Swains of Stretton still operate, but not on such a grand scale as they used to.
Steve Swain is related, I believe, to Glyn Swain,( Mr Swains of Stretton), but operating on his own.
boden:
I thought Wincanton bought Rokold.I know they had a White featured as part of the Long Distance Diary series in Truck around 79 or 80. I used to be passed by two Stateline wagons regularly when I was trunking to Hemel on a Saturday night,I that was around 91/92. I wondered what happened to them.
Was this the White owned by Maurice Shelton from Derby , an old hand with Rokold and Christian Salvesen.
I dont know Maurice but Im going with a couple of friends to meet him for a drink. He was a regular traveller to Turkey and Greece around the time I was there.
If anyone remembers him I shall give your regards
Reading through the posts about Swains ,what was the name of the bloke that used to run their Cherbourg office? .He could always be found every afternoon in the bar(when it was still there) on Cherbourg dock compleatly p****d drinking with Steve Tremain who I think who worked for Atkins Int and later GBE.
that would be mell who untill handing the reigns over ran primor freight which was swains after the big split. glyn swain mark swain (mallet) still running. steve swain glynns other son runs swains. swains of stretton (shrewsbury) is glynn+marks buisiness.
Does anyone remember these firms ?
Transfreeze - Ireland
SteerSide - Ireland
Kelly Freight - Ireland
Rea - Ireland
Dublin Meats - Ireland
Hagan Transport - Ireland
Stateline - Ireland
AJ Millar - Ireland
Transcontinetal - Ireland
Murphy International - Ireland (had ford transcontinetals)
Molloy & Sherry - Ireland
Richard Morris - Ireland
Swallow - UK
MoorLock - UK
Andrews & Bond - UK
Rokold - UK
Swains of Stretton - Not sure if they r still goin, I know Steve Swain is, maybe same Company
They are all from the 70s, very early 80s
I know they all went bust in one form or another or were bought out , but wonder if they started under another name ? Anyone got any memorabilia on them ? 
I certainly remember Molloy and Sheery, there are still many of the trailers on the road!! Not sure if Rea are now Rea Disribution or not!!
regards
kev
i remember a few if the irish outfits you mention, transcontinental are now p&o
i think m j swallow were part of cadwalladers, or swain’s of stretton (the farmers as they were affectionately known!) who are still around doing mainly UK i believe, and robin east (rokold) sold out but i don’t know who to - ahhh nostalgia ain’t what it used to be!
Rokold sold out to Pullyns
Remember Murphys well they ran Transconti’s. They used to load out of the same place as us - they had a French woman driving for them.
Drivers hours were “flexible” and they used to Rugis to Northallerton in one hit.
i thought wincanton bought rokold?
in the 70’s they had a mack and i had a photo of me sitting in it as a kid!
paul
I thought Wincanton bought Rokold.I know they had a White featured as part of the Long Distance Diary series in Truck around 79 or 80. I used to be passed by two Stateline wagons regularly when I was trunking to Hemel on a Saturday night,I that was around 91/92. I wondered what happened to them.
it WAS a white! i remember now 
memories going, & im only 39! 
a road commander II i think?
i sat in it while it was loading at frans buitilaars slaughterhouse in boston when i was 12 or 13 ish.
paul
Swains are still on the go with 17 vehicles.
rea transport became rea distribution run by john rea who died a couple of years ago but still trading.
There was also a John Rea and Jim Rea,Jim I think owned Thermo Freight
which I think passed on to his son Steven who last time I saw him was working for Montgomery Trans
Murphy transport from ballymena went bust,hugh murphy bought drum na grea hotel just outside Larne which is now closed down.Heard many tales about Murphy Trans and knew one or two of their drivers.They seemed to come from all over the world.
Murphy had Transcontis and Fodens as well as the usual swedish units.
Transconiental Rosslare went to P&O.
Does anybody remember the shell garage at Ballyclare run by the Wilsons
if you were ever in Ireland you must have been in there.(now a esso garage and very big but I bet they dont sell as much diesel.
