pete smith:
A shot of Wulfruna’s yard in 1977 ish, showing one of the comets and the Ford D series auto bagger
i wonder if the barges were wulfruna’s aswell; !! ?
pete smith:
A shot of Wulfruna’s yard in 1977 ish, showing one of the comets and the Ford D series auto bagger
Evening all,
Pete, Curnock, yes, Walkers who ran Wulfruna did have their own boats. The yard was situated on a basin just off James Brindleys "old main line " canal to Birmingham. You can see on Petes picture how the original house, that became their office, faced towards the basin , not the road.
They moved to live at the top of Broad Lane South,( again next to the Wyrley and Essington Canal), about a mile down the “cut” from the Woods house and yard, (morphed into Leonard Leigh, waste, and subsequent outfits), at the top of the High Road in Short Heath.
Even after Walkers sold the single drive Big J 8 wheeled pneumatic bulker, Janes Brother was still running a little BMC Terrier with a yellow cab on coal deliveries up until not too long ago.
Lovely site that, always thought that you could really make something quite spectacular out of it, (after all, Horsley Fields can only go up, (its so down at present).!
Did anyone ever “save” the D series?
Pete, you really do come up with some great photographs…thank you!!
Cheerio for now.
Hi Saviem,
Sorry for the late reply i have been away from the rat race for a week to Devon,I do not know what happened to the D series as the lad who drove her has now passed away, George Tolley i think and his brother drove the Guy 8 legger ( they both worked previously for George and Matthews )the Guy has been scrapped i think and that yellow Terrier is still in the Yard.
Yes Horseley Fields is a bit down in the mouth at the minute, but what could you do with Brown Brothers Building, flats maybe? There is no industry left in the area as R.Paskins, based in Billy Wises old garage (before he moved to Lower Horseley Fields), have shut down, Frank Glovers old building seems keep off the Demolition boys radar as well, Cheers Pete
I always have a smile when I see the Wulfruna yard by the cut. It reminds me of the time I had parked the lorry at Delta on Bilston rd. and had to collect my car from the BRS yard in Foxes lane, a nice afternoon and the quickest way is along the towpath of the canal with no main roads to cross.
So I’m approaching Wulfruna when coming towards me are 3 young buggers with hoodies up, walking abreast, looking down and mumbling to each other they were avoiding eye contact and I sensed real trouble, at about 15 ft away I ran at them grabbed the one furthest away from the water picked him up and pushed all 3 of them into the canal.
Just 50yds away is an off ramp on to Horseley fields so I legged it up there and across the road to where one of our ex.drivers had a scrap yard, running in there and out of breath Stan asked “aye up big un what’s up ?”, "I’ve just thrown 3 hoodies in the cut ! " he said “fair play to ya, sit down and have a cup of tea”. I related the tale to him and he asked me if I’d read the local rag lately? No I hadn’t but apparently there had been some muggings along there with blokes walking home from work ! Well they never got me that day and I never walked that way again but had a good laugh about it after, look well if they were perfectly innocent 
.
Trev_H:
I always have a smile when I see the Wulfruna yard by the cut. It reminds me of the time I had parked the lorry at Delta on Bilston rd. and had to collect my car from the BRS yard in Foxes lane, a nice afternoon and the quickest way is along the towpath of the canal with no main roads to cross.
So I’m approaching Wulfruna when coming towards me are 3 young buggers with hoodies up, walking abreast, looking down and mumbling to each other they were avoiding eye contact and I sensed real trouble, at about 15 ft away I ran at them grabbed the one furthest away from the water picked him up and pushed all 3 of them into the canal.
Just 50yds away is an off ramp on to Horseley fields so I legged it up there and across the road to where one of our ex.drivers had a scrap yard, running in there and out of breath Stan asked “aye up big un what’s up ?”, "I’ve just thrown 3 hoodies in the cut ! " he said “fair play to ya, sit down and have a cup of tea”. I related the tale to him and he asked me if I’d read the local rag lately? No I hadn’t but apparently there had been some muggings along there with blokes walking home from work ! Well they never got me that day and I never walked that way again but had a good laugh about it after, look well if they were perfectly innocent
Hiya,
Well done Trev I bet they picked a bit smaller target from that day on, I can just
see them now stood there like drowned rats wondering what had hit them.
thanks harry, long retired.
Evening all,
Trev,that is a classic!
That is a deep bit of cut, a good 6ft at the edges…hope they did not have any heavy “gold” chains around their necks!
Pity they call the town a City…I would say S…y sort of place!
Cheerio for now.
