Some more photos of Samuel Williams fleet old and new
hiya,
Please sir can i have some more??.
thanks harry long retired.
europleb:
jimmy got taught to sew because of disney permits,he agreed to to put just his own neck on the block and got looked after,ffg could not be seen to re employ him so a tpt manager job was sorted out with the main contractor bobby burns.Bobby had a bad stroke in spain 15 yrs ago leaving no use in his right arm and very little movement in his right leg.HE still works 6 days a week car dealing and transporting and hes got more old bunny than ever.Hes still in touch with boothy who i believe moved on to a mullet hairstyle in the 90"s and prob still sportin it.Bobby ended up in the same boat as most other ffg hauliers running their asses off with not a lot to show profit wise,like eddy bell and after him my dad alan frost[ex samuel williams driver]so bob called it a day.Stuart finished his int work with Ralph Davies doing a bit of russia on a casual basis<currently he is doing bits of agency with tescos.
Hullo europleb,
Poor old Jimmy eh! I’ll bet he’s only half a millionaire now. Good to hear Stuarts doing OK. I remember Eddie Bell ( Boos Hogg ) of course and all who drove for him, I must remember your Dad also, although the name does’nt ring a bell. Shame to hear about Burnsie though.
Cheers, Archie.
europleb:
you must know Robbie then?
Robbie who ?.I stopped working for ARCESE about a year ago
feltfixer:
This photo was sent to me by Brian who used to work for Samuel Williams with the quote below
“This pic was taken just inside of Sammy’s gate,I was going in and Jimmy Macauliffe was coming out in a Leyland Comet,with a Scammel trailer loaded with steel.The trailer came off and instead of going down on it’s knees,kept coming,right through my cab,missed me by an inch or two, I was lucky not to have lost a leg or something.”
i must put the record straight it wasn,t jimmy mac who was driveing the comet . it was me Ray Cook. the tra was m/t & the hooks on the scamel coupling had jammed down causeing the tra to bounce off. it was proved lack of maintianance sorry once again Bri
i remember williams/hudson 61-83 started as drivers mate. other mates were brian bailey terry logan roger gander jim macaulife jim fordham ted regan, i know i left a few out but i cant remember there names. i progressed to being a van driver & at 21 given a 4D 4 wheel tanker.over the 22 years i was there i must have drivern every type of lorry thay had , general & tanks.most of the time it was a good firm to work for well payed and not bad kit and full of characters there is one in the photos Lenny Bailey he was union steward also George Fletcher steward before him top cat nobby clarke from canning town,ted watson, alan young, herman the german, i could go on & on so if any of the old boys want to get in touch i would be pleased to here from you all the best Ray Cook
I back loaded out of sammy williams dagenham docks with steel coil or paper for n/east,if loading paper they checked trailer floor boards for holes,any holes no load.
Archie Paice:
europleb:
After the period at hmp,jimmy worked as tpt manager for bournebridge int,a company at ferry lane rainham doing the ferry freighting italian groupage.Bounebridge int was owned by brisca formula one stock car racer bobby burns.stuart booth the ex samuel williams and ferry freighting driver also worked for bobbyHullo europleb,
Wow! what about that then ?, I never even knew he could sew. I never knew that he went on for Burnsy though, and I completely forgot about the Yorkshireman, Stuart Booth. ( does he still perm his hair in a Poodle Cut ? ) Good to see these people are still around.
Cheers, Archie
Archie,here’s a photo of Bobby in better times,Vic.
Hi Ray,after all these years you’ve finally owned up to “denting” my lovely ERF,now I have to apologize to Jimmy Mac. One thing,I could have sworn there were two bundles of steel on that trailer,but you’re a lot younger than me,so memory is in better shape,ha ha.Really though,I know the cab was made of fibreglass,but could an m/t Scammel trailer do that much damage?
Any old buddy,good to hear from you .What are you up to now?Take care,Brian Smart
hellow bri you couldn,t remember the tra being m/t …i could not remember who was driveing the erf till i read it, i thought it was fredie plant, anyway you got out of that one ,if it had been loaded …who knows? i still see jimmy now & again on the bus going to the keys as i get offgoing to the trades hall. were both retiered now (67). i finished my driveing time with P&O containers (old mans job) and try to spend as much time as i can abroard with Pam my wife of 43 years, she worked in Claire Mays cafe canning town,remember that dump…sorry its taken so long to come back on this but i dont look all that often perhaps i will now …all the best ray cook