These are some of the names of the traders that I can remember from
the Wholesale Fruit & Vegetable market at Edge Lane in Liverpool.
J.V.White…. F.W.Waterworth…. P & T Fitzpatrick… Louis Reece
Francis Nicholls… Dan Wuille…. Saltmarsh… Charles White…
T.J.Poupart…. Mark Revill…. Gordon Collins… L.O.Jeffs….
Ray Smyth.
I’m surprised that Smithfield Market London hasn’t been mentioned. That’s an experience that has to be seen at 5.00 am in the morning to be believed. It’s not for the faint hearted.
gingerfold:
I’m surprised that Smithfield Market London hasn’t been mentioned. That’s an experience that has to be seen at 5.00 am in the morning to be believed. It’s not for the faint hearted.
Here you go.
Click on pages twice.
^^^^^^^^^
An interesting article. I only went there three times. First time I went and an elderly porter took me under his wing, for the appropriate gratuity of course, and said to me that there were more crooks in the market than there were locked up in Brixton prison. He was probably one of them. 
DEAN if you have the appropriate AEC Gazette there was an article they did about the old Covent Garden market, I think it was titled “Of Cabbages and Kings”
gingerfold:
^^^^^^^^^
An interesting article. I only went there three times. First time I went and an elderly porter took me under his wing, for the appropriate gratuity of course, and said to me that there were more crooks in the market than there were locked up in Brixton prison. He was probably one of them.DEAN if you have the appropriate AEC Gazette there was an article they did about the old Covent Garden market, I think it was titled “Of Cabbages and Kings”
Oh,Covent Garden,I hated that place with a passion.We used to run down from Sheffield to load in early afternoon,getting somewhere to park was an art in itself. Sometimes having to go round the block and try again.Then there were the thieving buggers asking you to “sign 'ere drive” before you’d had time to check.Worst place I ever went to,glad to get off market work just to miss that hole. 
Rant over. 
Henrietta Street ? in the Old Covent Garden. One of the later Park Royal cabbed Mercuries in Alan Firmin’s fleet. Wasn’t the air cleaner was moved from just inside the driver’s door to the passenger side of the cab for these later one piece windscreen versions? The load is very clearly on the floor but I’m struggling with what is likely to be in the boxes. The stand is * RAB* & *** any guesses?
I remember the fruit markets in Scotland, just give someone on a forktruck a fiver, 
Sits back and awaits the fireworks!
cav551:
Henrietta Street ? in the Old Covent Garden. One of the later Park Royal cabbed Mercuries in Alan Firmin’s fleet. Wasn’t the air cleaner was moved from just inside the driver’s door to the passenger side of the cab for these later one piece windscreen versions? The load is very clearly on the floor but I’m struggling with what is likely to be in the boxes. The stand is * RAB* & *** any guesses?
I would imagine its cauliflowers / cabbages in the wooden crates.
gingerfold:
^^^^^^^^^
An interesting article. I only went there three times. First time I went and an elderly porter took me under his wing, for the appropriate gratuity of course, and said to me that there were more crooks in the market than there were locked up in Brixton prison. He was probably one of them.DEAN if you have the appropriate AEC Gazette there was an article they did about the old Covent Garden market, I think it was titled “Of Cabbages and Kings”
Funny enough i scanned that end of last year onto the computer.
Click on pages twice.
1965 Covent Garden Market.
DEANB:
gingerfold:
^^^^^^^^^
An interesting article. I only went there three times. First time I went and an elderly porter took me under his wing, for the appropriate gratuity of course, and said to me that there were more crooks in the market than there were locked up in Brixton prison. He was probably one of them.DEAN if you have the appropriate AEC Gazette there was an article they did about the old Covent Garden market, I think it was titled “Of Cabbages and Kings”
Funny enough i scanned that end of last year onto the computer.
Click on pages twice.
1965 Covent Garden Market.
1
0
There’s no doubt about Covent Garden market being an interesting place for an onlooker but for me it was a dump.Thanks for the article though Dean.
The old Covent Garden must have been a nightmare!!
Most of my dads work was potatoes from Norfolk,the Fens or Kent into the London markets.he much preferred going to the new “garden” at nine elms!!
He did quite a lot of work for a company called Egan and Thompson,they had an office in Russel street in Covent Garden.
He used to do Spitalfields,the Borough,and Stratford markets aswell.
I used to love going with him when I was a child.
Sod threading an artic through Borough market though!!
andrew.s:
The old Covent Garden must have been a nightmare!!
Most of my dads work was potatoes from Norfolk,the Fens or Kent into the London markets.he much preferred going to the new “garden” at nine elms!!
He did quite a lot of work for a company called Egan and Thompson,they had an office in Russel street in Covent Garden.
He used to do Spitalfields,the Borough,and Stratford markets aswell.
I used to love going with him when I was a child.
Sod threading an artic through Borough market though!!
The old Covent garden market really was a nightmare and i got caught out when on BRS early 50s .reporting into Southampton and sent to Portsmouth for return load , told to stand down midday and switch to night work, i was a ‘roamer’ so expected of me, loading at 10pm cauliflower on quayside from french coaster and on to Covent Garden two drops being a 25ft artic ,i won’t detail inside the market with an artic with two drops but it was time up midday with a spreadover , ok for me paywise with deemed time through to the next day start time though.
andrew.s:
The old Covent Garden must have been a nightmare!!
