Hills transport?

[scania_topline]

Came across this topic by accident,but thought i could add to this right here goes

1st Rhys Davies bought a load of share’s in Hills at least 5 years before the Penarth Rd yard was sold and it all moved to Taff’s Well.

2nd Hill’s still have trailer’s with there name on them !!!
They have about 10-15 skelly trailer’s in a crappy greenie/blue colour and some which still have the red colour on which they run out of Dow corning in Barry with Rhys Davies tractor unit.
Also if you seen a Rhys Davies tautliner/curtinsider look at the trailer fleet Number some have RD and other’s have HT for Hill’s Transport.

3rd loads of driver’s are still about can get a list of about 20 driver’s also there are still a number of the guy’s who worked in the garage still about.

Hope this help’s

[j_calder]

Hi guys I used to b dwn hills of cardiff and the curran club with my old man and I can remember few people frm there such as tutty (timmy rose) mark webber, jacky block, dumper,gordon carter, etc my father was gordon calder (the goffer) I always used clean his 401 seddon atkinson which he still had after he left luved his truck

[bootie68]

hi j calder they were good old days just to let you know the old hills boys meet in cardiff on the first sat of the month in lloyds bar opp new theatre they are there from about 2pm until drop lolol my dad is jacky block. loads of old faces dave lloyds dumper chrissy griffin peter margets stumpy steve hudd alan johnson allan richards dia woodruff lerch conky mills just to name a few pop in and see them all i will warn you you will do miles lolol

[j_calder]

Hi il have tell old man get in to see them been a long time nw
Lol yh they wer gd days I was young but still remember the days used go dwn there

[otto194242]

hi hills all . just came back from buzzer had drink with - 40 foot - dennis .going to put some photos on . or try to . from otto . ex pondarosa .

[toolbox]

…

[homeward-bound]

Wow what a walk down memory lane this thread has been for me.

My stepdad was the P&O Pandoro driver who operated out of Hills Transport Cardiff in the 70’s - John ‘johnny’ Long. After marrying my mum in my birth town of Liverpool he was offered the position based in Cardiff and we moved lock stock and new born baby (my little sis) from Liverpool, down to Cardiff. I was 5 or 6 years old and this was the early 70’s. Been here ever since so count myself an honorary welshman.

This was when my relationship with Hills Transport (and Atki Borderer’s, AEC Mandator’s, and more latterly Leyland Marathon’s, Volvo f86’s Leyland Roadtrain’s and Sed Ak Strato’s) began. Although John drove for Pandoro he was always ‘obblin’ for Hills Transport on the side. So for me every Saturday and most school holidays thru the 70’s were spent asleep slumped over the engine hump in a Hills aki borderer, gratefully grasping a handfull of copper coin which the drivers would always hand out whenever they saw me.

Real happy childhood memories for me and it was great to see Johnny Long mentioned in South Wales trucking ‘lore’ on another TruckNet thread related to South Wales transport & haulage. South Wales Hauliers sixties and seventies onwards (Part 1) - OLD TIME LORRIES, COMPANIES AND DRIVERS (INTERACT - Trucknet UK

As a result of a childhood spent in the noisy, uncomfortable cab of a truck I have been a HGV driver ever since I was old enough to take the test (1988).

Jimmy Hill gave me my first paying days wage as a HGV 1 driver.

I had taken a 401 Seddon to Narbeth. Being full of the joys of realising my life’s ambition (to drive for Hills) I had forgotten to check the oil & water in my haste to get going.

The truck had recently come out the workshops having had open heart surgery. Turned out it still had an oil leak and when I got back I thought the normally mild mannered Jimmy was going to bend a tyre bar round my 21 year old head for taking it out without checking it over first.

That was a life lesson learnt!

Having worked for all the usual suspects around south wales, today I continue to ply my trade with John Raymond Transport in Bridgend. Where I now live.

This was my son recently, who is now totally ‘infected’ with trucks and haulage. Despite my own protestations he wants nothing more in life than to be a truck driver. Just like HIS dad.

Sadly I don’t have any pictures of him in a Raymond motor. Health & Safety won’t allow it!

Perhaps there’s a lesson to be learnt here, over why the industry is not attracting new young blood anymore?

Some names I remember from back in the day? Dumper (Derek), Jacky Block, Peter Bogdanovich, Dai Marsh, Carlton Hobbs, Johnny Broom (subby), Chris Griffin, Mike Murphy (Cardiff Transport?), Vince Rolly, Grant (The Leg-End). Probably a few more I’ll think of later.

I didn’t hang around very long at Hills. I was offered a drive up at BRT on Culverhouse Cross in Cardiff, taking tanker loads of silicone out of Dow Corning at Barry, to Seneffe in Belgium. The lure of continental work (and a T reg (1978) DAF 2800) was too great and so my European adventures began.

Great to see Hills Transport listed here on TruckNet for posterity.

[td122]

If there are any ex Hills drivers still on this thread do they remember Phil Norris (fitter) from the yard at Golborne?

[oiltreader]

All credit to Len Rogers for the photos.
Oily

[eddie_heaton]

TD122:
If there are any ex Hills drivers still on this thread do they remember Phil Norris (fitter) from the yard at Golborne?

Hi TD, this could be mere coincidence, as I’ve never actually driven for Hill’s personally, or Midway as I knew it back then, but in 1969 when I was on the tippers for Wm. Liptrot in ■■■■ lane Golborne, a young lad of about 15 or 16 by the name of Philip Norris, started there as an apprentice mechanic, working under a seasoned veteran named Jimmy Moss.

