I can remember a Mike Alley driving a F86 for Hardings , first half of the 70s maybe?
Hi Melv. Lovely to read through these threads and seeing pictures. At moment on a world cruise. beats driving but doing a bit for tesco at night. Tony Neath.
Hi Tony,nice to hear from you i guess you just could not stay away from ships. I was in uk for two months christmas time & stayed with George in Bristol went for a drink with Terry Helps & Roger the fitter which brought back some good memories. Take Care Melv 
Hi Melvin going to say a quick hello and see if we can get any response from that Jockbristol better known as George because I see he is logged on at the moment,take care mate .
Hi guys, George came round last night & reminded me about this forum. Not been on here for years. It’s with massive sadness I’m letting you know Melvin Ashworth (my dad) passed away yesterday at 16:10
He had been very ill since July last year. It’s a long story. I notice there’s a section on here for people that pass away so I’ll also post on there.
My number in case anybody wants info.
07776 308896
evening all, i put a request in the photo forum for anything from hardings brothers, just wondering if anyone used to work for them or any other ship suppliers? im working with a friend who used to work for them many years ago, would be good if anyone remembers any names or anything else…
its not much help at all but I did used to deliver to harding bros, I was on ship stores with Macintyre Scott in southampton through the mid 90’s to 2000 and remember them but when i was in their yard there wagons were up the road and I’d guess that was the same with us when they visited southampton so i never saw the drivers apart from a quick light flash on the road.
i do know they kept there wagons tidy with good tackle (scania’s).
done some ship supply work , but as you can see its more recent than back in the day , the chap with the volvo fh subbies for hardings .
Hi 4 people who used to work for Hardings of Avonmouth were Cloth Cap who died quite a few years ago - John Elliot (JR Elliot of Ayr (he was a Somerset boy)- Gordon Ainsworth (last heard of building ‘fake Ferarri’s’ in Bridgwater) and a chap whose name I can’t remember at the moment (but I can see his face 
) who I last saw doing holiday relief for Pullyns, Reading about 8 years ago he was about 70 then. There will be many more but my mind has gone blank
Gavin
Hi Mat,
one of my colleagues at work called Bill Stradling (now sadly deceased) worked for Hardings for quite a few years before he made the move from wagons onto the buses in Weston-super-Mare just after I did in 1979. Is this too early for your mate’s recollection? He was always telling us of his exploits when delivering the stores to the ships in places like Greece etc.
Les.
hi matt dont know much about hardings but one of the biggest names in ships stores is davies int out of southhampton i have done a couple of trips to barcelona for them as the firm i work for and them do quite a bit for each other hope this helps
There was a bloke called Melvyn Ashworth or it may have been Mervyn? He was from up north but moved down to Somerset in the 70s, I worked with him in the early 90s & he was on Hardings in the 70s, he had a Crusader & 89s on there, he rolled one or the other in IIRC Stoke, near a bus station, it was quite a story, as he told it, there he was lying on the road in a cheesecloth shirt, all the windows busted, surrounded by Pink Floyd tapes when his gas bottle came off the top bunk & hit him straight in the forehead, it did more damage than flopping 32ton on it’s side! He told many a tale of chasing a boat around Europe & beyond trying to catch it in a port, sounded like a good job.
He also worked on Bunns, haven’t seen him since I left Solstor in 93, but he was on there until they started subbing everything out.
newmercman:
There was a bloke called Melvyn Ashworth or it may have been Mervyn? He was from up north but moved down to Somerset in the 70s, I worked with him in the early 90s & he was on Hardings in the 70s, he had a Crusader & 89s on there, he rolled one or the other in IIRC Stoke, near a bus station, it was quite a story, as he told it, there he was lying on the road in a cheesecloth shirt, all the windows busted, surrounded by Pink Floyd tapes when his gas bottle came off the top bunk & hit him straight in the forehead, it did more damage than flopping 32ton on it’s side! He told many a tale of chasing a boat around Europe & beyond trying to catch it in a port, sounded like a good job.He also worked on Bunns, haven’t seen him since I left Solstor in 93, but he was on there until they started subbing everything out.
