When I first started for Mitchell & Robertson in late 69 and into the early 70’s Hull Fruit and Veg Market in Humber Street was a place I visited on a number of occasions. The place looked exactly as depicted in the attached photo. I must admit I can’t remember who I delivered to but it was always a full load of apples on a rigid, either AEC or Bedford.
240 Gardner:
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
Evening Chris, they were running a few lorries on the 25-miles radius “get-out” rule, but their main work during nationalization was livestock transport, which often escaped nationalization. When they bought the BRS depot at Fordham in 1953, along with a few smaller sub-depots in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, general haulage was done from Fordham, but the livestock side remained at Soham with overnight lairage at the farm if required. There was a yardman there when I joined Turners who had been the last cattle float driver, and thy had finished with livestock in the 1970s, mainly because many of the fenland farms had turned to arable. Wallace Turner still went to Bury St Edmunds cattle market every week and did a bit of buying and selling.
gingerfold:
240 Gardner:
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
Evening Chris, they were running a few lorries on the 25-miles radius “get-out” rule, but their main work during nationalization was livestock transport, which often escaped nationalization. When they bought the BRS depot at Fordham in 1953, along with a few smaller sub-depots in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, general haulage was done from Fordham, but the livestock side remained at Soham with overnight lairage at the farm if required. There was a yardman there when I joined Turners who had been the last cattle float driver, and thy had finished with livestock in the 1970s, mainly because many of the fenland farms had turned to arable. Wallace Turner still went to Bury St Edmunds cattle market every week and did a bit of buying and selling.
Graham,I remember the Norwich depot trunk drivers telling me that they coasted into the yard after their Grantham changeover if they were a bit early as the yard foreman lived nearby.
Slightly off thread but this was the former BRS Fordham site in 1955 and where Turners operated from until 1991. Click on photo to enlarge.
When I joined Turners in 1990 the access hadn’t changed. The light coloured roofed building was the offices, drivers’ report on the front. The fuel pumps were in exactly the same place as in the photo. The building to the right of the fuel pump was the workshops.The big warehouse had gone, a smaller one had been erected on the spare ground bottom right. A parking area had been created to the left of the tree line. The yard couldn’t be expanded any farther back, there was a stream there. The depot was base for about 80 vehicles and 100 trailers if they were all there at once. They had to be parked at weekend in order of departure on Sunday and Monday. I was once fuelling up at about 8.00 pm one Saturday evening on the pumps in the photo, think I’d come back from Asda Portbury, and Wallace Turner suddenly appeared behind me, scared me half to death, I hadn’t seen his car about the place, and I still don’t to this day where he had come from.
^^^^^^
Looking at the photo again and the three walls at the rear of the offices must have been construction of a drivers’ toilets block and brew room which was there in my time. The fuel pumps included one petrol pump, that still worked in 1990, a throwback to the early '50s when there were still petrol engine lorries on the road. Turners still had a petroleum spirit storage licence in 1990.
The ‘dossers’. Always in attendance at Spittalfields and Covent Garden. You had to be desperate to give them a bob or two to help unload your lorry. I did it once or twice.
gingerfold:
^^^^^^
Looking at the photo again and the three walls at the rear of the offices must have been construction of a drivers’ toilets block and brew room which was there in my time. The fuel pumps included one petrol pump, that still worked in 1990, a throwback to the early '50s when there were still petrol engine lorries on the road. Turners still had a petroleum spirit storage licence in 1990.
Do Turners still have a depot at Costessey Norwich Graham?
One of our former long serving Tilcon drivers worked for Turners on powder tanks at their depot on Ashbourne airfield but said it wasn’t as good a job as Tilcon had been. I was told that he phoned in one day and a female voice on the phone asked “Do you work for us then?” and he realised that to them he was just a number and decided to retire early! 
Pete.
I used to load out of Pobla de Villabona ,outside of Valencia , with the dreaded onions , the produce was not sold until I got on the ferry at Dieppe or once off at Newhaven not sold .
At Newhaven take a weekly rest , then drive all night Sunday , either a full load to one market or six drops .
Midlands area , Yorkshire and Glasgow market which is now gone and London of which you paid to get in .
Sometimes Bristol .
The onion pallets were terrible and flimsy wood uprights up to six feet tall holding in the bags .
Getting tipped was a pain , finding a fork lift driver , one place in London owned by Cypriots gave me a hard time for no reason , made me wait for hours , side tipped on the road .
Obviously the weight of the pallets , so hard work using the pump truck .
Always stopped by French Douanes but you got an agricultural permit from the loader to run as perishable on the French Sunday driving ban .
Chris Webb:
gingerfold:
^^^^^^
Looking at the photo again and the three walls at the rear of the offices must have been construction of a drivers’ toilets block and brew room which was there in my time. The fuel pumps included one petrol pump, that still worked in 1990, a throwback to the early '50s when there were still petrol engine lorries on the road. Turners still had a petroleum spirit storage licence in 1990.Do Turners still have a depot at Costessey Norwich Graham?
Hi Chris, yes that’s still there. It is now all food grade liquids and powder tanks run from there. Dry and liquids sugar and edible oils.
sandway:
When I first started for Mitchell & Robertson in late 69 and into the early 70’s Hull Fruit and Veg Market in Humber Street was a place I visited on a number of occasions. The place looked exactly as depicted in the attached photo. I must admit I can’t remember who I delivered to but it was always a full load of apples on a rigid, either AEC or Bedford.
Nice picture. I only went to Hull Market the once and had been wondering whereabouts it was , I had a feeling that it was in the dockside area which seems to be true. It’s a sad sight now though with the redevelopment going on around the area. The street view does have a couple of recognisable buildings though.
Mrsteel:
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
Good memories Allan. I bet you stopped for fish & chips every time ! 
