So having one of my regular ‘debates’ with the inimitable Carryfast and on posting these pictures I realised how even taking children to work now is an alien concept, let alone them driving diggers, dump trucks, forklifts, trucks! A health and safety person would be risking a heart attack at sight of us playing on that lorry, One of mine and my brothers regular playgrounds.
That made me a bit sad as I have such a wonderful childhood with Dad taking us to work. My brother stopped but I kept going to work with Dad until I was an adult and still did a couple of times as an adult. EDIT- just realised I still do now! We took Whites F16 for an MOT last year and it was fun being out with Dad again! Sad also because it’s a whole world of education kids are missing out on, I knew so much before I could even drive a car let alone truck (which is reason for my #TopTips videos)
When 14/15 I used to go with Dad to Harris Plant Hire and help. I was great at lifting engines and great boxes out with the mini digger, couldn’t dig a hole for the life of me but move an engine about with millimetres to spare? In your Man. Bosses used to watch and ended up giving me a summer holiday job driving one of these on Haverfordwest landfill.
So who went with their parents? What sort of runs did you do? Are you allowed to take your children to work? If answer yes would or have you taken them? Pictures always welcome.
just to note- I’m not boasting just facts. As I’ve said so many times I’m not a rarity or anything special, just led a very entertaining life. Well, to me, you probably find my trips down memory lane deadly dull but it’s all been so helpful with my memory. Interested in hearing your stories
Come from a non driving background so never went out as a youngster although had some great days at work with my dad who was a loadmaster in the RAF so a few flights in VC10’s and a trip to Germany in a Hercules during the holidays. Have taken my two out with me, the daughter got a trip to Denmark and decided once was enough, my son has been out on many occasions and sods law has it he has been on some of the less hurried trips and as a result has had days sightseeing in Edinburgh and Paris as well as days spent sitting on the beach in Zeebrugge. He then dutifully reports back to his mother that I spend a lot of time sitting around eating and drinking and generally having a cushy life
The old man was plant hire rather than trucks, Lovell Plant Hire in High Wycombe. Used to blast round the yard on dumpers pulling mixers and bowsers, play with mini diggers, go out with fitters on breakdowns, putting up hoists and tower cranes. 11 years old and up top of a tower crane testing it after a repair. HSE would have a fit these days.
Actually learned to reverse a trailer before I left primary school, had to stand up to push the clutch down on the dumpers because my legs weren’t long enough
Yeah I went with my old man, it’s what got me into it all. It’s also what makes me cringe when I see a tango marshall on a power trip on a London building site these days as it brings back the days when I was in MI6 as a kid whilst it was being built handballing boxes of ceramic tiles with him.
For many reasons that wouldn’t happen today!
My lad would love to come with me but it’s a no go nowadays. Shame really. As much as I don’t want son to follow me into driving, it is a way for it to get into the blood and bring in the next generation.
Mazzer2:
Come from a non driving background so never went out as a youngster although had some great days at work with my dad who was a loadmaster in the RAF so a few flights in VC10’s and a trip to Germany in a Hercules during the holidays,
Oh wow, how amazing is that!
Mazzer2:
He then dutifully reports back to his mother that I spend a lot of time sitting around eating and drinking and generally having a cushy life
Sounds exactly like my Mum! She was like the Spanish Inquisition when we got home!
Another thing I used to do regularly was race home from school, have dinner and change my clothes ready for when Dad swung by the house in the lorry. I’d then go to London, Smithfield Market mostly. We’d get back early morning so I would have a wash, pop my uniform on get breakfast and jump on the school bus! In a similar way Dad was the mechanic at Oriels and he’d have done a full day in workshop, do the run overnight, back in workshop next day! It all sounds so ridiculously far fetched by today’s standards!
Never took my daughter but before she was born I did make the biggest mistake of my career by taking the wife on a trip to Spain.
