mrken:
Is that one of Croppers Seddons next to it Dennis
Sorry I should have mentioned that,it was indeed a James Cropper Seddon 6 wheeler which was fairly new at that date.It was driven by Colin Veevers who lived around the corner from where it is parked.Colin was a long serving driver at Croppers and he did get the first Steel cab 32/4 RR Seddon at Croppers in 1968 FJM 422 F (IIRC) although they had been running Seddon artics since about 1965.All the Cropper 6 wheelers had the Leyland engines 375 and 400 but their last one had the 600 engine and they kept this one on extented service which was driven by the late Frank Forrest until he retired in the 70’s,he then continued driving coaches for a local operator for a few years,mainly on their school contract.Both Colin and Frank were great characters,I used stay in digs with them in Markyate and Aldgate when I was running up and down to London.Although I did a number of loads out of Croppers mill when I first started as an owner driver they ran quite a large own account operation so it was always a bit “hitty missy” so I gradually concentrated on Libby’s traffic and,of course,Henry Cookes mill in Beetham where Bewick Transport eventually became sole contractor.I would have had all of Croppers traffic if things had gone to plan,but thats another story !! Cheers Dennis.