lightnin:
Hi Diesel WizzardDawn is my Aunt…my mum is Julie, you might also remember my dad George…he used to work up at hanger No. 5
Sorry not been on here for ages yes I do remember GFeorge at number 5.If you have any pictures of mortons vehicles I would be interested in seeing them.
I can remember Dawn as a young girl at Canley club
Hi. My dad has asked me to post here. He drove for Morton’s and Massey Ferguson in the 60’s and 70’s. He is an Irish chap called Peter McEvoy, he recognises some of the names mentioned in this thread and is interested in catching up. He has some pictures of the lorries he drove etc, I will scan them in next time I’m visiting him and post them here.
Cheers
Hi all i worked at mortons chipping warden for 10 years lots of the names come up i remember Alan Zeland i did not really know him we were the poor relations, I seem to remember himself and another driver ,could have been Jack lipman did the first euro for mortons ,via SOUTHAMPTON FROM FORDS AT LEAMINGTON?? TO FRANCE i think? it was fiddled so much it did not pay ,at that time you had to get what you could.
Scania 80 was jack lipmans .
THE 1979/80 STRIKE instigated by the heavy union presence ■■■-EDus up chippy, and we were all soon gone ,in fact it spread all our wings,and most of us did well.
I Had 22years in european ,however i soon learned i had to leave all my previous mortons attitude back at home none of the union nonsense it was a shock for a start but i soon got it…we were some lazy drivers back then though 10 hours and that was it ,fiddle every night.
I did see the name godard mentioned i remember jim, what a nice big chap he was. is it his sons transport? he used to go into sanders cafe after school wait for his mum.
I knew Mark Goddard and his Dad Jim well, and most of the Mortons drivers back then, Spud Murphy, Freddie Pratt…
petemcevoy:
Hi. My dad has asked me to post here. He drove for Morton’s and Massey Ferguson in the 60’s and 70’s. He is an Irish chap called Peter McEvoy, he recognises some of the names mentioned in this thread and is interested in catching up. He has some pictures of the lorries he drove etc, I will scan them in next time I’m visiting him and post them here.Cheers
Remember your Dad,he started on his own I think it was something to do with second hand tractors out Washwood Heath way somewhere
deckboypeggy:
Hi all i worked at mortons chipping warden for 10 years lots of the names come up i remember Alan Zeland i did not really know him we were the poor relations, I seem to remember himself and another driver ,could have been Jack lipman did the first euro for mortons ,via SOUTHAMPTON FROM FORDS AT LEAMINGTON?? TO FRANCE i think? it was fiddled so much it did not pay ,at that time you had to get what you could.Scania 80 was jack lipmans .
THE 1979/80 STRIKE instigated by the heavy union presence ■■■-EDus up chippy, and we were all soon gone ,in fact it spread all our wings,and most of us did well.
I Had 22years in european ,however i soon learned i had to leave all my previous mortons attitude back at home none of the union nonsense it was a shock for a start but i soon got it…we were some lazy drivers back then though 10 hours and that was it ,fiddle every night.I did see the name godard mentioned i remember jim, what a nice big chap he was. is it his sons transport? he used to go into sanders cafe after school wait for his mum.
Jack Lipman,Alan Zealand,Kevin Inglis, ran to Massey Fergusons in Beauvais in Mandators and Seddons no sleeper cabs them days.
Jim Goddard is sadly no longer with us he passed away 4-5 years back,see his other son Greg every now and then
Thanks for that info LOLIPOP I was never sure what they were taking to FRANCE. INTERNATIONAL HAULAGE was not talked about then.however what i have found out from this forum ,certainly , that Mortons either did not want european or they were told what to do by higher ups.
Also the wages would have probably out priced the job as it did not last long.
I remember Mously was a director.He then had his own company in Dunchurch i think.
There was a farther and son also driving at COVENTRY names i do not remember,i think the dad had a bad accident somewhere.but were good men for a laugh.like most of them.
Geoff Mousley and his Son Philip Owned Mousley Trucking which was based up Siskin Drive, I started on a 35cwt transit for them in 73, I got made redundant after the 74 strike around Xmas.
deckboypeggy:
Thanks for that info LOLIPOP I was never sure what they were taking to FRANCE. INTERNATIONAL HAULAGE was not talked about then.however what i have found out from this forum ,certainly , that Mortons either did not want european or they were told what to do by higher ups.
Also the wages would have probably out priced the job as it did not last long.
I remember Mously was a director.He then had his own company in Dunchurch i think.
There was a farther and son also driving at COVENTRY names i do not remember,i think the dad had a bad accident somewhere.but were good men for a laugh.like most of them.
Eric Shortland was the man who didnt want Continental or containers he dismissed them as not being money makers. Mortons where offered container work out of Ipswich, but Shortland turned it down even though according to Norman Rowley it paid as good as Massey tractors.One of the sticking points with Continental they did`nt want want to pay extra for going abroad,or buy sleeper cabs. 
Norman Rowley, had a drink or 3 with him in the Baginton Club.
Thats the mans name i could not remember Eric Shortland,he had a white /cream sport mercedes or his wife did…I think he did not want the Chipping Warden depot either.
Did he come from a haulage family background? i know when he visited chipping warden the office used to get all the drivers out of the way…
deckboypeggy:
Thats the mans name i could not remember Eric Shortland,he had a white /cream sport mercedes or his wife did…I think he did not want the Chipping Warden depot either.