Hi newmercman this sounds like the chap I knew at one time if so he was involved in a bad accident in sw france (Ican’t remember who he was working for at the time) I also can’t remember all the details so don’t quote me on anything IIRC his truck caught fire another truck (Portugese?) drove through the smoke lost control and wiped out a load of French. Melvin was locked up for a time and was treated really badly by the kermits as he was blamed for it. He was allowed home and returned for his trial by then the accident investigators had found that it was not his fault and in fact he was a hero for trying to avoid the carnage. He was exonerated and commended for his actions he went back to driving but had ‘lost interest’ and I believe soon packed it in.
It got coverage on our local telly and was in the papers perhaps bubbleman has some cuttings?
Incidently I knew Steve (Backholer?) who used to drive for Tony Bunn, when he went into the office he asked me up for an interview as a subby. TB said I had to bring my unit as he wanted to see if it was good enough to pull his trailers. I passed the interview then TB said where is your unit ? we walked out to where I had parked it,(the KW) he went white and said ‘I’m not having that pulling my trailers, change it for a Merc and I’ll give you a start’ I told him to go forth and multiply and walked off. 6 months later he had ‘billy baldtyre’ working for him with his KW (TB must have been desperate by then.
Gavin
Hardings have packed in their own transport earlier on in the year.
All the european work is on contract to PLM Bristol, they have taken over 4 trailers the 6 wheel rigid and taken on 4 of the drivers. and there length of service etc
PLM trucks are now doing all the cruise ships with theex Harding drivers driving PLM tractors
The fh pictured is liner transports they do the uk ship fior admiral harding used to be admiral marine supplies Bristol.
With PLM doing some of this aswell.
Alan is still there been on there 28yrs with a short break . Pat Murphy owns part of PLM and did a stint on Hardings in the 70,s with a f86
Gavin McArdle:
Hi newmercman this sounds like the chap I knew at one time if so he was involved in a bad accident in sw france (Ican’t remember who he was working for at the time) I also can’t remember all the details so don’t quote me on anything
It got coverage on our local telly and was in the papers perhaps bubbleman has some cuttings?
Incidently I knew Steve (Backholer?) who used to drive for Tony Bunn, when he went into the office he asked me up for an interview as a subby. TB said I had to bring my unit as he wanted to see if it was good enough to pull his trailers. I passed the interview then TB said where is your unit ? we walked out to where I had parked it,(the KW) he went white and said ‘I’m not having that pulling my trailers, change it for a Merc and I’ll give you a start’ I told him to go forth and multiply and walked off. 6 months later he had ‘billy baldtyre’ working for him with his KW (TB must have been desperate by then.
Gavin
That’s the bloke, it was when he was still on Solstor, 94ish I think, he had a load of chicken on at the time, after that we called him KFC 
Is that the same Steve who was in the orifice at Ralph Davies?
newmercman:
There was a bloke called Melvyn Ashworth or it may have been Mervyn? He was from up north but moved down to Somerset in the 70s, I worked with him in the early 90s & he was on Hardings in the 70s, he had a Crusader & 89s on there, he rolled one or the other in IIRC Stoke, near a bus station, it was quite a story, as he told it, there he was lying on the road in a cheesecloth shirt, all the windows busted, surrounded by Pink Floyd tapes when his gas bottle came off the top bunk & hit him straight in the forehead, it did more damage than flopping 32ton on it’s side! He told many a tale of chasing a boat around Europe & beyond trying to catch it in a port, sounded like a good job.He also worked on Bunns, haven’t seen him since I left Solstor in 93, but he was on there until they started subbing everything out.
i knew Melvyn had a week in Livorno with him in 1975 him and a guy called Tony we was waiting for a new BP
tanker called the OLIBIRI was on my first tour of duty with Mckeller’s then and we had chased this ship from
Marsaille to Livorno your right they both had F89’s i had a J reg F88 240(loved that motor) it was a ex
Channellflow motor (river road Barking) we pulled for them at the time earn’t some good money but sat around
quite a bit this particular trip the italien’s would not let us sleep in the motor’s on the quay and BP put us all up in a five star hotel (eight of us in all) and when i got back to England went to BP’S store in Harlow to load and they told me we had knocked up a hotel bill of £3,000 odd but they never blinked a eye at it but that’s another story,
OLIBIRI, I think I’ve got one of their lighters
I know…
My coat is on
Hi this is my 1st post and i am having trouble sortiing this out ,i joined this forum recently and have read the postings with interest since i have been, mentiond (excuse the spelling) a few times i worked for Harding Bros Avonmouth for 11 years then A french firm i then tried to get off international work by buying a tipper i worked on the mendips for a while but could not make it pay so returned to Hardings for one more year after a minor tiff with the boss i left and worked for J A Bunn from Keynsham nr Bristol for aprox 1 year, personality clash so left and joined South London Storage one of the best jobs i ever had i worked there for 10 & half years until finally my wife said she had it with me being away,
I then decided to work for a guy i had known for 20 years he said come & workfor me f16 home every weekend ect take the truck home bla bla .i did this for 3 months vienna every week its not possible i thought quit while you are ahead so quit .I then worked for Mortimer eat more chips from melksham another brilliant job but after 2 & half years my wife had finaly had enough after 26years (i origially told her i would do the job for 3 months) i then worked for a company on the mendips pulling for LIDL@ weston s mare i did this for 2 & half years.
