I remember The Wiltshire Showman from the Custom Car Shows in the mid to late 1970s, Somewhere I have a (poor) photo that I took of it at the Belle Vue Manchester Custom Show in 1977 or 78. Basically silver metalflake paint, with multi-coloured scrollwork, a bit over the top, I thought, even then at the height of the custom painting craze. The truck was also featured in Custom Car Magazine at the time, a cover feature motor with a scantily-clad floozy draped over it if I remember.
Been a while since it was taxed, from DVLA site “PHW 541G
✗ Untaxed
Tax due:
30 July 1985”
[zb]
anorak:
0
I don’t go much on the fancy paint job, but otherwise I always thought the Highwayman with those wings really looked the part. Fun to drive too, definitely not a hurry up motor, but that 1960s version of a cruise control, otherwise known as a throttle lock (or in my case, a piece of wood jammed against a screw end, because the lock cable always snapped 
) meant I could saunter up the A1 with not a care in the world with nobody to overtake, because nobody was going any slower. 
We used to joke that we could move over to the left side of the cab to get the left arm brown. 
err, it was a joke, wasn’t it? Hmmmm 
The Wiltshire showman was ownedrs by Jeremy Collet who ran Roundway Welding in the 1970s early 80s in London Road Devizes .
He done all the spraying on the showman and quite a few American cars he owned .
A Shelby Cobra named the Snake charmer heavy metaflake with a cobra coming out of a basket on the bonnet.
A 289 fuel injected mustang called the cobalt bullet.
And the mist well known a Buick Riviera boat tail the gold finger .
Years ago now could even have been for the first edition of "Trucking International Magazine " it featured a Scammel called the " Wiltshire Showman " & it was parked in a yard on the lefthandside somewhere near the fuel depot as you leave Devizes for Swindon. A couple of years back I use to deliver around that area quite a lot BUT nobody could remember it, is it still about can anybody help?.
When I first started doing show and pro,o work I did a Fox radio roadhsow in a park in Oxford, I was there for 3 days and got well and truly stuck in the mud late at night, several people tried to pull me out with no success, I had a Scania 143 with a mobile radio station full of equipment which sank in the soft earth. After hours of trying some old gyser from the nearby fair arrived with an old 6 wheel Scammel, he parked about 100 feet infront of me, fixed a steel cable and winched me out, the Scammel had the name ‘Wiltshire Showman’ on the front, it was a dark red or maroon, hard to tell in the dark 
This one Pat was if I remember right a metal flake type finish silverish.
Didn’t notice the finish, it was quite dark 
Arfa Job:
Years ago now could even have been for the first edition of "Trucking International Magazine " it featured a Scammel called the " Wiltshire Showman " & it was parked in a yard on the lefthandside somewhere near the fuel depot as you leave Devizes for Swindon. A couple of years back I use to deliver around that area quite a lot BUT nobody called remember it, is it still about can anybody help?.
I think I recall that too, would have been about 1984. First time I’d seen a Scammell Highwayman. That was quite a good magazine too, what happened to it? I recall they also had some Atki’s and Routemans in there too.
Heres a pic of a highwayman to keep you happy!
planefacts.co.uk/commercials … l2_jpg.htm
BTW the one I recall was silver with light blue detailing IIRC… its been 20 years tho so I could be wrong!
Thats sounds like the one also I would say about 20yrs ago, thanks
Pat, I have meant to ask you for months. who did you work for when you did the Show Promotions?
My brother owns a garage and there was a bloke called Pat who would deliver the exhibition units from the manufacturer.
I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that this is what you’re on about…
And this is the poster that was included with the mag…
I always knew that keeping all those old mags would be useful to someone someday 
KW,
A very pretty picture but my old Highwayman on Ilkeston Haulage didn’t look much like that! For those who hadn’t been in one note the position of the steering wheel - hard on the arms up in the air like that. We used to run night and day to Glasgow then all over England hauling whisky on flat trailers, roped and sheeted. Tried to sleep across the gate gearlever but never for long because the law would move us on to the next county. Mealtimes were spent with half the table covered in logsheets, sorted according to which part of the journey we were on. Never got done though. Happy memories of 38mph top speed up hill and down dale except the 80 odd in angel gear down from Stainmore to Scotch corner.
Salut, David.
Thanks KW thats the one. I just noticed the date on the cover Autumn 1983… blimey time flies.
ghinzani:
fancy an Atki version??
Ghinzani,
This picture sent me racing for my copy of ‘Heavy Haulage & Abnormal Loads’ by David Lee, because I remembered seeing one of these Atkis in Pickford’s livery.
Sure enough a small quantity were delivered in 1962. Powered by 150 Gardners with DB (presumably) 6-speed boxes. The one pictured is not the same as the one you posted being 115 EXM. All were withdrawn from service after ten years.
Were these the only ones produced, or did other operators have them? 897 GYX needs a bit of work to bring it back to the standard of my 1970 photo!
Salut, David.
Spardo:
ghinzani:
fancy an Atki version??Ghinzani,
This picture sent me racing for my copy of ‘Heavy Haulage & Abnormal Loads’ by David Lee, because I remembered seeing one of these Atkis in Pickford’s livery.
Sure enough a small quantity were delivered in 1962. Powered by 150 Gardners with DB (presumably) 6-speed boxes. The one pictured is not the same as the one you posted being 115 EXM. All were withdrawn from service after ten years.
Were these the only ones produced, or did other operators have them? 897 GYX needs a bit of work to bring it back to the standard of my 1970 photo!Salut, David.
To the best of my knowledge, the “SBT” range (semi-bonnetted tractor) was produced exclusively for Pickfords, in both 4x2 and 6x4 form. At least one of the 6x4 tractors survives too. The front cover of the SBT brochure showed a Pickfords tractor.
Atkinson did produce a number of bonneted tractors too, both for home and export consumption.
The biggest one was the “Omega”, which was said at the time of its production in 1957 to be “the most powerful steered vehicle in the world”.
It was a 6x6 artic tractor designed for 90 ton payloads on desert oilfield work in Libya. I believe that just 7 were built. I do actually have the Omega painting that used to hang in the reception at the factory.
Bonnetted Atki NPY 63F, new to Sunters, has been restored in its original livery by David Weedon of York. Pannell Cammercials of Launceston still have a similar unit too, I believe.
I have some works photos of bonneted units around the factory, one of which looks like the Sunter’s motor.
