tonyj105:
ERF-NGC-European:
Here’s a question:when (what year) did Ferrymasters tilts start to sport the P&O name and flag?
1yy
then
0
Bit late but would be around 1978, we had one one of the 1st f86’s with the white door and flag and the yellow chassis at desborough,joke at the time was the fact the flag was flying backwards on one side.
Tony
I remember that yard at Desborough I used to deliver sometimes to the local newsagents that was nearby.
tonyj105:
ERF-NGC-European:
Here’s a question:when (what year) did Ferrymasters tilts start to sport the P&O name and flag?
1yy
then
0
Bit late but would be around 1978, we had one one of the 1st f86’s with the white door and flag and the yellow chassis at desborough,joke at the time was the fact the flag was flying backwards on one side.
Tony
Not too late at all! I still require that info so many thanks Tony.
Ro
Hi everyone, I was an owner driver on for Ferrymasters back in the 1980s at the Ipswich Depot. use to pull the trailers out of Ipswich Docks. I believe Liam was in charge of transport then. My truck was a LHD Scania 141 Dutch spec with extra long wheelbase. When I was on there there was a good crowd of drivers from Banbury, we always parked in the gateway at the top of the hill out of Ipswich Docks.
Big Ben:
Hi everyone, I was an owner driver on for Ferrymasters back in the 1980s at the Ipswich Depot. use to pull the trailers out of Ipswich Docks. I believe Liam was in charge of transport then. My truck was a LHD Scania 141 Dutch spec with extra long wheelbase. When I was on there there was a good crowd of drivers from Banbury, we always parked in the gateway at the top of the hill out of Ipswich Docks.
Ipswich depot was brilliant when they opened it , even had a proper canteen with proper food, much better than the old felixstowe depot , although i spent a happy fortnight there , working in the office with norm, they put me up in the routemaster, i would have been about 18 or 19 then.
i’ve still got an F86 pen tray and i bought the AEC off the market couple of years ago , couldn’t resist it.
Always remember these when i used to go on the Hull docks with my grandad in the 70s, used to wonder what far flung places they had returned from, Did ferrymasters actually go abroad?
who owned Ferrymasters?
Has anybody got any pics from the 70s please 
JonB1973:
Always remember these when i used to go on the Hull docks with my grandad in the 70s, used to wonder what far flung places they had returned from, Did ferrymasters actually go abroad?who owned Ferrymasters?
Has anybody got any pics from the 70s please
poferrymasters.com/about-us/history
Ferrymasters is part of P&O and yes they did go abroad, but many trailers were shipped unaccompanied. I worked with a driver who was with Ferrymasters for donkeys years, he is dead now but this was about 1965. A friends grandad also drove for them from Hull, he may have some pictures when he gets home.
I am not old enough to remember them in the 1970’s, but I remember them doing selfdrive in the late 80’s early 90’s. I used to load out of Sully sur Loire with chipboard, and there was always a Ferrymasters in there. They had 2025 Mercs at that time.
Hi i used to pic up ferrymaster trailers in Gothenburg sweden and off load and load them back to england,they were verry gud round trips! But i did that in the late 90`s. Check out a swedish trucker on the web there is a lot of ferrymaster and alot old ones! www.vespen.se
Reg Dirty
I was subbing for them from 71-76. When I say “I” I mean the company I worked for. We had about 15 drivers on the job with 3 or so attached to each depot, Mine was Southampton. We were paid straight mileage in those days and could earn a decent wage, so long as the wheels kept turning. What it meant was you spent all day loading and then around 3.00pm you set about trying to earn some money. at 5p per mile you had to crack on some.
We also did a lot of bulk container out of Barry, along with IFF (who we also worked for) Ferrymasters pioneered loading bulk plastics through the roof.
Great times and many good blokes to work with.
This picture appears elsewhere on the forums and I humbly request the permission of the copywrite holder to reproduce it here.
Behind the line up of old ERF’s you can just make out the fronts of some 30’ foot bulk containers and one 12mt hard top tilt Probably TW1053HT or similar
Wheel Nut:
JonB1973:
who owned Ferrymasters?poferrymasters.com/about-us/history
Ferrymasters is part of P&O and yes they did go abroad, but many trailers were shipped unaccompanied. I worked with a driver who was with Ferrymasters for donkeys years, he is dead now but this was about 1965. A friends grandad also drove for them from Hull, he may have some pictures when he gets home.
