Macgregor/transflash

[harry]

No, Tony kept the MAN for years & had his own colours -dark blue - his brother-in-law worked in the shipping office in Ciba & gave him regular work for years. Tony had his own clearing office in Man’ Container Terminal that used to get him return loads. It all went Ga-Ga when Tony’s son became a trucker & dad expanded the firm. Went out & bought 3 artics & started general haulage on crap rates. He had one of the Dempsey boys - Mickey- working for him .Short story- went bust. And then at a family wedding in Swiss his brother stood up made a surprise announcement ." I got Aids & have 2 weeks to live!" Two weeks later he was dead. It sent Tony doolally ,the police picked him up walking up the Basel autobahn with an air ticket to Milan in his pocket. The son was last heard of working as a cop on Gotthard when he nicked a Brit for overheight. Mickey went on to start a successful outfit called Transport 2000. Life…you couldn’t make it up.
Maybe one of the old hands can add to this little story of ordinary transport folk or correct any factoids?
PS: Its a criminal offence in Swiss to go bust & the penalties are severe.

[jj72]

dessert driver:
.Steven was the eldest son then Eric

Not that it matters, but Eric was definitely the elder of the two - followed by the lovely Susan, who thankfully looked nothing like either of them!

Funny tale from Transflash/highfield days; we used to do all the work out of Armstrong (floor coverings) at Thornaby to their Swiss distributor Rudolf Eich who were near Rapperswil IIRC, and one day not long after he started on for Fred, a youngish German lad called Peter (or The Red Baron as Fred christened him ) had to do this drop instead of the usual couple of drivers…

Now anyone can make a mistake turning around an artic in a tight yard, but unfortunately Mr Eich’s house and garden full of prize-winning roses adjoined this yard - you can guess the rest but probably can’t imagine the grief which came our way via Allsped in Basel

[harry]

& Eric was taller.

[dessert_driver]

Hi boys
We were all taller than Fred

Regards Keith, Sorry Fred

[mushroomman]

harry:
No, Tony kept the MAN for years & had his own colours -dark blue - his brother-in-law worked in the shipping office in Ciba & gave him regular work for years. Tony had his own clearing office in Man’ Container Terminal that used to get him return loads. It all went Ga-Ga when Tony’s son became a trucker & dad expanded the firm. Went out & bought 3 artics & started general haulage on crap rates. He had one of the Dempsey boys - Mickey- working for him .Short story- went bust. And then at a family wedding in Swiss his brother stood up made a surprise announcement ." I got Aids & have 2 weeks to live!" Two weeks later he was dead. It sent Tony doolally ,the police picked him up walking up the Basel autobahn with an air ticket to Milan in his pocket. The son was last heard of working as a cop on Gotthard when he nicked a Brit for overheight. Mickey went on to start a successful outfit called Transport 2000. Life…you couldn’t make it up.
Maybe one of the old hands can add to this little story of ordinary transport folk or correct any factoids?
PS: Its a criminal offence in Swiss to go bust & the penalties are severe.

Hi Harry, I remember seeing the wagon and drag that Mick Dempsey’s used to drive which belonged to that Swiss firm on I.I.R.C. Basle number plates in the eighties. Mick was talking to Ken Corrigan and myself one day on the ferry from Z.B. and it seems that on the trip before the brakes on the trailer had set on fire while he was going over The Snake Pass or it might of been The Woodhead. He said that the police came along and I can’t remember if he played the " no speaky English " card but he did manage to get the thing to his dads garage in Manchester where I think that he had to replace the brake shoes. Mick did do some Middle East work in the 70’s, I heard that he was a good mechanic and he seemed a clever lad. His dad had a few motors which was Dempsey Transport and he had a younger brother called John who I think also worked for a Swiss firm at one time in the eighties.
Ciby Geigy used to have a factory in Rhodes near Middleton, Manchester and my Uncle Alf drove for them after the war until he moved out here in the early sixties, they also had a place in Trafford Park and I once did a load from Ciba Geigy Middleton to their place in Vienna.
I think that Trucker Ash posted this photo of two of Hunwicks from Stockport a couple of years ago so I hope that he won’t mind me reshowing it .

[jj72]

harry:
& Eric was taller.

That wouldn’t take much doing! Sorry Steve if you’re following the thread

I was in Barca with Eric one night when the 92 Olympics were on, and strolling back past the cruise liners that were moored up as the athlete’s village after a ‘few’ sherberts, Mr Brown decided we should have a look on board - the 2 female security bods were enough to frighten even him into a change of mind though

[harry]

mushroomman:

harry:
No, Tony kept the MAN for years & had his own colours -dark blue - his brother-in-law worked in the shipping office in Ciba & gave him regular work for years. Tony had his own clearing office in Man’ Container Terminal that used to get him return loads. It all went Ga-Ga when Tony’s son became a trucker & dad expanded the firm. Went out & bought 3 artics & started general haulage on crap rates. He had one of the Dempsey boys - Mickey- working for him .Short story- went bust. And then at a family wedding in Swiss his brother stood up made a surprise announcement ." I got Aids & have 2 weeks to live!" Two weeks later he was dead. It sent Tony doolally ,the police picked him up walking up the Basel autobahn with an air ticket to Milan in his pocket. The son was last heard of working as a cop on Gotthard when he nicked a Brit for overheight. Mickey went on to start a successful outfit called Transport 2000. Life…you couldn’t make it up.
Maybe one of the old hands can add to this little story of ordinary transport folk or correct any factoids?
PS: Its a criminal offence in Swiss to go bust & the penalties are severe.

