We all like to recall our lorry experiences, so what was your first memory of either driving or riding in a lorry, and what year can you go back to by the age of the lorry at the time. Only lorries actually doing a day’s revenue earning work qualify. No preserved or restored lorries allowed.
In my case it was 1954 when I was 6 years old and I had my first lorry ride, in a 1942 Leyland Lynx. I went from Little Lever to Liverpool and back. The outbound load was chimney flue liners from the local terracotta works of Johnson & Riley. To say that it was an unforgettable experience would be an understatement! Especially as on the first steep climb encountered, up Hall Lane Farnworth to Moses Gate, made the Lynx rattle and groan and the cab filled with smoke! Back then the hill was steeper than it is now, the road was re-aligned in the emergency road building that took place in 1957 when several houses collapsed in Fylde Street due to mining subsidence which triggered a major sewer collapse. After tipping at a new housing site in Liverpool we collected a load of animal feed compound from Bibby’s to come back to Henry Whitehurst at Bolton. The second lorry in the small fleet of the family business was a Bedford OLB, with the utility grille, so that was of similar age to the Lynx.
So to start the ball rolling, date of lorry initiation 1954, date of lorry 1942.
We are obviously a similar age GF as I can recall my first rides in working motors circa 54’ and it was in a 1949 ( or 1950) Leyland Beaver and a new Leyland Comet which both belonged to A. D. Boyes in the village I grew up in, Ireby, in what was then ■■■■■■■■■■■ Both motors were primarily engaged on Livestock transport with lift off containers so it was trips to and from local Auctions in Cockermouth, Wigton and Carlisle. A. D. Boyes had bought the two vehicle “A” licenced business and premises of a chap called Jake Strong at around the time of the Coronation and one of the two motors was a Vulcan which was replaced immediately with the new Comet. A. D. drove the Beaver and William Gate drove the Comet and I spent many an hour travelling sat on the respective bonnets of both motors ! Bitten by the “bug” ! and that was my earliest memories. Leyland 600 will confirm my memories I’m sure ! Cheers Dennis.
My earliest memory is from when I was about Five in 1964, Going with my Dad somewhere for the day in what I think was a Leyland Comet artic, this was when he worked for J.T.Moodies of Glen Luce which was to become Woodside Brothers in later years when they brought him out.
I can recall two very early occasions of being in the passenger seat of Bedfords.
It would have been about 1958/59, the first one was driving under a hopper at Washington F pit for a load of household doubles for our yard, the racket when the chute opened and the coal hit the empty body scared the S@~!" out of this five year old.
I also remember going to the old Newcastle & Gateshead Marts at about the same time, I was five when I first went into a slaughter house (South Shields I think) and watched sheep being shot with a bolt gun and then hung and bled. My Dad got a bollocking of my mother for letting me go but it never did me any harm.
Vehicles would have been early fifties and I remember some of the registrations, MTY176, VJR 711 & TNL 360.
One month old (January 1951) in an Army Bedford in Libya…according to Mother! As I can’t remember that it would be mid fifties in the Foden FG eight legger Dad drove for Thermalite. Oldest MAY be the Seddon he later drove for Laws Transport of Reading, registration number JMO 1?
I was around the same age of 6 years old (was that the age Mothers allowed kids to go of with Dad!) and about 1959, my Dad had me sitting on his knee as I steered the little O Series Tipper around in circles which he drove for Anthony Mole in Newcastle, the lorry would have been maybe mid 50’s, I haven’t got the reg so can only guess but did build a model below in memory of that day that has stayed with me and very vividly even the livery of that little Bedford. My next memories are a little later going on many trips in his Thames Trader four wheeler 507 FUP, that motor was registered in Durham between Nov 59 to March 60, by then he drove general haulage for Steenberg on Newcastle’s Quayside early 60’s, he couldn’t get shot of me after that. Kirkcaldy was the first memory I have of a distance run and loved going North after that. A mix of Artics for the same company during the following years until I joined the forces and on one leave he let me jump into the drivers seat of his 71 reg Seddon 32:FOUR:220 with a load of timber on heading for Hexham, fantastic! Franky.