Did he come from a haulage family background? i know when he visited chipping warden the office used to get all the drivers out of the way…
Not sure about the haulage background, but Norman Shortland was the “brains” out of the two,Eric was like a lacky to his brother until his death in I think 72/73 time
Eric did`nt want Harwich or Basildon,remember Jim Saunders getting a chipboard contract out of Harwich on the promise he would have the motors to cover the job,he got the job and Shortland dropped in it by telling him to sub it,same at Basildon he over priced a job and lost
Dieseldog66:
Geoff Mousley and his Son Philip Owned Mousley Trucking which was based up Siskin Drive, I started on a 35cwt transit for them in 73, I got made redundant after the 74 strike around Xmas.
Dd 66:- looking back on previous post Ellis Greaves was originally based in a yard at the rear of some shops on Mellowdew Rd I think you had to wait to get in or out as the entrance would only allow one vehicle at a time.
When Ellis died his son Reg took over,I think he eventually bought out Loughborough Heavy and moved to the yard in Princethorpe
Norman rowley came to us at swifts from brs I think , last saw him at swifts in northampton about 1997 after he’d moved to head office ,great bloke to work for
Yes jim Saunders at Harwich,i did not like the man,i think he thought he was a tough guy.i had never come across him untill harwich .i remember he had a go at 2 of us about the state of the motors, they were in crap order anyway ,we never went back after that.
Once we at MORTONS at chippy warden had finished,1980 i realised that we were a lazy lot of drivers we always had the union ,certainly would never had made middle east drivers with owner drivers as bosses, we were union indoctrinated ,but did not know it, it finished us…so if any of you old shop stewards are out there especial the top men .i hope you have seen the light after all these years, as you were all ruled by the car factory commies.Transport house had a massive muriel around its wall like a russian banner of fighting ,working men what was that all about??
deckboypeggy:
Yes jim Saunders at Harwich,i did not like the man,i think he thought he was a tough guy.i had never come across him untill harwich .i remember he had a go at 2 of us about the state of the motors, they were in crap order anyway ,we never went back after that.Once we at MORTONS at chippy warden had finished,1980 i realised that we were a lazy lot of drivers we always had the union ,certainly would never had made middle east drivers with owner drivers as bosses, we were union indoctrinated ,but did not know it, it finished us…so if any of you old shop stewards are out there especial the top men .i hope you have seen the light after all these years, as you were all ruled by the car factory commies.Transport house had a massive muriel around its wall like a russian banner of fighting ,working men what was that all about??
Never knew many at Chippy apart from Wally Butcher Eric Bennett and Dinger Bell who also ran Whitnash in the latter years.
To much of Mortons work was associated with the car industry.
dieseldog:
Norman rowley came to us at swifts from brs I think , last saw him at swifts in northampton about 1997 after he’d moved to head office ,great bloke to work for
When I started in 68 Norman I believe was in accounts when we where in the old No1 Depot Ernie Howard was TM, Herby Stokes was general manager, Mousley was a Director over him, those were the days when Mortons Car Transporters division where in the same yard.Jim Goddard was yard Foreman
Yes Fred bell was the manager,Waley butcher office ex driver,now in DAVENTRY. erick bennet we called erkicie passed away before it all closed i think.
Case cars .as you say were the main export for that depot.they would want you back empty from most ports ,however if we were with cov lads we would back load with them nothing was ever said…but we relied on night out fiddles.some of the lads would not park up and run in the yard in the morning, but go in the same day from LONDON, KINGS LYNN, SOUTHAMPTON.
IT was bad ,but that is the way it was .
deckboypeggy:
Yes jim Saunders at Harwich,i did not like the man,i think he thought he was a tough guy.i had never come across him untill harwich .i remember he had a go at 2 of us about the state of the motors, they were in crap order anyway ,we never went back after that.Once we at MORTONS at chippy warden had finished,1980 i realised that we were a lazy lot of drivers we always had the union ,certainly would never had made middle east drivers with owner drivers as bosses, we were union indoctrinated ,but did not know it, it finished us…so if any of you old shop stewards are out there especial the top men .i hope you have seen the light after all these years, as you were all ruled by the car factory commies.Transport house had a massive muriel around its wall like a russian banner of fighting ,working men what was that all about??
You mean like Morton Laws becoming an Owner Driver after they finished.
No i do not know of any ex mortons men as owner drivers, Morton laws he was a good man always tried to look out for us chippy men.although union motivated,a lot of the union trouble was from the car /tractor factory people the higher ranking men with differnt agendas and they all went to the same branch meetings,so on reflection i expect they had to go along with them or sink.
i think i remember the company offering units for sale but i had not got the forethought or even the money, after we finished i have never had any contact with any ex mortons men , not even our local chippy men or even as as owner drivers ,as i drifted in to european fridge work in 1982 i did not know existed, so then moved into a differnt world and that is where i stopped however moved around a great deal l always worked for big companies once i had got into a working more than 10 hours mode,it took a while ,but you soon learnet you either did what they said ,legal but long hours.
there were times when after a long day on the meat ,when i used to think i have just done 2 days work in one.if my old work mates could see me they would never believe it.Retired now .would i do it all again ,bits yes, and no,36 hours on the trot no,but i did it with others ,some used to say how long but once you got to a abattoir in Germany or France they were not bothered when you stated your shift,they gave you a dead line to do and they expected it.and you did it, and if it was a swiss tip ,you got in the back and passed the lambs down…so i went full circle.