pyewacket947v:
pete smith:
pyewacket947v:
These pics where not taken by me.
They where given to me in the mid 90s by the late Dave kings who was,at that time, a day shunter at Christian Salvesens Droitwich Spa depot.
J E Cartwrights was a fleet based at Lydiate Ash,on the Old Birmingham Rd ,though the company address on the cab doors was in Lodge Hill rd in Selly Oak.
The fleet was very mixed, as well as the AEC,Scammell,Atkinson and Guy i can remember Bedford TKs, LAD cabbed Dodge and BMC FH, there may well have been others i have forgotten.
They ran a regular shuttle to and from South Wales carrying components for the motor industry in Birmingham, radiators i think where one of their main cargoes.
The fleet was beautifully kept , the units always clean and embellished .
Sadly the company was taken over by BRS in Oct 1965 after the death of John Cartwright and vehicles either absorbed into the BRS fleet or disposed of.
One of their single axle box trailers could be seen running about with the J E Cartwright logo painted over for a while afterwards.
From 63 i tried to get a job driving with them, but of course i had no experience of lorry driving,apart from towing buses with a converted Daimler COG5
bus, complete with pre selective gears and a fluid drive.
They did offer me the opportunity of a interview for a job as a a mechanic, a job i had been doing for some 12 years, but the call of the open road beckoned and i declined.
Dave Kings father, the late John Kings,who also worked till his death at Salvesens, had been a driver for Cartwrights and i believe that is him stood in front of the AEC Mercury.
I have no information as to when and where the photos where taken, though one of them as 1961 pencilled on the back,
Dave offered me the pictures after a conversation during which the subject of Cartwrights had come up.
Naturally i snatched his hand off.
After Salvesen packed up in Droitwich Spa,Dave went to Blakes of Loxley, Alcester, where i believe he was a shunter.
Sadly,like his Dad,Dave never made it to retirement, succumbing to a heart attack in his mid fifties.
I have posted these with thanks to both of them.Hi Pyewacket,
Cracking pics mate, thank you for sharing, would Cartwrights yard have been the same one that Waldrons Transport used? Cheer’s PetePete,glad you found them interesting.
I never actually saw the yard,but,having had a look on Google Earth and seeing Waldrons name on a gate, i would think its 99.9% near certain it is the same place.
I have a suspicion that at least 3 of the photos where taken on the Old Birmingham Rd near the yard.
Both John and Dave Kings had lived at Catshill, a mere stone’s throw away.
A short article about Cartwrights appeared in a Vintage Truck magazine some time ago.
I vaguely remember a sort of aerial picture of the yard full of trucks with the drivers stood in front of them.
It may come back to me after a couple of drinks.
Regards John
Morning John,
Thank you for the info, Cheer’s Pete