I worked for tartan arrow in 1961 and moved to berkshire road hackney ayear or so later .i was a fitter in the work shops and my governer was joe winfield. The managing director was derek cooper and his brother brian was the director at dalmonock rd. in glasgow.the company moved to kentish town some time later.the main fleet consisted of TK bedfords and a mixture of Artics LEYLANDS,DODGE and I think ln total there were about 200. vehicles including some ford transit vans running under the name London arrow.As a note every vehicle was painted by john scrafton in the workshop and the famous arrow was painted by hand using masking tape ,it was facinating watching him doing it. the workshops had 12 bays with 6 walk through pits The train was also painted in tartan arrow colours .apart from joe winfield being in charge of the workshop i becaime foreman and later fleet enginer .The managing director was Jack chester and the other directors were joe winfield derek cooper and fred mason Some of the drivers i rember were Harry and lenny wooten Ernie hayes ,Kenny proctor.Ronny hall Jack capper Alan page Pat welley and brother Tony and numerous others that i will try to rember later if any one is interested.any way BRS took over about 1979. thats when i left. i hope this is of interest to anybody .Happy days and fond memories.
Some years ago I was employed by a company based in Bonnybridge nr . Falkirk called Clan Storage & Distribution , the MD. there was a Mr John Cooper who I believe was the brother of Derek Cooper and ran the Scottish end of the Tartan Arrow operation .Aiso employed was a Ray Peggani who had held a management post with Tartan Arrow .
Hi all i worked for tartan arrow there two main depots were Hackney in london and glasgow i worked in Hackney in 1966 67 i was shunting there main trunks were london -Doncaster trunk change over then Doncaster -scotch corner -G i think they filasgow they used to just change complete truck and trailor no trailor swap the last trunk artics were GUY Big Js nished in about 1969 some big parcel firm took them over
Hello, I remember seeing an AEC Reliance coach chassis fitted with a high cube luton van body which ran down through Carlisle frequently. One of Tartan Arrow,s Albion ?/ Leyland artics rolled over on London Rd, Carlisle one night.
Cheers, Leyland 600.
vicstretton:
Hi all i worked for tartan arrow there two main depots were Hackney in london and glasgow i worked in Hackney in 1966 67 i was shunting there main trunks were london -Doncaster trunk change over then Doncaster -scotch corner -G i think they filasgow they used to just change complete truck and trailor no trailor swap the last trunk artics were GUY Big Js nished in about 1969 some big parcel firm took them over
Here’s a Tartan Arrow Big J picture
Hi,
My father was one of the owners of tartan arrow, his name was fred mason, his partners were derek and John cooper, and Jack Chester. I believe there were a few other people who were involved. The company did not in fact “fold” but was nationaled by the labour government in the early 1970’s and became the national freight service. Remember the lorries from when I was a small child some time ago now as I was born in 1969. I did a search on the name out if curiosity and was amazed to find people actually talking about the lorries still to this day.
Pip
PhillipaMason:
Hi,
My father was one of the owners of tartan arrow, his name was fred mason, his partners were derek and John cooper, and Jack Chester. I believe there were a few other people who were involved. The company did not in fact “fold” but was nationaled by the labour government in the early 1970’s and became the national freight service. Remember the lorries from when I was a small child some time ago now as I was born in 1969. I did a search on the name out if curiosity and was amazed to find people actually talking about the lorries still to this day.
Pip
Hi Pip,
I have just told my mate about your post on here & he would love to speak to you,
His Dad was Joe Winfield, apparently he & your dad & Johnny Walker were the original owners of RP Haulage, which was the predecessor of Tartan Arrow. He said that Jo & your dad (known to him as Uncle Freddy) bought Johhny out before Tartan Arrow was formed.
He has fond memories of your Dads house in Clayhall Ave, and the place in Jersey where many hours were spent on the boat. After Joe retired, he was retained as a consultant and on his way home one Monday evening, he died in a nasty car accident near Gants Hill and your Mum & Dad were at his funeral in 1971. If you email me I will give you has contact details.
regards
ST
Found this
& another
I was naturally absorbed by the various comments regarding Tartan Arrow particularly because my brother Derek Cooper and myself were mentioned in numerous postings the last of which I see was 2012. I thought I should give a brief update.
Unfortunately my brother Derek died a few years ago but his wife Barbara, who worked with him over 60 years ago when the company was started, is fortunately still alive. I am now 82 and still working a full 5/6 day week but with a smaller logistics business than previous. My son Derek also works with me together with his wife Mandy so the Cooper family business continues 65 years since it was started. I hope my posting will find Fred Mason’s daughter and Joe Winfield’s son and that everybody else who posted are all still alive and kicking.
John Cooper
I am looking through a number of postings in relation to Tartan Arrow. It would be good if Joe Winfield’s son and Phillipa Mason could contact me as I spent a lot of time with both their fathers during the establishment and life of Tartan Arrow.
My contact is: john.a.c.cooper@btconnect.com
John Cooper
From memory (and that isn’t reliable) Tartan Arrow were largely featured in a TV documentry in the sixties about trunking between Scotland and England. It would be interesting to see if any of it survived. Jim.
jmc jnr:
From memory (and that isn’t reliable) Tartan Arrow were largely featured in a TV documentry in the sixties about trunking between Scotland and England. It would be interesting to see if any of it survived. Jim.
You might find the World in Action episode on itv archives.I remember seeing them shooting some of it in hackney depot when I called in to get diesel,I was on contract hire to Pathe studio at the time.Iworked for Mahoney transport then RP haulage then Tartan Arrow.
Anyone on here ever work or remember Tartan Arrow from Glasgow■■?
wasnt tartan arrow a parcel carrier?. correct me if im wrong.
Hi Supercube, Yeah your right they were a parcel firm, A bit like TNT and the likes of, They had depots in Dalmarnock Road in Glasgow, And also in London, My Grandfather shared part of their Glasgow yard when he was the transport manager of a haulage company called AA Ritchie Transport Ltd in Glasgow… Well Remembered Supercube…
Regards Kev
Hi Supercube, Yeah your right they were a parcel firm, A bit like TNT and the likes of, They had depots in Dalmarnock Road in Glasgow, And also in London, My Grandfather shared part of their Glasgow yard when he was the transport manager of a haulage company called AA Ritchie Transport Ltd in Glasgow… Well Remembered Supercube…
Regards Kev
Used to go to tarten arrow when i was a boy with me dad they were at kentish town and had tk box vans and leyland beaver artics white with a red stripe
They used to run a train between London and Glasgow every night in the early 1970’s . When the northbound train came through Nuneaton at about 2100 it was time to hang up the anorak and pedal off home.
The company was folded into National Carriers in the early 1970’s
Memories…
Calv