The last vestige within P&O of what was once an extensive road haulage empire!
Once there were names like John Forman, A S Jones, James Hemphill, Henry Smithers, all the various Roadways branches, Pandair, Pandoro, Butlers Warehousing, H&S Transport, plus many, many more. Not to mention the Arndale Centres and Bovis homes. Oh, plus the ports, ferries, container line and cruises. How can it all have ended up like it has?
I spent the first 6 years of my working life with Pandoro, and I could never have imagined how it would all go down the pan.
240 Gardner:
The last vestige within P&O of what was once an extensive road haulage empire!Once there were names like John Forman, A S Jones, James Hemphill, Henry Smithers, all the various Roadways branches, Pandair, Pandoro, Butlers Warehousing, H&S Transport, plus many, many more. Not to mention the Arndale Centres and Bovis homes. Oh, plus the ports, ferries, container line and cruises. How can it all have ended up like it has?
I spent the first 6 years of my working life with Pandoro, and I could never have imagined how it would all go down the pan.
You would never believe how it would go down the pan and be owned by desert dwellers in Dubai
zzarbean:
We also did a lot of bulk container out of Barry, along with IFF (who we also worked for) Ferrymasters pioneered loading bulk plastics through the roof.
i would be interested in any photos or stories of that Ted. I worked at a company along with the founders of IFF and am still in contact with one of the original owners. We designed and built much of the loading and discharge equipment as well as alterations to standard equipment.
Used to remember all the various trailers they ran sat at king George dock
Fridges
Boxes
Tilts
Flats
Stepframes
The units seamed to be F86/F88,F7 and F12 volvos all seemed to have TIR plates and 2 peice rear mudflaps(even if they never went abroad lol)
Happy days
Remember they used to have a depot in Desborough in the old station yard. I climbed over the fence one weekend as a kid to have a look at the scammell routeman artics they had, and looked aghast at a brand new F7 sleeper parked up. This is not it but similar…
Some of the other names in the P&O Empire, West midland roadways, Containerflow, Thomas Alan
240 Gardner:
Wheel Nut:
JonB1973:
who owned Ferrymasters?poferrymasters.com/about-us/history
Ferrymasters is part of P&O and yes they did go abroad, but many trailers were shipped unaccompanied. I worked with a driver who was with Ferrymasters for donkeys years, he is dead now but this was about 1965. A friends grandad also drove for them from Hull, he may have some pictures when he gets home.
The last vestige within P&O of what was once an extensive road haulage empire!
Once there were names like John Forman, A S Jones, James Hemphill, Henry Smithers, all the various Roadways branches, Pandair, Pandoro, Butlers Warehousing, H&S Transport, plus many, many more. Not to mention the Arndale Centres and Bovis homes. Oh, plus the ports, ferries, container line and cruises. How can it all have ended up like it has?
I spent the first 6 years of my working life with Pandoro, and I could never have imagined how it would all go down the pan.
One of James Hemphil’s before they got absorbed into it…
gunnerheskey:
Remember they used to have a depot in Desborough in the old station yard. I climbed over the fence one weekend as a kid to have a look at the scammell routeman artics they had, and looked aghast at a brand new F7 sleeper parked up. This is not it but similar…
Some of the other names in the P&O Empire, West midland roadways, Containerflow, Thomas Alan
I love that picture, takes me back to when I was a kid out spotting.
gunnerheskey:
One of James Hemphil’s before they got absorbed into it…
I am not sure that has anything to do with the Polmadie company
Hemphills were part of P&O when I used to clean out there and swap trailers with Jock in Forfar in 1979
Your right on that on wheelnut, just looked closer at the name on the door and it says EMPHILS… 
bugger ! i’ll get me coat… 
Can’t remember where or who I got these pics from, but I was reliably informed that FM did Middle East work. Not sure if they had an “internal depot”, or if they went overland.
Think this one is NRT 345P. Love the arabic on bumper.
Wow if i had a time machine i would so be back in the 70s driving that
