Would be interested in talking to any ex (or current) croome drivers that worked for the firm during the mid 90’s. Must be some around somewhere. Not you jj, you weren’t a driver. But you can come in with the odd comment if you must. lol.
Or any drivers that were on the same run for other firms at the time, kepstowes , ralph’s , eagle freight etc.
like ozzy osbourne sang: don’t tell me stories of yesterday’s glories - that’ll do for my comment 
that was a bloody odd comment thats for sure 
Do you remember David Garside he was one of Puxleys first drivers
Remember them when they had AEC and d1000s they used to park at my uncles yard in stratford then went to millwall had some smart motors
Carna:
Do you remember David Garside he was one of Puxleys first drivers
The name is familiar, but it would have been before my time.
Trubrit:
that was a bloody odd comment thats for sure
Yeh it’s just a bit of gentle mickey taking.
jj72 was the transport manager at croomes for a while, before he went on to become a transport magnate in his own right. I know he wont thank me for saying this but he was and still is one of only two people in the transport industry that i truly respect. Probably the best and most intelligent TM i have ever worked with.
Not to worry though he doesn’t have it all cos he is ■■■■ UGLY. 
One of our drivers used to work for David Croome, his name is Cyril Gardiner. Do you remember him? Not a bad old fella,he gave me a load of old photos , he was on Croomes for ages.
Mark R:
One of our drivers used to work for David Croome, his name is Cyril Gardiner. Do you remember him? Not a bad old fella,he gave me a load of old photos , he was on Croomes for ages.
Yeh i knew cyril.
How is he?
Who is he working for now?
Last i heard he was working for an agency.
The late Charlie Parsley,I worked with him on Malta Cross ; Ethrington ,SCA ; Bernie , Nudge, & the small musician (whose name I cant remeber ) Breda. Thats about it for now…
Are Eagle Freight still going? I seem to remember seeing one of their trailers fairly recently,and remember they came from the Ipswich area.
There was a coloured guy working for them years ago,must have been in the late 80’s,can’t remember his name,Peter something or other,but we used to call him Mr T,on account of his large collection of gold chains and rings.I knew him from when he drove for Sabra,a subsidiary of Goodways,but had an argument with one of the managers and went to work for Eagle Freight doing Russia.
harry:
The late Charlie Parsley,I worked with him on Malta Cross ; Ethrington ,SCA ; Bernie , Nudge, & the small musician (whose name I cant remeber ) Breda. Thats about it for now…
Charlie was the security man whilst i was there. What an absolute legend he was.
Picture the scene. 3/4 drivers sat in drivers rest room, which was attached to the security hut. We are all pestering charlie to make us tea, when in walks a new driver. Wearing mirror shades, leather waist coat, wallet on a chain and to top it off furry clogs (the cowhide type). charlie says hello clocking his attire with a wry grin. He then disappears into the hut to make more tea. He reappears with several cups of tea and without a word puts a saucer of milk down by this guys clogs. I dont know what happened next as i had to walk out wetting meself laughing. Never saw him again , apparently he didn’t last long.
I remember running down from St Petersburg one of the many trips with a few of Croome’s drivers when they were on the television contract to moscow. A couple of day’s later on the way home I met up with some of them again. On asking where the others wereI was told they had been sacked . Whilst waiting to tip just outside moscow some of them had been fooling about with the satalite keyboard in one of the cabs, printing all sorts of remarks about the firm when one of them pressed the transmit key.
At seven o clock the next morning the boss walked across the yard and said you, you and you get your gear out of my trucks your sacked and if i catch any of the other drivers giving you a lift home they will be sacked also.
That was the story that was told to me by their remaining drivers that trip.
A Scot lost in the Valley’s
M&C Jamie Yeah,Croome was the complete a’hole personified. No smoking ,not even in the yard. No drinking. Some drivers on the Finnish /Russian border sent a text saying they don’t drive at night in Russia; next day the croome arrived in his Rolls Royce with spare drivers and sacked the boys on the spot. Those were the good ol’days.Now ,I believe, he is terrorizing Roomies n’ Poles . The rumour was he got married to a dark skinned gal & changed his religion into something like the higher faith then spat Hells Fire at all drivers. Charlie liked him tho’ because after Charles had a massive Heart attack in one of Croomies motors parked up in the UK Croomie kept him on as yard man until Chaz retired.Altho Chaz lived in Mabelthorpe he used to spend a week in Croomes place in Kent.Charlie was from Bethnal Green but moved out to the Bromley area & then his missus thought it would be a good idea to move to Mabelthorpe altho all Charlies transport contacts were down South . It resulted in Chaz hardly ever getting home & living in the truck. When Chaz was younger he was a pro wrestler. He had a few bouts with Jimmy Saville in the old days.Croome will probably get a slot in theSimpsons if he plays his cards right. I only heard this from a bloke down the pub . I think he’s a wonerfull chap. 
well jamie’s account is rather more accurate let’s say - if i remember turnip was one of the ones sat there (understandably) open mouthed at the whole thing
M&C Jamie:
I remember running down from St Petersburg one of the many trips with a few of Croome’s drivers when they were on the television contract to moscow. A couple of day’s later on the way home I met up with some of them again. On asking where the others wereI was told they had been sacked . Whilst waiting to tip just outside moscow some of them had been fooling about with the satalite keyboard in one of the cabs, printing all sorts of remarks about the firm when one of them pressed the transmit key.
At seven o clock the next morning the boss walked across the yard and said you, you and you get your gear out of my trucks your sacked and if i catch any of the other drivers giving you a lift home they will be sacked also.
That was the story that was told to me by their remaining drivers that trip.A Scot lost in the Valley’s
Who were you on for??
I was one of them drivers who went back to finland with the two trucks that were shipped back driverless. Your account was pretty smack on, the two drivers that were thrown out in moscow rode back with us despite the warning from croome. They were gary peoples and jerry rothwell. Apart from gary who actually got quite upset about it all, we found it hilarious. Jerry in particular thought it was a hoot. Luckily he rode with me, poor old pete stoneman had to put up with gary’s bleeting all the way to Helsinki. A massive over reaction by croome to some horse play. I think croome thought he had a bad apple at the time and wanted to root him out, he didn’t it was his shoddy treatment of men that got the mens backs up. Still it makes a great story eh.
You are probably right. The two things that coincide is the fact that a joke message was sent to the wrong address & the lads were fired in the middle of the road.
harry:
You are probably right. The two things that coincide is the fact that a joke message was sent to the wrong address & the lads were fired in the middle of the road.
Yup but the message was no joke! It was wrote by jerry as a laugh and when no one was looking gary sent it. There was some pretty rotten stuff wrote in that message.
Croome did marry an indian girl, his faith was christian though. I do believe he has left her now for a lithuanian girl . His faith must have been real strong eh.
I never knew that stuff about charlie in his younger days. Did you know Alf as well then, his brother in law who was also a security man at croomes. Me and Dave banks came back 3 o clock 1 morning to find him passed away . He was a right character as well.
Hi Turnip, I bought Alan Johnsons 3300 Daf off him and went Subbing for Kepstowe through him, for a few years. That is when we used to meet up with Croomes’s drivers on a Tuesday night on the finland /russian border. When I think back on it,it must have taken some bottle to have invested all that money on new trucks that were over length to be on the road. I wonder how much it cost him every time they were stopped in Finland coming off the boat.
There was also a driver was he hungarion ? who drove there for a few years if i remember correctly and one i used to see in the riders who run a lot to the Ukraine. the old memory is not what it was im afraid. regards Jamie.
A Scot lost in the Valley’s