Kellyfreight Sixmilecross and Beragh closed a long time ago the yard was used by another transport firm now. I remeber3 out of 4 irish lorries used to ship across on Kelly’s account perhaps thats why they are no longer with us.
also Agnew & Lithgow taken over by Monty(i think)
Brown’s of Belfast.do they not rut an undertakers on N’ards rd in belfast now?
Road Haulage Services taken over by Woodside’s
and Last but not least Dukes of Portadown,Iworked for them for twelve months and not a bad firm to work for despite what some might say now owned by Monty.
Yes those were the days
regards derek Larne N. Ireland
Yes mate i think you may be right about the browns now in funeral directing, a totally different kind of transport altogether. yes Haulage services was bought by woodies much to mr monties dismay, remember where haulage services yard was? I know a few of Reas drivers but not by name, I remember before i got my class 2 one of the wagons (Iveco) broke down in our yard but he is running another outfit now if my memory serves me right.
Do you know Campell Gault?? Been down the road many a time in his TGAs on the C&c work out of castlereagh!!
regards
kev
Rokold was taken over by Wincanton.I think one of their drivers set up on his own and took over a lot of the work.Then Wincanton folded the euro side.
I remember some of them. The Kelly Freight TM sometimes came on the Soton/Le Havre ferry trying to get English drivers to work for them. This would have been around 1968 when I was on SCA Freight (or was it Eurohaul) can’t remember.
Those were the days alright. Loads of jobs about.
After all that, I ended up on Russell Davies on boxes. Retired in 2000.
Is Hanbury Davies anyhting toi do with the Russell Davies family, I wonder? Somebody told me that they had started up again after Securicor bought them for about 40 mill.
Me? Don’t think I’d bother
I remember:
Kelly Freight - Ireland
Dublin Meats - Ireland
Hagan Transport - Ireland
AJ Millar - Ireland
Transcontinetal - Ireland
Murphy International - Ireland (had ford transcontinetals)
Molloy & Sherry - Ireland
Richard Morris - Ireland
Swallow - UK
Rokold - UK
Swains of Stretton
Particularly Transcontinental because I met a driver for them in Italy just after I bought my first CB in Concorezzo. We travelled all the way back to England together but if he got more than 100 yards away I lost him because I’d never heard of SWR and mine wasn’t!
Can’t remember his name but he was only about 30 odd, came from Lancashire and had been a trawler skipper before turning to driving. This would be around 1980 I think. I was running for Cheverall’s of Luton or their successors, Howse’s. Don’t suppose anybody remembers him? We got on quite well even though we only met once face to face after that but several times in passing over the CB. (After it was sorted of course)
Salut, David.
rexyu:
Is Hanbury Davies anyhting toi do with the Russell Davies family, I wonder? Somebody told me that they had started up again after Securicor bought them for about 40 mill.Me? Don’t think I’d bother
Yep, Glynn Davies is the driving force behind the HD team, they seem to specialise in buying firms on the brink. After several years of twiddling his thumbs watching the interest roll in he got bored, and bought Loadwell in Felixstowe on the 11th hour just before they went bust. they then carried on and bought several other firms. I heard a rumour (you know about rumours 
) that DHL had offered to sell the container division back to HD, but HD declined the offer as they were out to poach many of DHL/Securicors customers anyway.
I remember Transcontinental and A J Millar.
How about JA Bunn of bristol taken over by Gagewell,
Hewson Brothers who were bought out many times and the office lad now owns Bellgate.
Jac W Hereveld, probably the first Dutch operator in the UK in Hull where EYG is now situated
This story about Swains of Stretton was told to me on the ferry the other week.
Glyn Swain thought all his birthdays had come at once with Muller Dairy, He opened a new cold store, got new trucks and trailers and then tried to put his rates up. So Thomas the german transport manager set up Culina Logistics, named after his own daughter.
I dont know if its true, but having met Thomas many years ago in Augsburg.
I believed him