My wife & i decided to look for a place in France as we had allways liked France, After aprox 9 months doing airfreight to Heathrow everynight i worked for manpower on the Royal mail for 2 & half years then moved to France, sadly my wife passed away in 2007 but i am still here making the most of it .
From reading a lot of postings on here i know quite a lot of these guys from the (old days ) i know we had the best of it you all take care and a very happy new year. Melv.
well done mel speek to you later george
Hi guys, 1st post on here. A bit weird reading people talking about my dad. Hey dad I got some good pics on here somewhere of Hardings trucks & you in some very fasionable FLARES haha. I’ll post em when I find em. Funny how stories get a little twisted over time & heresay. I guess thats knowbodys fault though. It just happens. I spent every school holiday bouncing accross Europe as a kid in either an 88,89 or o yes dads personal favourite the Scammel Crusader. O yea wot a peach of a ride. All you guys of that generation defenatly had the “best years” of the job. Meeting other drivers, all helping each other out & a sence of all belonging to a big family. Knowbody gives a to$$ about anybody anymore especially the companies the drivers work for. Still, good memories & in some cases mamories!
It would of been perfect if you could of had the trucks of today back then. Volvo 290!!! hahaha they do a 660 now!!! maybe bigger Im not sure. The first truck I had was a 430 space cab Daf on Solstor (thanks Mark, RIP). Only passed my test 3 days previous & yea my age went down well with sum. Most were really cool blokes & took me under their wing. Good blokes, unfourtunalty not all still with us. They showed me places that they had traveled in the good old days. These were days before vehicle tracking. So we went some old school routes just for the crack. Stopped at places that the owners new my dad & his various work mates. I can say that I had some of the best times of my life “just catching the tail end of a good job”. I met some real top blokes.
It allways made me laugh when sat in the truck on a loading bay the amount of times a guy would say “where’s ur dad son”? meaning the driver of the truck. Haha I looked about 15. Im 40 now & jeeezze I look good haha.
I personly think that the begining of the end was when the borders closed. I know it was easier without “PARKING” & getting taxi’s to agents & all that shinanigans. My personal favvourite standing on those steps in Dover waiting & waiting & waiting ha. I think thats when it all started going down hill though.
I went through Monte Blanc i think it was last year for the first time in years & O MY GOD!!! all my memories shattered berfore my eyes. They have completely ruined the whole experience. No more slowly winding down the Italian side & driving through courmayeur etc. It’s almost all motorway. What a load of cak.
The TIR parking in Henday, Irun all gone sum years ago too. I know it was nothing exiting & things change, but it just seems the more you sample the future, the more of the past & memories are trying to be erased. I think all the drivers of my dads generation are so much better off just holding on to those memories & all those endless photo albums. I remember my mum allways saying " o god not more bloody lorries". Bless her. Then when I too started that life Dad & I would often talk about the job as I’m sure you all did & still do. “Can’t you two talk about something else other than bloody lorries”… Well I guess most of us had diesel in the blood I know I do. Allways loved Trucks, still do. Some used to say “I don’t care wot I drive, a trucks a truck” wot a load of cak (right dad??) haha. My dad was taking the P out of me one day in Kodak, Chalon for fitting some lights to my F12. He went on & on. Then when I looked at his roof light I noticed they were white, but green inside. When I asked him about how were they green he was so excited to show me how he cut up a plastic 7up bottle & fitted the plastic inside the lights so they were green when turned on!!! hahaha so don’t give me your flannel about “it’s just a job”.
Anyway enough of my flannel for one post. Hope all you old school drivers enjoy your retirment in the knowlidge that some of us still have to put up with the twisted way of today… & happy new year
Cheers, Leigh