Spardo:
roolechat:
Spardo:
ERF-NGC-European:
There was also rumoured to have been an ERF NGC European in Van Ommeren livery on NYK containers. It may have been the sister to MMG 772P, an ERF NGC operated by AJ Bradick of Leyton and taken over by GL Baker.Are G.L.Bakers still going? I once worked for them, indirectly, delivering gas bottles after C.E. Dormer, which I believe owned them, took over Shaws of Stapleford.
C. E Dormer -green Atkinson 8 wheelers ?- never owned G.L.Baker. Baker’s who did much work for Marks & Spencer were acquired by BOC in 1969 & became BOC Transhield & later BOC Distribution Services. That in turn became GIST in 2000 & the German Linde group acquired GIST in 2006. Marks & Spencer have now bought GIST from Linde
Thanks Roolechat, I suppose it was the BOC connection that had me fooled, as we had become part of Charlie Dormer’s hauling gas bottles and Bakers were apparently in the mix there too, I must have put 2 and 2 together. Dormer’s were based in Leytonstone and they also took over Cooper’s of Wednesbury about the same time. A very strange bloke, Reg Cooper, and I unfortunately had the experience of working under him too for a time. From being a cosy little company delivering Stanton pipes and then tramping at will we suddenly became at the beck and call of distant, and rather dictatorial, gaffers.
The BOC connection didn’t have you fooled,there was a connection. In 1958, Dormer sold part of his fleet (20 A licences & 18 B licenses) to Merchandise Transport,Tottenham who were the in house transport operation of Harris Lebus furniture. Dormer continued to run the general fleet & tankers. The tankers worked for Shell (which led on to the Shell Bottogas cylinder contract). In 1964 he merged the C E Dormer operation into the Bain & Hodge Group & became the Chief executive. Bain & Hodge already owned a number of hauliers and Charles Dormer continued the process. Acquisitions included alonside C E Dormer,The Keenon Group, Export & General,Georges Transport ,Jones Transport Liverpool & Midlands,Gomms Transport,Dunstable Transport & I guess Cooper’s of Wednesbury as well as Shaws of Stapleford By the end of 1965, The Bain & Hodge group comprised 29 companies operating over 1000 vehicles as well as warehousing,vehicle distributors etc. Businesses were also sold. Motor Vehicle Collections were acquired in Feb 1965 & sold to Progressive Deliveries, Coventry 5 months later.
In 1965,the rampant Transport Development Group approached Bain & Hodge with an offer but BOC stepped in with a better offer & purchased the B & H group So,for a while,BOC owned Dormers & G.L. Baker. Sadly,in 1971,Ralph Hilton’s HTS acquired the majority of the B&H group (BOC kept the Baker Transhield/M&S operations) paying for it using HTS shares.Not long after, the Hilton empire unravelled.