Cheers Marc
Show off (and read your PM)
Hi All
I have spoke to the old fella (Bob Lewis) and he is digging out some photos he has loads from the old Brislington days right up untill the end I will try and get them on, I have told him about this web site and all thats on here and im not kidding you all he could write a book about Western Transport and what went on
Will stay in touch
Take care all
Vince Lewis
Thanks for that Marc, I now have all the reg numbers of all the motors I had at Westerns. This thread has brought back loads of memories and history and that is great
Sorry to hear about your Dad, Vince. I do remember him, I was only at Westerns for a couple of years, as I said, I started at Bris on the Laird 4 wheeler, SHU 485G and got my Mandator, UAE 8G when Dave lost his licence through the “pop”, latterly down at A’mouth, I mainly ran trunks with Gerry Fitton, Alan Tabrett, Clive Haskins etc., + I did the french cauliflower runs. Your post reminded me that I also did some runs to Ebbw Vale. Please give my regards to Bob, he may remember me.
Regards
Nig
Elmo
Read your bloody PM’s
Geoff
A pic from the scrapbook, would’nt a tandem trailer be a bit much for a Thames Trader 
Cheers Marc.
bubbleman:
A pic from the scrapbook, would’nt a tandem trailer be a bit much for a Thames Trader
Yep, and even worse if it was loaded with anything! 
Found this Commercial Motor article from 1975 ,the pictures bring back good memories of when I worked for them.
Also came across this advert for A.E.Cs…NGO449D was a prototype V8 engined mandator which was lent to WT for operational trials…it worked 24/7 continuously.An old WT driver Brian Perks said it would fly…as it was on night trunk to London (pre M4 days) it would follow B.R.S mandators with normal engines fitted ,when they reached Cherhill (by the white horse) it would ■■■■ past the lot of them with 20 tons of cocoa beans on its back…eventually someone gave the lorry a bit too much gun and smashed it up…it was rebuilt with a new cab.
Cheers Marc.
Found a couple of clippings and some photos of a few drivers.
Jack Coles,s Scania 81
A 112 posing with the old Severn bridge behind it.
Malcolm “Mackie” Brown dieseling up
The late Brian Perks.
Me (with hair) on the right and Ivor Weekes on a night out somewhere.
Ivor mucking about.
Mr Western Transport himself…the late Arthur Gregory.
Keith “stretch” Goodman at truckfest P/boro with F660 after a repaint in T.D.G colours.
Marc
I drove Jacks rigid for a while after he rolled it on a roundabout. High centre of grav with that bloody old fridge unit.
The Article from the 70’s reminded me about Mike Timms. Jeez this is memory city 
The Scannie by the bridge was Mc Nasties( or Captains if he had bought it by then.) I’d forgotten all about freezwest.
Remember when Keith held a pigs head on a pole in front of the office?
keep the pics coming
cheers
geoff
Just found this thread about freights
I used to work opposit the w/house they had in brislington opposit the HTV television studios It used to stink in the summer because of the old bone yard round there. They used to store for Harvy’s and DRG down ther along with other stuff. then they had the place up Keynsham.
I worked for W Smith and son (hanham) Ltd opposit the Blue Bowl in Hanham when I started on the artics, Did a lot out of Keynsham, Proctor and Gamble Manchester, Thurrock, then picking up J West salmon out of Liverpool on a flat bed, rope and sheet that to bring back for them. A while later I went on to agency when the kids came along and was out there on the night runs with NIS bad night was when Big Jim Spearman came in complaining he was ill unfortunately he collapsed and was taken to Bath Royal United where he passed away.
As for drivers I remember Brian Parks not seen him round for ages now Mind he was getting on a bit when i first met him.
GGGGGunner Graham and Mike Hodges moved over with Gregs and they eventualy moved up to the A46 Tormarton old TNT depot.
Big Dave !!! who ran the show unfortunatly passed away a couple of years ago on christmas so he never saw the new site in full swing…
I think you got the wrong company. I think it’s Western freights you are on about. This was Western Transport although you mentioned Brian Perks the other names i don’t recognise. Freights had a place in Keynsham but Western Transport had moved from bath road to Avonmouth in the 70’s