Heres a bit more on New Covent Garden which opened November 1974.
Click on page twice.
toby1234abc:
I used to load out of Pobla de Villabona ,outside of Valencia , with the dreaded onions , the produce was not sold until I got on the ferry at Dieppe or once off at Newhaven not sold .
At Newhaven take a weekly rest , then drive all night Sunday , either a full load to one market or six drops .
Midlands area , Yorkshire and Glasgow market which is now gone and London of which you paid to get in .
Sometimes Bristol .
The onion pallets were terrible and flimsy wood uprights up to six feet tall holding in the bags .
Getting tipped was a pain , finding a fork lift driver , one place in London owned by Cypriots gave me a hard time for no reason , made me wait for hours , side tipped on the road .
Obviously the weight of the pallets , so hard work using the pump truck .
Always stopped by French Douanes but you got an agricultural permit from the loader to run as perishable on the French Sunday driving ban .
I loaded onions from Newhaven once, got the load off MMD who had a small wooden office on the docks.
cav551:
sandway:
When I first started for Mitchell & Robertson in late 69 and into the early 70’s Hull Fruit and Veg Market in Humber Street was a place I visited on a number of occasions. The place looked exactly as depicted in the attached photo. I must admit I can’t remember who I delivered to but it was always a full load of apples on a rigid, either AEC or Bedford.Nice picture. I only went to Hull Market the once and had been wondering whereabouts it was , I had a feeling that it was in the dockside area which seems to be true. It’s a sad sight now though with the redevelopment going on around the area. The street view does have a couple of recognisable buildings though.
Ah yes,Humber Street Hull.I used to go there and load lettuce straight off Dutch trailers shunted off docks by Reader Bros and Haltemprice Transport.We just helped ourselves,can’t recall signing for owt as it was usually in evening in winter. This was in 1969,if it was windy you had to try and trap the bloody boxes before they blew away over t’Humber. 
Being based in Kent I went to the London Markets regularly, not very often having to load the lorry myself so I had great admiration for the shunters who always managed to have the load in the right order for dropping off around the market and so very clearly marked with what belonged to whoever. The traffic office was very good too when I had to load lorries for others, I was always given a loading note set out almost as a floor plan.
The main gripe was the stallholders sometimes wanting to sell produce off the lorry which could be a big cause of arguments and delay. The buyers tried it on as always, either cheekily wanting a few ‘extras’ or or claiming they were short. I soon leaned that if the stall holder wanted it sold and carried on with unloading his own, then the count would be made at the start and the buyer’s produce only came off a particular pallet and only when it didn’t interfere with unloading the rest.
I had trouble once at the Borough when at the finish the stall holder claimed he was 40 tomato boats short. I dealt with him in a manner which I’m sure he remembered for a long time. Sheeting up and roping to prevent pilfering I left the lorry completely blocking his stand from 4 am to 9 am. In the meantime I rang the Transport Manager who told me not to move under any circumstances and just to let the bradle know what was going on and then stay away from the market. When I rang again at about 8.30 Mack and Edwards had confirmed that the 40 boats were on the lorry and that they had spoken to the stall holder. In between a load of abuse and moaning about how much money “I had cost him” because he had been unable to sell, he signed up meekly for the full amount.
My dad was unloading in the Borough one night,and some old bugger further up started setting his stand out,stacking all his fruit right out in the road,my dad pointed out that he’d never be able to swing round it in an artic,matey ignored him.when it was time to go he just drove straight over it and flattened the whole lot hahahahaha
sandway:
The ‘dossers’. Always in attendance at Spittalfields and Covent Garden. You had to be desperate to give them a bob or two to help unload your lorry. I did it once or twice.
One time I was stood at the tea stall in the Garden for one of their excellent cheese and onion rolls, chatting to a couple of drivers, when out of the corner of my eye I spotted a dirty old hand creeping along the counter hoping to grab one of our rolls. Somebody slammed a fist down on the fingers and with a yelp and a curse the miscreant took off! Always kept a close eye after that.
Bernard
I was chatting to some Atlas Express drivers and a driver from Leeds outside Spitalfields at the Golden Glove stall one night when some thieving bugger was spotted interfering with the Leeds driver’s load.
Without further ado he was nabbed,and roped onto back of Leeds wagon and asked “Has tha ever been up t’M1 before”.
Poor sod,he was absolutely petrified and thought he was in for ride north,but we let him go and he were off like a shot.
The sights you saw at that Golden Glove were fascinating - some dressed up in evening attire,wagon drivers,allsorts of different folk including thieving buggers trying to flog you summat “evryfink a paand mate,only a paand”.
Chris Webb:
I was chatting to some Atlas Express drivers and a driver from Leeds outside Spitalfields at the Golden Glove stall one night when some thieving bugger was spotted interfering with the Leeds driver’s load.
Without further ado he was nabbed,and roped onto back of Leeds wagon and asked “Has tha ever been up t’M1 before”.
Poor sod,he was absolutely petrified and thought he was in for ride north,but we let him go and he were off like a shot.
The sights you saw at that Golden Glove were fascinating - some dressed up in evening attire,wagon drivers,allsorts of different folk including thieving buggers trying to flog you summat “evryfink a paand mate,only a paand”.
Golden Glove – nice dog rolls, usually served with the saying “dog roll, coming up, very hot mush”.
Bernard
During my time doing Fruit & Veg Wholesale markets in the early 1970s, almost every load
that I did was handballed. Fruit & Veg on pallets was quite a rarity back then, also, very few
wholesalers had a forklift truck anyway. These 2 pictures are John Freeman, a longtime driver
with Louis Reece from Horsemonden in Kent, loading and unloading fruit. Pictures from John,
the son of John Freeman seen here. Click on pictures for full image.
Ray Smyth.
