Lowe’s Atkinson Leader in Rome, c.1971 (sorry about the photo quality)
YKE 445J Atkinson Leader TRS3666C by Chris Gardner, on Flickr
Fridged Freight,remember em well.Showing mi age here lads,but I got a lift in 2700 VF,a MK5 MM and drag when I were in RAF in Norfolk 1960-63.
It was 1961 and driver picked me up in King’s Lynn one night,wagon had a drag but no second man . He dropped me at A17/A52 junction as he was dropping trailer somewhere near Boston IIRC but said he would look out for me as he was going on to either Manchester or Liverpool with 8-legger only. I got another lift to Sleaford where the Newark/Lincoln road junction was and sure enough Fridged Freight driver turned up again and dropped me in Sheffield about 0200. Happy days.
I think the photo is one of Bill Robins’ who worked for them.
My dad was a driver for Fridged Freight from 1959, assistant transport manager from 1965 and transport manager till they nearly finished in 1974. (he left FF in 1974 a few weeks before they ceased trading). There is a site with lots of pictures here on Trucknet about the firm.
I worked for them from 1971 till 1973 so if anybody is interested I will answer any questions I or my brother Gilbert can. As for Lowes - I remember them well with their 6 wheeler ERF units and they were bought out (I believe) by Turners of Soham - or at least some of their trailers ended up with them.
Fridged Freight ran chilled beef to all of the American bases in England and Europe starting in the early sixties, mostly from the Irish slaughter houses out via the North, Dublin or for a short time Waterford. British roads were avoided in the later years because of weight restrictions - Hence the Waterford / Cherbourg link and 5 lorries were registered in the Republic of Ireland under the banner J Wyatt Jnr (Ireland) ltd.
Good to see some interest in the old firm and pleased we could help Mr. Webb in his travels. ( As a trailer mate I did Many hundreds of miles in 2700VF with George Betts, and any other as promotion to newer wagons came on the fleet)
Jim McCluskey Jnr.
P.S. Bill Robins was a driver there, but has not been on this site for some time - hope he is OK . P.M. me Bill we need to stick together as time is slipping by - I am 68 now and there are not many of us ex FF blokes left.
Neville:
Good Day,
I used towork for Lowe may years ago in the offices. Somewhile after I left the depot (or part of it) was sold as was what business was left.
The NAAFI rates were ripped to shreds by various companies and the Lowe member running the company at the time decided to call and a day and not compete with rate cutting… I can tell you for a fact that 30 years ago we got a £1000.00 from Paddock Wood to Krefeld (D)… and paid in 14 Days !
You try getting a rate like that today ?
I can add that 30 years ago Kraft Fallingbostel to Beck & Pollitser Barking was £1,087 paid at 30 days , that would have made a nice round trip for somebody in those days.
Chris Webb:
Fridged Freight,remember em well.Showing mi age here lads,but I got a lift in 2700 VF,a MK5 MM and drag when I were in RAF in Norfolk 1960-63.
It was 1961 and driver picked me up in King’s Lynn one night,wagon had a drag but no second man
I think the photo is one of Bill Robins’ who worked for them.
And the Mini Cooper S in front of 2700VF belonged to Mrs Wyatt the bosses wife. Jim
May be a Cooper (?) but for sure is not an S. 
Billl if you read this I did reply to your mail / message and am now based here in the UK mate.
Dodgy Permit:
May be a Cooper (?) but for sure is not an S.Billl if you read this I did reply to your mail / message and am now based here in the UK mate.
I bow before your Knowledge DP. Mrs Wyatt definitely had a two tone Cooper S but I cannot remember the registration, so my eyes may be decieving me and that is not her car. Actually now I seem to remember it as being Silver and White.
2700 VF came on the fleet in 1962ish and was driven by John Leeder. He drove it up to Portgordon in Banffshire and moved the McCluskey household down to Kenninghall / North Lopham near Diss,starting in December 1962 and after a Christmas / New year break with my dads relatives in Kilmarnock Ayrshire we moved into the bungalow in January 1963 - what a winter! Most of the fleet were AEC tin fronted Mandators and Mammoth Major 8 Wheeler with draw bar trailers.To fall back on, there were 2 Scammel units but their haulage lives were nearly over. In 1964 the Mk 5s really started to replace the older ones, then the tilt cabs and Scania Vabis arrived closely follwed by the F88s. I was killing time working for D A Garnham the timber merchant in Diss - before my apprenticeship started 1n 1968 when Johnny Wyatt cleared out the bottom of his yard - and sold 2 Mandators and a Mammoth Major to him (“Tiddy” Garnham)
2700VF and the other Mk5 Mammoth Major GAH 500C - a 6 wheeler that Bill knows well - were still there when the firm closed in 1974.
For a short spell I drove a Transit van for Martin Podmore on the Travenol Laboratory contract and on one of my trips to London saw at least 3 Fridged Freight trailers in a breakers yard between St Katherines Dock and the Whitechapel rd. Brought a tear to the eye - I had serviced and travelled with them all over Europe. Jim.
Hi Jim.Another photo of Fridged Freight,this time an AEC MK3 “tin front” twin steer Mandator - or an early Mammoth Minor……………whatever.
One of my favourite photos,not mine though.
Chris Webb:
Hi Jim.Another photo of Fridged Freight,this time an AEC MK3 “tin front” twin steer Mandator - or an early Mammoth Minor……………whatever.
One of my favourite photos,not mine though.
Hi Chris,
Could it be a sawn off 8 legger?
pete smith:
Chris Webb:
Hi Jim.Another photo of Fridged Freight,this time an AEC MK3 “tin front” twin steer Mandator - or an early Mammoth Minor……………whatever.