About 7 or 8 going out with my mate and his dad, Wilkinsons Transport D-series out of the Rochdale depot. Spent the day with him while he did his deliveries - we both also got to steer on some private land.
My earliest memories was around 1956 (age 9 ) going with my Uncle in his Bedford O series in the local carnival and after that was with my Dad in a Parrot nose Dodge tipper running stone from the local quarry in Stalybridge and also from the quarries in Buxton which at the time I used to think was miles away from home in Ashton U Lyne.Like most on here I spent all my school holidays with my Dad in his lorry and then when I left school in 1962 I went working in the garage with the company he was with, loved it .
School holidays 1964, my friend’s dad drove for BRS and took us on a run from Corby to Bilston to pick up a load of special steel ingots for the plug mill in Corby Tubeworks. He had a brand spanking new B-registered Gardner 150 powered Seddon tractor unit, (don’t think it said Atkinson on it but can’t remember for sure).
He brought the truck up our street and picked his lad & I up. I remember it was spotlessly clean inside and out, still smelt new and was reasonably quiet too. We took turns sitting on the passenger seat and the engine cover, suspect the latter was fractionally less uncomfortable - no cab or seat suspension in those days I guess.
Remember travelling the old A427 through Wilbarston and Stoke Albany, then Market Harborough, from there I imagine we headed towards Lutterworth and the A5, but it was a few years ago, so not sure. The roads through those villages are still the same today, though bypassed. Threading an admittedly small by today’s standards artic through there with the odd truck & bus coming the other way was certainly interesting.
We drove into the Steelworks at Bilston and sat in the cab while a magnet crane loaded about half a dozen ingots on the back, (not a hard hat in sight & two nine year-olds in the lorry). Can’t for the life of me remember how the load was secured. The ingots were octagonal, about 6’ long, laid across the bed and spaced a couple of feet apart.
I guess it was pretty well loaded on the return trip, climbing the hills seemed to take forever. I can remember my mate’s dad double de-clutching down the box and patting the engine cover affectionately saying, “It’ll climb anything this”. Pulling about 30 tons up a hill with 150 horses wasn’t quick, but we seemed to be flying compared to some of the older, black smoke belching trucks we saw.
Dropped us back home in time for tea before going to unload. All in about 6 hours for round trip of about 90 miles.
My earliest memories are of a Bedford J type tipper (the first new lorry me dad bought) KGR 491 (circa 1958/59) bought from Adams and Gibbon’s (Sunderland) and travelling down to Hartlepool beach (from Seaham) for a load of “sharp” sand to be delivered to a foundry in Newcastle. A round trip of about 60 miles, a journey i would make many times and still fills me with great boyhood memories
Crossroads:
School holidays 1964, my friend’s dad drove for BRS and took us on a run from Corby to Bilston to pick up a load of special steel ingots for the plug mill in Corby Tubeworks. He had a brand spanking new B-registered Gardner 150 powered Seddon tractor unit, (don’t think it said Atkinson on it but can’t remember for sure).
He brought the truck up our street and picked his lad & I up. I remember it was spotlessly clean inside and out, still smelt new and was reasonably quiet too. We took turns sitting on the passenger seat and the engine cover, suspect the latter was fractionally less uncomfortable - no cab or seat suspension in those days I guess.
Remember travelling the old A427 through Wilbarston and Stoke Albany, then Market Harborough, from there I imagine we headed towards Lutterworth and the A5, but it was a few years ago, so not sure. The roads through those villages are still the same today, though bypassed. Threading an admittedly small by today’s standards artic through there with the odd truck & bus coming the other way was certainly interesting.
We drove into the Steelworks at Bilston and sat in the cab while a magnet crane loaded about half a dozen ingots on the back, (not a hard hat in sight & two nine year-olds in the lorry). Can’t for the life of me remember how the load was secured. The ingots were octagonal, about 6’ long, laid across the bed and spaced a couple of feet apart.