Hi Harry, I remember seeing the wagon and drag that Mick Dempsey’s used to drive which belonged to that Swiss firm on I.I.R.C. Basle number plates in the eighties. Mick was talking to Ken Corrigan and myself one day on the ferry from Z.B. and it seems that on the trip before the brakes on the trailer had set on fire while he was going over The Snake Pass or it might of been The Woodhead. He said that the police came along and I can’t remember if he played the " no speaky English " card but he did manage to get the thing to his dads garage in Manchester where I think that he had to replace the brake shoes. Mick did do some Middle East work in the 70’s, I heard that he was a good mechanic and he seemed a clever lad. His dad had a few motors which was Dempsey Transport and he had a younger brother called John who I think also worked for a Swiss firm at one time in the eighties.
Ciby Geigy used to have a factory in Rhodes near Middleton, Manchester and my Uncle Alf drove for them after the war until he moved out here in the early sixties, they also had a place in Trafford Park and I once did a load from Ciba Geigy Middleton to their place in Vienna.
I think that Trucker Ash posted this photo of two of Hunwicks from Stockport a couple of years ago so I hope that he won’t mind me reshowing it .

[harry]

That Wagon+D belonged to Schiebler Unterentfelden, they ran crap trucks. Mickey got his bro on there - reloading Leggets. On Tony’s he had an artic ,newish DAF that came from another busted firm -Ken Davis. San Miguel from Manchester ( ex-Stevens)was the first driver on that. When Ken went bust San Mig had to return to Swiss & hand the truck back to the Basel DAF dealer, but he was owed wages so he brought the truck across the Swiss border & sold all 7 tyres on the unit to a tyre firm & they fitted him with scrap tyres. DAF came to Muttenz to collect & noticed the tyres had been changed & snatched Fred’s briefcase, Fred called the fuzz & DAF had to hand the case back & Fred kept the dosh he was owed.

[ramone]

I think Henry Longs took over Transflash, i remember my brother driving 1 of their F88s in the late 70s/early 80s for Longs and Longs had moved on to Mercs by then they never bought Volvos

[jj72]

ramone:
I think Henry Longs took over Transflash, i remember my brother driving 1 of their F88s in the late 70s/early 80s for Longs and Longs had moved on to Mercs by then they never bought Volvos

Long’s sort of bought the own account motors from Transflash now you mention it (Geoff Bland transferred as TM) but didn’t buy them per se - that wouldn’t have happened as Long’s were smaller

In later years the were both owned by large groups, Albert Fisher in the case of Long’s and Ocean Transport & Trading, then MSAS, Nedlloyd Road Cargo, Dan Transport and finally DFDS for Transflash - none of who really wanted it sadly

Anyone who went into Mount Street depot in Bradford even semi regularly would remember the warehouse manager Geoff Mallinson - he was a former screw at Wakefield nick and a bit like a Yorkshire Mr Mackay (from Porridge) - gave us raw young recruits some major pain but all in good humour We were regularly told that all new office staff were “lacking in moral fibre” amongst the few printable epithets - good memories!

[jj72]

Sorry duplicate post

[webees]

[/quote]
i think a one got a burn out f88 from transflash,could have been a p reg,and got a new cab fitted ,any one remember a fitter called peter powell
[/quote]
I think you must be talking about a truck which my Dad (Peter Bee) drove, the fire was caused by an exploding camping stove. Here are some before and after pics

[ramone]

Brian Holmes waste paper bought an F86 i think was ex Transflash,it was a M reg and had done more miles than the space shuttle

[keith_2]

webees:

i think a one got a burn out f88 from transflash,could have been a p reg,and got a new cab fitted ,any one remember a fitter called peter powell
[/quote]
I think you must be talking about a truck which my Dad (Peter Bee) drove, the fire was caused by an exploding camping stove. Here are some before and after pics
[/quote]
Hi Webbs,that looks like the one,possible been about 1978/79…i would been in my teens then

[v7victor]

noddy360:
hi all, anybody help with any photos of this company think they were from bradford area , uesd to see them in the 80s on the a1 going into london on a sunday afternoon heading for dover , cheers alan.

sorry no photos of transflash, have got 1 of Stuart Smith trans flash sponsored stock car. Which he won the world final with once maybe twice.
Vic

[v7victor]

here is another picture of the stuart smith trans flash car.
Vic

[the_wigan_mafia]

Started to get together some old Highfield pics. Here is one of the early Volvo’s pulling a Transflash trailer.

[jj72]

v7victor:
here is another picture of the stuart smith trans flash car.
Vic

Any idea what season(s) he had that paintjob? Oddly as I was an Odsal regular in the early 80s and worked at Transflash late 80s, I don’t recall the connection? Looks like “Henry Long” painted on the back too?

[dieseldogsix]

Wheel Nut:
There maybe some pictures on the MAT thread as Cliff Leader went to Transflash McGegor on the Leman Trailers job.

He did indeed and I worked for him pulling Leaman trailers when I was on for Dines of Bicester in 78/79, I even stopped the night at his house after the Sed/Ak I had broke down, iirc he lived in Keighley. also used to see Paul Henry and John? down in Barcelona most weeks.

[harry]

the wigan mafia:
Started to get together some old Highfield pics. Here is one of the early Volvo’s pulling a Transflash trailer.

Is that the Old Man?