Most of my dads work was potatoes from Norfolk,the Fens or Kent into the London markets.he much preferred going to the new “garden” at nine elms!!
He did quite a lot of work for a company called Egan and Thompson,they had an office in Russel street in Covent Garden.
He used to do Spitalfields,the Borough,and Stratford markets aswell.
I used to love going with him when I was a child.
Sod threading an artic through Borough market though!!
The old Covent garden market really was a nightmare and i got caught out when on BRS early 50s .reporting into Southampton and sent to Portsmouth for return load , told to stand down midday and switch to night work, i was a ‘roamer’ so expected of me, loading at 10pm cauliflower on quayside from french coaster and on to Covent Garden two drops being a 25ft artic ,i won’t detail inside the market with an artic with two drops but it was time up midday with a spreadover , ok for me paywise with deemed time through to the next day start time though.
toshboy:
andrew.s:
The old Covent Garden must have been a nightmare!!
Most of my dads work was potatoes from Norfolk,the Fens or Kent into the London markets.he much preferred going to the new “garden” at nine elms!!
He did quite a lot of work for a company called Egan and Thompson,they had an office in Russel street in Covent Garden.
He used to do Spitalfields,the Borough,and Stratford markets aswell.
I used to love going with him when I was a child.
Sod threading an artic through Borough market though!!The old Covent garden market really was a nightmare and i got caught out when on BRS early 50s .reporting into Southampton and sent to Portsmouth for return load , told to stand down midday and switch to night work, i was a ‘roamer’ so expected of me, loading at 10pm cauliflower on quayside from french coaster and on to Covent Garden two drops being a 25ft artic ,i won’t detail inside the market with an artic with two drops but it was time up midday with a spreadover , ok for me paywise with deemed time through to the next day start time though.
We would normally go down with a 4 or 6 legger but I went just the once with a single axled 33ft trailer - axle on arse end type,and that were what they call “interesting” nowadays.I do recall I just loaded one product - Moroccan potatoes out of Floral Hall so it weren’t too bad.
Chris Webb:
DEANB:
gingerfold:
^^^^^^^^^
An interesting article. I only went there three times. First time I went and an elderly porter took me under his wing, for the appropriate gratuity of course, and said to me that there were more crooks in the market than there were locked up in Brixton prison. He was probably one of them.DEAN if you have the appropriate AEC Gazette there was an article they did about the old Covent Garden market, I think it was titled “Of Cabbages and Kings”
Funny enough i scanned that end of last year onto the computer.
Click on pages twice.
1965 Covent Garden Market.
There’s no doubt about Covent Garden market being an interesting place for an onlooker but for me it was a dump.Thanks for the article though Dean.
No worries Chris. 
Covent Garden 1970.
DEANB:
New Covent Garden 1974.
Interesting to see the photo of the Bowker tilt going into New Covent Garden, Dean - this must have been very much the tail end of their involvement with fruit, having first started carrying out of Covent Garden during the General Strike in 1926
gingerfold:
in 1930 brothers Wallace and Frank Turner bought a lorry for transporting produce from their family farm at Soham, Cambridgeshire. Soon they were carrying produce for neighbouring farmers to wholesale markets. From humble beginnings 90 years ago their company that has become Turners (Soham) Ltd. is still delivering nightly to wholesale markets throughout the mainland UK. Ninety years of unbroken transport services to wholesale markets with fresh produce. I would be interested to learn if any other company can match that record. For many years until the end of the Cold War they did it the other way round as well. Loading up from 5 to 8 lorries daily from Covent Garden to deliver to US military bases as far apart as St. Mawgan in Cornwall to the Mull of Kintyre and Wick. Lakenheath base had an artic load daily from Covent Garden.
What did the Turner brothers do during the period of nationalisation then, Graham? Were they doing haulage outside the remit of the RHE?
There was an article in one of this month’s comics, but it didn’t make that clear
Dean B
Hi, interesting to see the post on The New Covent Garden at Nine Elms.
In the seventies while working for John Raymond myself and a few other drivers were involved in moving roof trusses to Nine Elms from Dawnay Rosser whose workshop was on Jersey Marine in Swansea behind which was then The Ford Axle Plant. Iirc correctly the loads were about 14ft: wide and the outfit measured about 105 ft: from the bumper of the unit to end of the load with about 30th overhang
Police ■■■■■■ from Swansea to M4 in Newport then on your own as far as Langley ( Slough ).
Police ■■■■■■ from there to site with sometimes a stop for fish & chips payed for with cash from the traffic office.
Tip in the morning and reload mt: pallets from various Metal Box plants in London for Metal Box Neath
Happy days ! Regards Allan
Dean B
Hi, interesting to see the post on The New Covent Garden at Nine Elms.
In the seventies while working for John Raymond myself and a few other drivers were involved in moving roof trusses to Nine Elms from Dawnay Rosser whose workshop was on Jersey Marine in Swansea behind which was then The Ford Axle Plant. Iirc correctly the loads were about 14ft: wide and the outfit measured about 105 ft: from the bumper of the unit to end of the load with about 30th overhang
Police ■■■■■■ from Swansea to M4 in Newport then on your own as far as Langley ( Slough ).
Police ■■■■■■ from there to site with sometimes a stop for fish & chips payed for with cash from the traffic office.
Tip in the morning and reload mt: pallets from various Metal Box plants in London for Metal Box Neath
Happy days ! Regards Allan