I guess it was pretty well loaded on the return trip, climbing the hills seemed to take forever. I can remember my mate’s dad double de-clutching down the box and patting the engine cover affectionately saying, “It’ll climb anything this”. Pulling about 30 tons up a hill with 150 horses wasn’t quick, but we seemed to be flying compared to some of the older, black smoke belching trucks we saw.
Dropped us back home in time for tea before going to unload. All in about 6 hours for round trip of about 90 miles.
tyneside:
I can recall two very early occasions of being in the passenger seat of Bedfords.
It would have been about 1958/59, the first one was driving under a hopper at Washington F pit for a load of household doubles for our yard, the racket when the chute opened and the coal hit the empty body scared the S@~!" out of this five year old.
I also remember going to the old Newcastle & Gateshead Marts at about the same time, I was five when I first went into a slaughter house (South Shields I think) and watched sheep being shot with a bolt gun and then hung and bled. My Dad got a bollocking of my mother for letting me go but it never did me any harm.
Vehicles would have been early fifties and I remember some of the registrations, MTY176, VJR 711 & TNL 360.
Tyneside
I take it, that’s not you in the white dress mate Looks like it’s been washed in DAZ Must have been photographed on a Sunday
my earliest lorry memories is around 1947 going to London with my dad in a o model Bedford belonging to paragreen &Mitchell who were parcel carriers from irthlingborough, I used to sit on a old beer crate between the seats and helped dad change gear .lolmemories that stick in my mind are having huge mugs of tea in London docks, the mugs had PLO written on them , also having mega fryups at the rookery café that was on the outskirts of London . from these early days I always wanted to be a lorry driver.
I used to stand on a busy road junction in Nottingham when I was a nipper in the mid-'50s and watch the lorries and buses. I remember being particularly impressed as a four-year-old by a passing ERF that was almost identical to the little maroon Matchbox one I was clutching! Robert
earliest I can remember is standing behind dad in his half cab foden coach , I must have been all of about 3 , so just about room for me in the corner while he drove it. when I got to about 4 or 5 I went with him in the traders , first 1686ME , then XRP451 , mostly round London toy stores and the docks, I remember being thankful of seeing Whitworths on the way back one time in 1686 , I was absolutely frozen , and I was late starting school when I was 5, apparently I with him in the queue at one of the London docks, I do remember that one although its only vague, slept in the cab and had a wash in the back of the lorry.
Frankydobo:
I was around the same age of 6 years old (was that the age Mothers allowed kids to go of with Dad!) and about 1959, my Dad had me sitting on his knee as I steered the little O Series Tipper around in circles which he drove for Anthony Mole in Newcastle, the lorry would have been maybe mid 50’s, I haven’t got the reg so can only guess but did build a model below in memory of that day that has stayed with me and very vividly even the livery of that little Bedford. My next memories are a little later going on many trips in his Thames Trader four wheeler 507 FUP, that motor was registered in Durham between Nov 59 to March 60, by then he drove general haulage for Steenberg on Newcastle’s Quayside early 60’s, he couldn’t get shot of me after that. Kirkcaldy was the first memory I have of a distance run and loved going North after that. A mix of Artics for the same company during the following years until I joined the forces and on one leave he let me jump into the drivers seat of his 71 reg Seddon 32:FOUR:220 with a load of timber on heading for Hexham, fantastic! Franky.
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Hi Frankydobo
Often wondered about Moles. I can remember them working in Newcastle, especially when the City Centre motorway was under construction. Think they were running a lot of Dodge four wheelers then (late sixties)
How many motors did they run and where was there yard ?
I know that eventually they were taken over by Bowey along with John Scott & Sons. Bowey ran the whole transport operation under the A Mole name, Ted Smith was the senior man along with Barry Anderson who ended up at Owen Pugh’s.
As I can’t remember that it would be mid fifties in the Foden FG eight legger Dad drove for Thermalite. Oldest MAY be the Seddon he later drove for Laws Transport of Reading, registration number JMO 1? 
Must have been photographed on a Sunday 