After leaving to go on to general haulage I never saw the kid again.

When Liptrot sold up a few years later, a number of his former drivers, a couple of the Bennets, and a guy called Jim, who somehow acquired the name ’ snowshoes ’ being among them, went driving for Hill’s.

I suppose it’s reasonable to assume that young Philip may possibly have also transferred to Hill’s, living, as he did in Golborne, or at least that’s what my logic is suggesting, but who knows.

If it is the same guy we’re talking about, he’ll be about 68 now and he had an older sister, Kathleen, who was in my year at school.
And if it is the same guy, and you ever manage to get in touch with him, ask him if he remembers the driver who gave him his first pair of overalls.

On reflection, I’m beginning to think that Kathleen may have been Philip’s cousin rather than his sister.

[td122]

Eddie Heaton:

TD122:
If there are any ex Hills drivers still on this thread do they remember Phil Norris (fitter) from the yard at Golborne?

Hi TD, this could be mere coincidence, as I’ve never actually driven for Hill’s personally, or Midway as I knew it back then, but in 1969 when I was on the tippers for Wm. Liptrot in ■■■■ lane Golborne, a young lad of about 15 or 16 by the name of Philip Norris, started there as an apprentice mechanic, working under a seasoned veteran named Jimmy Moss.

After leaving to go on to general haulage I never saw the kid again.

When Liptrot sold up a few years later, a number of his former drivers, a couple of the Bennets, and a guy called Jim, who somehow acquired the name ’ snowshoes ’ being among them, went driving for Hill’s.

I suppose it’s reasonable to assume that young Philip may possibly have also transferred to Hill’s, living, as he did in Golborne, or at least that’s what my logic is suggesting, but who knows.

If it is the same guy we’re talking about, he’ll be about 68 now and he had an older sister, Kathleen, who was in my year at school.
And if it is the same guy, and you ever manage to get in touch with him, ask him if he remembers the driver who gave him his first pair of overalls.

Hi Eddie
I work with Phil so will ask. would be great if its the same lad.

[deanb]

1966 AEC Mandator.

[bootie68]

hills have been gone for some years now some 14 or 15 years maybe even longer they didnt move to the docks they stayed in penarth road where ryhs davies bought them out my father work for them for over 20 years along with my father in law who done about 17 years and my husband for 10 years it was the whole of my childhood loved being there and along with currans club where we spent many happy years till that closed about 14 years ago im still in contact with some of the boys from hills but sady not many of them left now

[chris_webb]

I remember Hills when they ran these AEC Mk5s

I always used to get them mixed up with Ely Transport.

[bewick]

Chris Webb:
I remember Hills when they ran these AEC Mk5s

I always used to get them mixed up with Ely Transport.

Wern’t Ely and Hills the same firm and also Midway at Wigan were Hill’s if my memory is correct.Dennis.

[chris_webb]

Bewick:

Chris Webb:
I remember Hills when they ran these AEC Mk5s

I always used to get them mixed up with Ely Transport.

Wern’t Ely and Hills the same firm and also Midway at Wigan were Hill’s if my memory is correct.Dennis.

I’m not sure about that Dennis but I remember Midway from Wigan and the wagons certainly looked similar,somebody will tell us I’m sure.

[240_gardner]

Chris Webb:

Bewick:

Chris Webb:
I remember Hills when they ran these AEC Mk5s

I’m not sure about that Dennis but I remember Midway from Wigan and the wagons certainly looked similar,somebody will tell us I’m sure.

Yes, Midway was Hill’s - I remember them in ‘The Beanery’ at Kitt Green - maybe it was a firm that Hill’s took over?

I remember that Northern Ireland Trailers/Pandoro used to operate a motor out of Hill’s yard in Cardiff in the late 70s too.

[bootie68]

just been informed that hills bought midway out and were still in golborne wigan up until they sold to rhys davies i can remember going to that yard from about the age of 8 with my dad and then in the later years with my hubby and my kids please if you find any more photos of hills please put them on

[gah1950]

To bootie68.
nice to see a hills thread on trucknet,i had an uncle that worked for hills in the 1960s ,a large proportion of their work then was the heinz contract and the hornimans tea contract in which quite a few tk box vans were added to the fleet.another major customer was helliwells tubes at robertstown aberdare who supplied exhaust pipes to mainly ford & bmc and almost most places was all handballed off.Hills did aquire midway transport of wigan whose livery was dark green if i am correct.Hills had another company whose livery was identical to the hills livery and it was called C. R. D. S. commercial rapid delivery services and was based in st albans garage along with the hills fleet which to say the least was very varied.i remember a couple of cardiff drivers namely bobby ridley,billy cann,arthur pitman,darky john,chris dullivan,ted young and a chap i knew only as yorkie,my uncle was from abercynon there was a nice fella from mountain ash called sid gilbert a little bit on the religious side of life and also a man from mountain ash called ken landeg.i remember old reg hill well and another boss there i think his name was doug undery?.i hope these words have put a little extra light on things.ps, if you should want to contact hills the phone number was cardiff 35651.
regards gah1950.

[bootie68]

To Gah1950

hills has long gone now hun 12 13 years reg hill passed away about 15 years ago might even be longer doug undery isnt here anymore either ted young i remember but the other names i dont my dad was jacky block and my father in law is norman hudd my dad work there for about 20 odd years. i spent many happy time down the yard on weekends and loved going everywhere in the lorry with my dad when i was young its hasnt changed my kids now do it with my hubby we are trying to dig out all photos so we can get them on here i could sit and write all day lolol regards lynette