Tipped Madrid and reloaded Nules and parked up at the Upstairs Downstairs which was where we used to pick up our fax with loading instructions.
To this day she still doesn’t believe that I had no knowledge of what went on upstairs.
Oh, and why can’t a female pass a services without demanding you stop for her to use the toilet, one trip was enough she never went on a second trip!
Grumpy_old_trucker:
Oh, and why can’t a female pass a services without demanding you stop for her to use the toilet, one trip was enough she never went on a second trip!
Every female I’ve ever taken in the lorry with me has waited until I’ve just passed the off slip to the service’s before saying “oh I really need a wee “
My dad never really drove full time but did the odd trip now and then to help a local firm out. Having said that, I do remember going with him in the early 70’s to collect a scammell crusader unit from somewhere that he used the next week to do a Saudi run!
My kids have been with me a few times. My lad enjoyed it but my daughter got bored [emoji23]
He’s working full time now and she likes her bed too much to be doing 3am starts so probably won’t happen again.
It’s a shame most firms won’t allow it anymore.
Regardless of the rights and wrongs of children being in the very real harms way of a truck cab in the event of a serious RTA or all the hazards of a load deck/ loading/unloading area/yard.
The point in the case of our ‘debate’ is obviously your idea that going out with your Dad on the truck by implication counts/should count towards the bs face fits ‘experience’ career progression regime which infests the industry.
By implication you’re saying that anyone who was around trucks by way of their parents’ job should then be given fastrack status in that progression over others, who had to wait until they were old enough to actually go to work and do the job themselves with no backing or help from their Dad.
You’re not making a good case for the industry’s defence against accusations of nepotism and favouritism here, while adding weight to mine.
Not with my dad as he isn’t a driver, but every Friday afternoon I went with a next door neighbour after school, it was a bad attempt at not making me want to do the job by all parties but I drive a drawbar block crane now
Yep, used to go off with my Dad in old Albions, Commers and the like.
I used to stand up all day in the Commer (4 years old) for reasons unbeknown to myself.
Once wandered off when Dad was loading in a sawmill, accidentally jumped into a muddy stinking disgusting beck that came up to my middle (could have drowned ffs ) the wife of the saw mill owner who lived on site gave me a complete change of clothes that were her boy’s.
Was under stricti instructions to tell my Mam it was a puddle I fell in,.and not a deep beck , but she got it out of me and that put paid to going off with my Dad until.I got a bit older.
Later years, my eldest little girl started coming with me, before she started school,.and I got into trouble with the Mrs the first time she ever came with me, for taking her into a pub up in Scotland.
Then both my lads came with me in later years at different times.
Then my youngest little girl dropped me right in it by telling my Mrs what the barmaid in Monty’s Bar at Zeebrugge called me…as a bit of a regular there, she always referred to me as ‘■■■■ Rob’ (yeh I know ) so I got the third degree over all that.
So yeh,.they’ve all came with me,.I think the 2 girls enjoyed it even more than the lads.
I would not have missed those times for the world, a bit of ‘Dad Bonding’ with the kids, of whom I did miss a lot of their growing up sadly.
So my Dad used to be in the Merchant Navy/RFA. Soent many Christmas and Birthdays away from home. Thankfully, it never really affected us. It was the norm.
When I was around 8-9. He decided to finally leave the merch and do his dream job of Wagon Driving.
So this is around 98-99 , he starts driving for a company. He used to go with his dad, so he asked if I wanted to go. (My younger brother was a bit to young at the time)
So every bank holiday, Saturday day work I would be on the road with him.
I remeber lots of paper mills and cooper wire.
He then moved on to other companies and i couldnt go with him. But he went onto containers and would sometimes park at the end of our road to get soms hot food if he was passing. So I would go down just to see his wagon.
He then went on to do the job that eventually i took over from. He developed a heart problem, lost his license for a few years, but he recommended me to his boss because I was young (25) and willing to go down the road…cus thats what my dad taught me. “Get down the road”…still something I practice now.