Hi Trev, I reckon you were walking down the cut to see if there was a job going at Millers, you wanted some of that £2.25 per hour for all that donkey work!! Here is an advert from a Wolverhampton Trade book from the early 70’s, got a few more but can’t seem to up load them at minute, Cheers Pete
Wincanton’s/Miers advert and over to you Trev is this the Fellows with the green fords or the purple ones? Cheers Pete
I can remember Turpins Pete,green and orange motors. SJ Fellows did they have dark blue D series ?
Trev_H:
I can remember Turpins Pete,green and orange motors. SJ Fellows did they have dark blue D series ?
I thought they were purple, last motors they ran were Ford Cargo’s with sleeper cabs,Mr Saviem will know
pete smith:
Trev_H:
I can remember Turpins Pete,green and orange motors. SJ Fellows did they have dark blue D series ?I thought they were purple, last motors they ran were Ford Cargo’s with sleeper cabs,Mr Saviem will know
You might be right Pete, I don’t remember much about them, can’t remember the cargo’s but I might not have been working in that area then
How about the registration number on this one!Taken outside Sam Satterthwaites Obvious not my photo and sincere apologies if i have offended by posting it, Cheers Pete
That’s a rare one Pete, I didn’t ever see that at Craddocks, I thought they only run Atki’s and then Mercs in their later days.
Evening all,
Pete, where do you get all your interesting facts from?
Now, the last picture of Alan Craddocks S21 Foden which for Foden was a major coup,…the Craddock Brothers were still running an 8LW Gardner 8x4 in 67, up and down to Liverpool!!!..(how can that picture have a 2014 copywright on it)■■? Because when that picture was taken, next to the grey mini, was parked my Maroon and red , H Musson , Church Stretton, “England”, (the last bit was added at my request, because no one in France or Italy had any idea where Church Stretton was)!.. Micky Mouse unit, and Boden 28ft tandem van trailer. I was always into Sams premises for this and that.......he really knew more about Fodens than Foden…(apart from the Knowles family at Alfreton)…the tea was good, and he was not dismissive of a young, and enthusiastic lorry driver!!!
I thought that that photograph was taken for Fodens Ltd…but of course I could be wrong…I was quite young then! And despite asking if my lorry, (C 1965 reg), could be photographed I was given no reply!..
The Wincanton advertisement, incorporating Dennis Miers Showell Road operation…and so it should…
Dennis built up a considerable expertise in bulk liquid, particularly in milk. From churns, to the first bulk tankers, and ran a lot of Guys. Warriors, and Invincibles.
My Uncles churn work for Levedale Dairy, (situated at the bottom of Dudley Street), was subbed from Dennis. Then when we decided as a family to come out of haulage in the early 70s, it was Dennis, on behalf of Wincanton who bought the bulk of the business!
Now forward to 91, and who did my wife and I sell our Contract Hire business to…Wincanton…but unlike the days of Dennis Miers, the "educated graduate management went on to p…s a good business up the wall…
And the Turpin family were great friends of my wifes family, (who kept the Grocery shop in Hayley Street). Most of their work was from the Ductile Hot Mill, and Derek had all the mirrors on the KMs painted orange so lads in the mill would not hit their heads on them!
Now their yard is part of Hank and Tuckers empire, but it was quite some business in its hay day…but sadly another feuding family.
Pete, I dare not speculate on what you are going to put up next…but you sure do awake this old boys grey cells…
Let alone Trev H leading me into memories of B&W, and the Bradburn family…but I will be sitting on Jonathons garden at Ballacraine to watch the TT, so perhaps it would be indescreet to talk about B&W at this time!!!
Cheerio for now.
Hi Saviem,
Thanks for the feedback, Mier’s Transport where based in Bradmore originally, Star street? ( can remember my Dad telling me ) and yes i have a few more photo’s i have found. I can remember one of Craddocks atki 8 leggers, Defender? that used to park on a garage at No Mans Heath just this side of Broxton Island on the A41 ( the one with the police station on! ) so i presume he was on the Bloxwich to Liverpool trunk, this would be late 1980’s,
i have a photo of one of Craddocks Atki’s, a proper one on 40 x 8’s ! I am pretty sure it was given to me by the late Jack Spittle, Cheers Pete
A photo of Harris Caravan Transport Wolverhampton, this is a new one on me the only caravan transport company i can re-call is one down the side of the cut in Hordern road, over to you Trev or Saviem, Cheers Pete
They were where those new flats are at the Vine island same side as the pub at Fordhouses Pete, it was quite a big sales pitch. Actually I think it may have been called Allen’s caravans but I think Harris hauled for them from the same site, I’m sure an older and wiser Saviem will put us right.
Trev_H:
They were where those new flats are at the Vine island same side as the pub at Fordhouses Pete, it was quite a big sales pitch.
Nice one Trev, Cannot remember trucks but it was next door to the Shell petrol station and they finished up selling them American motor homes, Cheers Pete