One of my favourite photos,not mine though.Hi Chris,
Could it be a sawn off 8 legger?
Yes I think it was Pete,Jim will know for definite. Edwards of Lydbrook and A E Evans who I drove for converted AEC 8-leggers into three axled units for 32t running on 5 axles.Here’s a Pod Robinson photo of one of A E Evans MK5 3 axled units at Sheffield,I drove it many times,they had another - BMX 746H at Sheffield,coupled to 6000 gallon s/s tanks.They were both built at our Barking depot.
Note the Zanetti mirrors…………
Chris Webb:
pete smith:
Chris Webb:
Hi Jim.Another photo of Fridged Freight,this time an AEC MK3 “tin front” twin steer Mandator - or an early Mammoth Minor……………whatever.
One of my favourite photos,not mine though.Hi Chris,
Could it be a sawn off 8 legger?Yes I think it was Pete,Jim will know for definite. Edwards of Lydbrook and A E Evans who I drove for converted AEC 8-leggers into three axled units for 32t running on 5 axles.Here’s a Pod Robinson photo of one of A E Evans MK5 3 axled units at Sheffield,I drove it many times,they had another - BMX 746H at Sheffield,coupled to 6000 gallon s/s tanks.They were both built at our Barking depot.
Note the Zanetti mirrors…………
Hi Chris,
Thank you for the info, Zanetti mirror’s they looked after you Chris?!
pete smith:
Chris Webb:
pete smith:
Chris Webb:
Hi Jim.Another photo of Fridged Freight,this time an AEC MK3 “tin front” twin steer Mandator - or an early Mammoth Minor……………whatever.
One of my favourite photos,not mine though.Hi Chris,
Could it be a sawn off 8 legger?Yes I think it was Pete,Jim will know for definite. Edwards of Lydbrook and A E Evans who I drove for converted AEC 8-leggers into three axled units for 32t running on 5 axles.Here’s a Pod Robinson photo of one of A E Evans MK5 3 axled units at Sheffield,I drove it many times,they had another - BMX 746H at Sheffield,coupled to 6000 gallon s/s tanks.They were both built at our Barking depot.
Note the Zanetti mirrors…………
Hi Chris,
Thank you for the info, Zanetti mirror’s they looked after you Chris?!
Hello Gents. The lorry pictured was built by the then mechanic at Wyatts named Aubrey Taylor out of a Mammoth Major 8 wheeler chassis so full marks Chris. There is another photo of her taken out of our window after we moved to Diss in 1965 - I was only 14 yo at the time so my memories are a bit blurred but I seem to remember the trailer behind her getting the nickname “Big Bertha” and was 38ft long - unusual for 1965, but a vision of things to come at Wyatts. After my dad became TM at Wyatts it was usual that our Phone would ring out of hours with transfer charge calls from all over. If I was baby-sitting I would take the call and one Sunday night it was the Kent Police informing me that they had stopped 2 of our lorries which were being held for being 6 ft too long in the car park of the cafe on the A2 south of Canterbury, but after a bit of persuasion I asked for one of the drivers to come to the phone. I told George “the coppers are going into the cafe for a cup of tea so scarper pronto and get yourselves into the docks out of harms way before they stick you both on a weighbridge and find you are probably at least 10 tons over!!”…Jim.
Looking at my last post I wonder how Lowes got on with their similar wagons - dairy products tend to be far heavier than hanging meat if you were like FF whose policy was fill the space - eff the government and their blinkered laws. Well (my opinion only) what is better, one Artic or 6 x 7.5 tonners? Johnny Wyatt and his son Chris Wyatt were years ahead of any perhaps excepting Lowes so what they would be running today? I would like to hear fom you on that score - speculation perhaps - but interesting. Jim.
dave docwra:
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That photo was taken in Lowe’s old yard in Paddock wood and the driver was Graham Bertram. I don’t think Graham took the photo but he certainly had a copy of it. A few years later he was driving for Promotor when Paul Willis, they both lived in Biddenden, took some photos of Grahams lorries where he parked up near to his home. Graham knew Paul was a keen photographer of lorries from local companies and gave him the Lowe photo. Last year Paul gave me copies of all his Promotor photos and as he knew Graham was a friend of mine also gave me a copy of the Lowe photo. Possibly the best ‘Lowe (Paddock Wood) Limited’’ picture I’ve seen.
I think Charlie may be able to help us here.I remember the mid seventies just started for Rawlings doing a lot of hanging meat to Germany and using Zeebrugge every week.One of the more common sites were Lowes who done all the Naafi work all with ERFs and Frigid Freight with some strange combinations of Scania drawbars etc.
I dont know what happened to either company anybody help?
Good Day,
I used towork for Lowe may years ago in the offices. Somewhile after I left the depot (or part of it) was sold as was what business was left.
The NAAFI rates were ripped to shreds by various companies and the Lowe member running the company at the time decided to call and a day and not compete with rate cutting… I can tell you for a fact that 30 years ago we got a £1000.00 from Paddock Wood to Krefeld (D)… and paid in 14 Days !
You try getting a rate like that today ?
Be lucky to get £500 and pay your ferry out now
Bananas out of Southampton only pay about £500 to Holland, that was 5, 6 year ago.
Friged Freight finished in 1974 most of the drivers already had jobs to go to , best firm i ever worked for to date as well.
My old lorry is on my avatar before that i had an 8 wheel AEC with trailer and prior to that a 6 wheeler and trailer, i finished up with the last new Volvo FB88 ANG333J. A sad day and it does not get much better!