He’s now allowed to drive up to 7.5 tonne, so now and again we pass each other and wave.
TL:DR - I used to go with my Dad. Its his fault I now drive as well [emoji1]
I remember my dad used to work for MAN in Swindon, he did a couple of runs with a low loader trailer, once to Northampton (Billing area I think it was), once to Dagenham.
Now I’m a class 1 driver and I drive those routes he once drove me on (the route around or by Billing Aquadrome) and the flyover by the Rippleside Cemetery between Barking and Dagenham, kind of makes me all reminiscent as he never got to see me in a ‘proper’ truck lol… he died in May 2019, I passed my class 1 in the June.
Also remember going out with him on agency work some weekends (unofficially!) working for Waitrose / M&S - I was about 14/15/16 I think.
He also did a low loader job (he was in fact a manager for the company who just happened to have a class 1) for a family friend, moving a vintage tractor (or similar) from somewhere just outside Marlborough to Westbury. I don’t remember a great deal about it but it involved a blindside round a Y shaped junction to turn round! Took him a few attempts!
Proud to be following in his footsteps.
As for my kids (6 and 4), I’d love to take them out with me but I’m pretty sure they firm I work for wouldn’t allow it. And they wouldn’t be up when I start either LOL
My dad had his PSV I remember catching a bus or two that he drove as a kid and going to the depot with him. Loved it, still would love to drive a double decker! When I was 7 he swapped to warehouse and van work, had regular early morning trips up the A1 to Blyth power station with him, loved it. I’ve been on the road last twenty years in various jobs, love it. Wish I could get my young un in a cab one day but don’t think the supermarket would like it. [emoji16]
Though he has done a few van trips and managed to take the family to Germany once too!
My Grandfather and Uncle both drove full time and my Dad drove part time to earn some extra cash when his day job was quiet. All my school holidays were spent in wagons - Grandfather had an F7 followed by a Scania 112, Uncle had a dodgy Scania “113” that was upgraded from a 93 by virtue of changing the badge and later an EC10 ERF. Dad drove whatever was going, as a military man he had God knows what licences - once an F12 on block work, and memorably 6 legger Mercedes for Kent Excavations when the Channel Tunnel terminal was being built. Often coach work, too. Most times everyone was glad of the company. I learned curtainsiders before secondary school.
This was all in the late 80s, early 90s and possibly the era of the last hurrah of taking your kids to work. Only once do I remember anyone getting uppity, when security wouldn’t let me in to a chemical works around Widnes way - I was deposited at the transport cafe at the end of the road, my Grandad gave the lady serving five quid and said “Look after him, feed him, I’ll be tipped in an hour”. Imagine that now! Everywhere else was no bother. Cash and carrys in Bradford chucked sweets and Coke at me on multi drop. Always thought this sort of thing was a really good introduction to the world of work for kids.
I rode in Bedford QL’s and Canadian Dodge army trucks in 1951 when we lived in Libya, dad was in the British army, but as I was less than six months old I don’t remember it very clearly! However from the age of seven I travelled with him in FG Fodens, Seddons and Bedfords in the school holidays and all I ever wanted to do was work around lorries. Never had any kids of my own though, and it was frowned on by my employer back in the nineties to have them in the cab, or even a pet dog. At one of our quarries a driver had his grandson with him but was told to leave him at the garage while he went to load. Alas the kid ‘went exploring’ and fell over some scrap metal and died from his injuries.
One of my boys used to come away with me in the school holidays between the ages of around 9 to 12 years old, we did France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy as well as all over the UK. He’s 22 now and wouldn’t be remotely interested in driving a truck for a living though.
This pic was taken at Portsmouth waiting for the ferry to Caen on a trip to Brest with ship’s stores. I guess he was about 10 at the time.
) the wife of the saw mill owner who lived on site gave me a complete change of clothes that were her boy’s.
(yeh I know 
