atkins derby

Here is a video about FB Atkins who had a fine fleet.

DaveL:
Hi Carl.
Haven’t got any pics but your mate Nobby may recall a couple of drivers.
Dave Bridel worked for Atkins in the UK, Daniel (Nevada) worked out of Cherbourg. Their kids married ( I think it was Daves son & Daniels daughter) & have/had a restaurant in York.
Also ask Nobby if he recalls Bernie Thompson (from the transport office)at last count he owned trucks collecting garbage round Cherbourg.

I used to drive fo FCF who moved from Southampton to Poole when Truckline first started and remember the Atkins drivers very well. I remember Bernie when he worked for PBC in Southampton when he couldn’t speak a word of French. Great guy.

i worked with an ex atkins driver who lost his leg i think on a load of timber at atkins . his name escapes me at the moment , but when he got his false leg he went back to driving before his comp was settled and lost a lot of money as a result .i recall now his first name was john , but he got christened jake the peg .

I got called ouit to a breakdown one night at Atkins. One of our AECs had an alternator problem that boiled the batteries and blew every bulb on the rig. Middle of the night, the lorry had a deadline to meet, and no bulbs. I went in to the workshop and asked the night foreman if he could help, and the miserable old git told me to ■■■■ off!
So I went round his trailer park and piched bulbs off some of the trailers. I put the lenses back on though, so unless they did their safety checks, they wouldn’t have noticed!
It was right dodgy driving back to cardiff on only sidelights, behind our breakdown pick up, I can tell you!
This would be about 1970 so I suppose the old guy is dead now, but if he’s reading this, up yours, pal!

that name just came back to me , it was john barley man if anyone recalls him

rigsby:
that name just came back to me , it was john barley man if anyone recalls him

I had the chance of a job working out of leeds containerbase for atkins I had to go down to derby for an assesment the blokes name who assessed me was called pedro I think,I passed the test but turned job down.This was the mid eighties they were running fiats and renualts then.

Carl:
i work with a guy who did the continent for em in the 70,s he drove fiats and mercs the guys name is nobby and started at atkins as a lad washing trailers.
for a while he ran outta poole and southamton and when atkins had a french depot he had a french reg left ■■■■■■ merc.does anyone remember nobby or have any atkins pics

aup carl its tim hodgkinson. my dad worked in the garage at atkins in the early 80’s his name is malc hodgkinson, other people i know who worked there is our ernie hodgkinson, tony whyatt, ian hyde, you my know his son george hyde, alan clarke (nobby) also his dad known as nobby, dave watkiss, i think his dad was in charge of the garage. you know most of these guys from the kts days, does anybody remember any of these people■■? :smiley:

Anybody remember a John Murtagh that drove for Atkins a few year back?

stevecook:
Found this on t’Internet:

This was the shunter that worked in the yard at Pirelli in Burton, and yes, it was a polished beer keg - held in place by chrome plated chains. I believe that it was actually customised by it’s driver.

Steve

hello goog morning
i french driver who have works for atkins derby but at cherbourg i’m their first french driver from december 1977 to the end 1990 at ouistreham
it’s verry pleasure for me to see old photos of atkins the fiat from french side was mine
i remember verry well of “nobby” allan clark i freind with him i know also dave bridle
i have plenty photos of atkins period i put here later also frpom the first 24h of le mans i run with an iveco u30

Welcome to Truck Net Michel. We look forward to seeing your pictures. Regards Mick.

two photos i have just on my desk the iveco serie “le mans” i think in 1997 and the second one is with british internatinal after they bought atkins and move from cherbourg to ouistreham

I’ll put this article up properly later when I get chance to scan it. It is from an early commercial motor and seems very interesting . I have an article from some years back somewhere, I forget what it was out of, called the biggest dam fleet in the land, or something like that, had a foden haulmaster or fleetmaster on the front. This one seems a lot earlier, so I’ll scan it and put it on

image.jpg

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Once applied for a job there working out of leeds container base , I had to go down to Derby for an appraisal a chap i think his name was Pedro or something spanish ,he took me all round the backroads in a fiat and skely trailer . i got the job but they said i had to start on the cargo 6wheelers delvering concrete slabs so told them to stick it .

There was a bloke lived near us in droylsden manchester who drove for Atkins. He used to park his Atkins iveco at the butchers arms football ground. As a kid I used to break off from the Saturday shopping with my mum to cross over and have a good nosey around his truck! He also had a Renault at one point, he must’ve drove for Marshall from Nottingham too as he had a daf 2800 (red and white) and later a morline iveco too! I seem to recall also seeing a containership iveco turbo there too!

Sadly I was too young to take any pictures, does anyone know the driver in question by any chance?

Cheers, harryvr6.

in front of cherbourg garage the small four wheeler was mine when i start work atkin’s in december 1977 for 7months

lorries park in front of garage i think driver was at cafeteria lol

the first artic i have with rigth hand drive for 2 years here i’m at montargis delevring deab chemical products from belper

the guys behind me was philipe heath from poole is surename was “rapidlapin”

the mercedes regist 3752qw50 i have just after a good driver who’s name is david laurence and you can see the exaust under the bumper it’s because for when carreing pigeon’s

mike bowers and other french driver claude letranchant allias kojack my cousin

me and english drive mike bowers

ready for the road the fiat was 190nt26

my truck