Just a quick question…are they still operating ? Not seen them on the road for a while and seem to not have a website ? Hopefully they are, but would welcome confirmation.Many thanks ! 
Geoff Gilbert retired about 5 or 6 years ago as far as I can recall. LB76 (Bill) might be able to provide some more information.
Yes Graham is right, what a sad day for British haulage.I had known Geoff since meeting him at the old SLIC clearing customs and remained friends with him over the years even went to work for him and he gave me a lot of help when i wanted to set up on my own. A great bloke and terrific boss the likes of which are not to be found today!
Yes , Graham is right, what a sad day for British haulage. I had known Geoff since i met him in the old CLIC one day when we spent the day clearing customs and remained friends for a lot of years, Geoff gave me a lot of help when i wanted to start up on my own and the standard of his lorrries was tip-top, What a fleet he built up!
If you are on Facebook there is a Geoff Gilbert page with lots of pictures of gg trucks
great looking fleet
they were definatly one of the best looking fleets on the road, i remember one year, i had this brand new
took it to Truckfest, i parked beside 2 of GG’s motors, and they complained they stood no chance of winning anything with my motor next to theirs! i told 'em they had their facts the wrong way round, there was no way i could compete with them. Nice blokes they were as well, and used to meet one or 2 drivers on a Sunday morning at Harwich when shipping out to Holland.
Many thanks! But can anyone confirm if they’re still trading ? 
no he finished a about 5 yrs ago. gingerfold told you he had packed up IE, no longer trading 
Yes, I had read in publications that Geoff Gilbert had retired but the business continued , run by his family ? Hence the question.
Yes that is correct, Geoff has retired 50/50 Spain & England along with Gill, Joe is in Canada and louise is busy rearing little ones. Thanks to the Bostik rate cutters and the way that jobs are done not on merit but by rate cutting Berks.
My mum and dad moved to swineshead about 6 years ago and there back garden or land should I say backs on to Geoff gilberts yard which I have to say even now looks a very tidy yard but not as nice to look at as It was floodlit on a Sunday night with a line of 143’s and Volvo,s mite be wrong but think he still owns the yard and rents it out to other small companies. Heard aswell that he owned the local scania dealership but not sure myself I’m sure someone will put me wright on that one
Many thanks for all your responses, much appreciated.
Sad to hear they are no longer…guess those 'white non liveries ’ euro trucks undercut, as you say…
I guess we all still have the memories of a fine and well turned out fleet…
LB76:
Yes , Graham is right, what a sad day for British haulage. I had known Geoff since i met him in the old CLIC one day when we spent the day clearing customs and remained friends for a lot of years, Geoff gave me a lot of help when i wanted to start up on my own and the standard of his lorrries was tip-top, What a fleet he built up!
going to have to disagree with you on that one im afraid mate. my dad worked there many years and he was an absolute a-hole to work for. Yes very fancy motors but due to the crap money the drivers got and the hours they did making him alot of money by doing 3 italy’s a week it would be very easy to have a fancy fleet. Dont get me wrong my dad had a great time there with people he worked with and loved the trucks he drove but i wouldnt call geoff a great boss.
Did you actually work for Geoff or was it just your Dad?
no i didnt work there.
beastieboys78:
LB76:
Yes , Graham is right, what a sad day for British haulage. I had known Geoff since i met him in the old CLIC one day when we spent the day clearing customs and remained friends for a lot of years, Geoff gave me a lot of help when i wanted to start up on my own and the standard of his lorrries was tip-top, What a fleet he built up!going to have to disagree with you on that one im afraid mate. my dad worked there many years and he was an absolute a-hole to work for. Yes very fancy motors but due to the crap money the drivers got and the hours they did making him alot of money by doing 3 italy’s a week it would be very easy to have a fancy fleet. Dont get me wrong my dad had a great time there with people he worked with and loved the trucks he drove but i wouldnt call geoff a great boss.
Hullo beastieboys78, You seem to have a lot to say about Geoff Gilbert, and you never even worked for him. You say your Dad worked there though, well in those days work wasn’t hard to find if you were any good at the job, you could always find another job, so perhaps you can tell us why he stayed on there, as you said the blokes were all good and the vehicles were all first class, you also say he made good money on the job. Mind you doing three Italy round trips in a week is just a lot of bollix. Go back and ask your Dad what it was really like, or try the job yourself before you start calling others. 
Archie Paice:
beastieboys78:
LB76:
Yes , Graham is right, what a sad day for British haulage. I had known Geoff since i met him in the old CLIC one day when we spent the day clearing customs and remained friends for a lot of years, Geoff gave me a lot of help when i wanted to start up on my own and the standard of his lorrries was tip-top, What a fleet he built up!going to have to disagree with you on that one im afraid mate. my dad worked there many years and he was an absolute a-hole to work for. Yes very fancy motors but due to the crap money the drivers got and the hours they did making him alot of money by doing 3 italy’s a week it would be very easy to have a fancy fleet. Dont get me wrong my dad had a great time there with people he worked with and loved the trucks he drove but i wouldnt call geoff a great boss.
Hullo beastieboys78, You seem to have a lot to say about Geoff Gilbert, and you never even worked for him. You say your Dad worked there though, well in those days work wasn’t hard to find if you were any good at the job, you could always find another job, so perhaps you can tell us why he stayed on there, as you said the blokes were all good and the vehicles were all first class, you also say he made good money on the job. Mind you doing three Italy round trips in a week is just a lot of bollix. Go back and ask your Dad what it was really like, or try the job yourself before you start calling others.
listen archie have you ever worked there? If you did then you would know what im on about. You dont know nothing about what happened to my dad and my dad is no longer with us so before you start spouting off id keep your mouth shut about things you dont know. If you read what I put my dad was happy there and enjoyed his job more than anyone. You can do that but still not have a great boss. Considering how long my dad was there and probably would still have been there longer if hadnt have died I dont think i need to have worked there as i grew up with it my whole life and know other drivers there who said the same thing. You also mis-read what I said it may have not been clear. The drivers were paid crap money. Im saying geoff made alot of money out of the drivers due to them running bent. The drivers had other schemes to make up there money. Good to send a driver out who’s has nearly been sliced off (not my dad by the way) and very good boss to say when my dad was extremely ill ‘huh thats good who am i going to get to drive the lorry now’. Archie my friend you have totally mis-read what I had said as did say my dad enjoyed his 17 years there and wouldnt have changed it so I dont need to try the job myself with the amount of times I use to go with him so I think for what I know for who i know and what i have seen i have more than enough reason to call others. Once again job great. Boss not so great.
not withstanding the above, if your dad said he was doing 3 Italy’s a week he was B.S’ing!
lets do the maths on this, Italy and back is around 2,500 miles (I was doing closer to 3,000 when i was running Southern Italy), so 3 a week is 7,500 miles a week.
Assuming you average 60mph all the way there and all the way back, you’ll do it in 125 hours
125 hours = 5.2 days (non stop)
If we factor in 6 ferry crossings which - including booking in, loading, crossing and discharching on Dover - Calais would be a minimum of 2 hours, thats another 12 hours (half a day)
That takes us up to almost 6 days (with no sleep)
That leaves one day to tip 3 times and load 3 times
I’d summize that even double-manning the figures don’t make it feasable.
I used to pull for Eurotrans from Cessena. Their employed drivers were totally mental and never stopped (their tacho’s would often show an hour break for every 4 driving all the way around the disc) and they would only squeeze 2 round trips into a week. I was double manning at the time and could only manage 3 a fortnight.