i don’t get down the smoke much (yipee 
) but saw from the river a few weeks ago what it looked like some or all of convoys wharf was getting ready to be demolished - anyone know please?
i’m not that old so mainly remember when the transfennica boats used to come in there before they moved to 47 berth at tilbury - bit of an arse of a place to get big lokotrak machines and the like out of 
I used to go there regular. On Fridays I would go into their office, an Irish guy would tell me the load had to be in Glasgow for delivery Saturday morning to Convoys warehouse… I delivered Monday morning. Since Convoys Glasgow always arranged my backload, I was well in with the boys who tipped the load. No-one ever asked me at Deptford why I never delivered Saturday!
Alex
You’ve just given me a real blast from the past.
During the Eighties, Convoys was a regular source of loads back for our (H.S.Hayward Transport - Telford) flat trailers coming home to the Midlands.
Paper reels, good rates too, compared some clearing houses.
What happened to them are they still in the trade?
Merry Christmas
DP
I haven’t seen one of their lorries for a long time. They ended up with only one warehouse in Glasgow, out in the southern suburbs at Carnwadric.
One of these weekends I will take a look round there and see if they are still there.
When I was with a Glasgow south side haulier, A & J McLELLAN, I used to have to get my own backloads. The guys I knew at Convoys, Portman Street, in Kinning Park, used to arrange for my homeward load before I left Glasgow. I did not get anything for a backload so I didn’t care what the boss got! However, he never complained to me, unlike some of the guys who backloaded out of Sheerness Steel where the load was £100 for a Scottish load whether it was Gretna Green or Thurso.
When I was with BRS I used to go to Telford for loads out of GKN Sankey, who, I 'm sure you know, made wheels & chassis for Leyland at Bathgate, amongst other products.
Nice ‘talking’ to you.
A merry Christmas and a Guid New Year to you and yours.
Alex
they have still got a place on chatham docks i go in there regular . Never seen any of their lorries tho i think they are just a freight forwarder.
Hi
We used to regularly load paper reels from there in the sixties for the Southampton Evening Echo paper , it was a regular return load for us , also remember the Royal Navy shared that wharfe as well .
What memories .
Frenchy
I tipped a box in there last year, it was more or less deserted, a sad state of affairs, another piece of history gone, just like all the docks & wharves in London, there’ll soon be a load of million pound appartments on the site, progress, my arse
newmercman:
just like all the docks & wharves in London, there’ll soon be a load of million pound appartments on the site, progress, my arse
you forgot the “empty” bit between pound and appartments mate - indeed sad to see, if moving to tilbury is progress then double arse
Back in May 1985 I took some photos of Convoys artics tipping newsprint reels in Whitefriars St. EC4, the reels being hoisted into the third floor loading bay!
Red M & T reg. Leyland Buffalos with single axle trailers, at the back of the News of the World, were these motors related to the Convoys Wharf your talking about?
Happy Xmas
Got my first ever ‘backload’ from Convoys on my 4 wheeler Albion back in about 1965 - odds and sods of boxes down to Bath and Bristol. Mind you they couldn’t give me a full load so I had to go round to Silver Roadways for the other half. Trouble was I loaded Convoys first with the first drop so put it on the back end and, because of the unusual length and overhang (it was a coach chassis), if I touched the accelerator on a bend the normally armstrong steering became feather light and the wagon went straight on.
Good job it wasn’t far to get the rest on. 
s2rich:
they have still got a place on chatham docks i go in there regular . Never seen any of their lorries tho i think they are just a freight forwarder.
Yes their still in Chatham though Convoys R up for sale if anyones interested !!!,
Not had their own Trucks for a few years now used to see early Actros in their colours parked whenever i went in their but its long gone now
Spent many hours in Convoys at Deptford, and i mean hours. I was on first name terms with the lady in the canteen, and that guy named Ron was the most highest paid truckparking i’ve ever come across. I could be sat waiting 4-5 hours somedays but it took 10mins to get loaded. Must admit had a good banter with the lads, fond memories. I think the land was up for redevolpment,
I worked for Convoys in Swinton Manchester in the mid to late 70s. I was only a teenager then. I used to go out with the first load to the Daily Express in Ancoats Manchester stay there to help the drivers unload then come back with the last truck. They are still going here is the link.
Used to run trailers into there to ship for Finland.
That was the easy bit, then you had to wait for the office clerk to book it into his mega thick ledger book.
They never bothered with printers 
i used to drive for convoys deptford, from 1984-1990, best paid job i ever had, the union had a vice like grip on everything, they moved to chatham dock and are just a freight forewaders now, old dot ran the canteen back then a lovely scouse lady, she gave you the best meals in the country, and mouth full of abuse if you upset her great days,sadly the port of lodon authority drove them out with their port charges, convoys was owned by rupert murdoch of news international fame, that did not help either, the old yard is going to be redeveloped by lewisham council when they get their fingers out of their arses, the last idea was going to be a cruise liner terminal but pigs might fly by then,i hope this helps you all with fond memories of the old place, have happy 2009, qnd get where ever you are going safely.
skandiahamn:
Back in May 1985 I took some photos of Convoys artics tipping newsprint reels in Whitefriars St. EC4, the reels being hoisted into the third floor loading bay!
Red M & T reg. Leyland Buffalos with single axle trailers, at the back of the News of the World, were these motors related to the Convoys Wharf your talking about?Happy Xmas
I knew I would find these pics…a year on and here they are.
Loaded there back in the early 70s when i worked for D transport of Millwall the firm had 2 or 3 wagons in there every day always got the Birmingham post and echo at Colemore circus at the time i was driving an atki borderer with o powered steering and when unloading they always put me right over the back in the corner i had arms like popeye after a couple weeks but back to convoys always found it a good place to load then good canteen and they worked late .Went back in there in the mid 90s and the canteen was just as good but getting loaded with timber always seemed to much trouble for the dockers.
skandiahamn:
skandiahamn:
Back in May 1985 I took some photos of Convoys artics tipping newsprint reels in Whitefriars St. EC4, the reels being hoisted into the third floor loading bay
What a very worrying scene that would be for one of today,s H&S persons.They would have a fit. 
Those 2 drivers are exposing themselves to great danger.Neither of them is wearing their Hard Hat. or their High vis jacket. and they are probably not even wearing safety boots. Those 1 ton reels of newsprint dangling above their nappers would do them a power of no good if they dropped.
Elf & safety
It would take them 2 weeks to write down a report for that picture.
What a b****y nanny state we live in now!