4wheelerdave:
Hello folks another new member here having only just come across the site and joined.
As my handle implies I used to drive the four wheeler back in the day, I started on Brains in 1968 when I was twenty three and drove it for as best I can remember about two or three years before stepping up to drive on of the Guys on contract to ACT.The photo of the Albion in Brains colours has me at the wheel and was taken when Carol Brain decided to enter seven trucks in the driver of the year awards, myself and three 110 Scanias in Brains colours and three 80s in ACT colours, and I did rather well walking away with the cup for the best A or B licence truck, that was 1970. I did manage to ■■■■ Carol off by painting the wheels red on the Saturday then lined the white before the red was dry so it turned and nice shade of pink 'She was not impressed!
I do remember a few drivers from back then namely my brother John as well as Dave Terry who is no longer with us I’m afraid although I did so he a few years back at my brothers wife’s funeral along with Frank ‘jock’ Bailey, I also remember George Beardon I think his name was as well as Brian Mason and the little dark skinned bloke whose name eludes me at the moment but I did remember he was unlucky enough to hit one of the bridge supports on the M4 one foggy morning and rather bent his truck but was ok, then one year to the day fell out of a 110 on a night out on Wednesbury I think and broke both of his wrists and was stood here in his under pants and couldn’t get back in the cab. Oh joy!
I also remember the Sully brothers of course as well as Angus Donally I think his name was as well as the Greenock flyer John Newman, there was also a chap from Kent we called the Vicar and a few others from that side of the water I remember but can’t recall their name, so long ago.
One funny incident I remember well was when Charles Brain had a load of road scrapings delivered and he and Terry Thompson I think his name was were spreading it on the bottom road out of the yard( the old one of course) And Charles was diving a little roller he had hire and he ran over his own shoes embedding to the ground having swapped the for wellies.
After a while and I had a couple of kids I decided to spend more time at home and came off the road and into the yard driving the cranes for a bit and again after a while got pee’d off with that so asked to go back on the road again which request was denied so I left and went to all places Mileams down the road and Purfleet, then it was back to Brains on nights for a while then left for good or so I thought.
We moved to Suffolk and after a while I decided I wanted to go back on the road and started at Felixstow driving a Daff, then one day got back in the yard after a night out and was presented with one of the left hookers and told off you go Tamworth, so was lucky enough to have my first experience of a left ■■■■■■ on mainly duel carriage ways and boy was there some bloody sand in that cab I was forever trying to get rid of it.
A lot of time has passed by since then, I was single when I started and now am about to become a Great Grand Father at the end of this month, Where did all the years go?
By for now David Stowe
I remember you I was the fitter at felixstowe
john claydon