Eddie Heaton:
01From wrecker to wreck in a few fateful seconds. Note the modified Viewline cab. ■■■■ shame really, it was such a nice looking motor. Eddie.
Do you have any clues to its identity, Eddie?
It was purchased from Roland Bradbury, I don’t know if you’ve heard of him ? Long gone now of course, but it came to them from Monks, the civil engineering firm from Padgate near Warrington, as did the Crusader in the photo above. I’ll find some photos of the Viewline and post them on here in the near future.
Sorry Peter, but it appears the statute of limitations has expired on the dry cleaning claim. However, to compensate in part, I’ve found these among the archive, taken at AVRO 1980.
Hell hath no fury like a jealous woman clutching a half empty champagne bottle.
Nothing to do with wreckers, or anything else for that matter, but since it’s been mentioned on this thread, here’s an amateur aerial photo of Roland Bradbuy’s yard at Spring View, taken in 1983.
It was situated opposite Ince cemetery, the Old Hall pub and Springs branch loco sheds and will be familiar to a lot of lorry men from the Wigan area. The area was cleared in the late 80’s to make room for private housing.
The place was an Aladdin’s cave of second hand wagons and as a regular visitor I had the opportunity to fill several photo albums. Unfortunately, I must have had more pressing matters to attend to at the time and missed my chance.
This is the only photo that I have of the site, but it gives a fair idea of the scale of the operation.
Eddie Heaton:
0Virgil arrives back at Tracy island in Thunderbird 2 to a tumultuous welcome.
‘And the crowd went wild!’
I guess it would be more likely that the only occupants of the yard, the mechanic and the sparky would look at each other and one would say ‘what heap of ■■■■ has Eddie brought in now?’
Was this your motor? The follically endowed fellow was the driver of the broken down vehicle. The unassumingly handsome chap in the centre of the group being the driver of the wrecker.
Here’s a photo of the Viewline before conversion. Sorry about the poor quality, but it’s the only one that I’ve been able to find.
Registered in Middlesborough evidently, although it was on low loader work for Monks out of Warrington, to the best of my knowledge, prior to the depot closing.
Eddie Heaton:
0Here’s a photo of the Viewline before conversion. Sorry about the poor quality, but it’s the only one that I’ve been able to find.
Registered in Middlesborough evidently, although it was on low loader work for Monks out of Warrington, to the best of my knowledge, prior to the depot closing.
Hope this is helpful.
Cheers. Eddie.
Brilliant Eddie, thank you! This was new to ICI on tanker work and wasn’t actually a heavy haulage motor at all. Apart from the reg, clues are the small Mk 1 or Mk 2 back windows, and the full width, upside-down top bumper. One of its sister ICI motors is under restoration in North Yorkshire
Was this your motor? Another Scottish reg., this time Ayrshire I believe. Originally operated as a wagon and drag. If you were the driver of this Volvo, you probably never dreamt it would end it’s days as a recovery vehicle.
Eddie Heaton:
0Virgil arrives back at Tracy island in Thunderbird 2 to a tumultuous welcome.
now eddie there’s a blast from the past i spent many an hour in rolands yard as a kid playing on them cranes mostly of a Saturday as my dad and uncle owned the steam cleaning yard on cemetery road cheers jamie
Here’s my atki as it came from taberns in 2007 they had it from new as a unit and converted it to a wrecker around 1987 …nick tabern told me he went to Exeter from St Helens to drag a broken strato back it was winter and he said he was wearing so many clothes he could hardly walk cheers jamie
Hi jamie, I remember the steam cleaning yard very well. Just behind the Old Hall pub. They operated for a long time.
I remember taking a Guy Invincible to them for steam cleaning back in 1969 when I was driving for Tom Liptrot in Golborne.
Now Roland Bradbury’s, they never had any gates on the place did they?, not that I recall anyway. Anyone could just wander in off the street at will, and probably did. That would never do nowadays. How the world has changed.
I knew Jimmy Wadsworth jr. as he’s about my age although I never knew his father. ’ Young ’ Jimmy worked on the bank at Reed’s when we loaded cardboard out of there in the 70’s. You could hear him coming long before he arrived as he always wore clogs. There’s a mention of him and a photo of one their tippers on the A in M thread.
Hope you don’t mind, but I’ve taken the liberty of having a look through your posts. I noticed a mention of a certain Albert Reagan, would this be the gentleman in question. If so, I worked with him out of Ravenhead brickworks for a number of years. And your mate, that wouldn’t be Johnny Peet by any chance?
Yes eddie thanks for your comments i knew albert regan well he lived in orrell and ran out of ravenhead for years if you climb over my back fence you are in the brickworks…i remember john peet when he worked for Ronnie gaskell on cinnamon brow he left there to go to work for albert years later i worked with him for a bloke called Roger laithwaite who i think had shares in greenalls as he ran a fleet of scrappers and Barry was forever towing them in . ironically john peet took me for my first ride in a borderer and dropped me and dad off outside the Stanley in upholland …i always wanted one after that cheers jamie
Sorry Peter, but it appears the statute of limitations has expired on the dry cleaning claim. However, to compensate in part, I’ve found these among the archive, taken at AVRO 1980.
Virgil arrives back at Tracy island in Thunderbird 2 to a tumultuous welcome.
No use trying to kid you John.
Was this your motor? The follically endowed fellow was the driver of the broken down vehicle. The unassumingly handsome chap in the centre of the group being the driver of the wrecker.
Was this your motor? Another Scottish reg., this time Ayrshire I believe. Originally operated as a wagon and drag. If you were the driver of this Volvo, you probably never dreamt it would end it’s days as a recovery vehicle.
. Or as my old Dad used to say, ‘Its a BSA’ (Bit stuck anywhere). Chris
