Lawrence Dunbar:
Nice keepsakes and top class tipple, cheers for the holidays Larry!
Ray Brown:
Lawrence Dunbar:
Nice keepsakes and top class tipple, cheers for the holidays Larry!
Thanks Ray, Bets wishes for Xmas & New Year, Larry.
kevmac47:
Ray Brown:
This photo of Suttons brings back so many memories for me. The best one being the day I was about 12 years old and came out of Greenwell School on Beacon Lough Road to find my late dad and John Merritt waiting outside. They gave me a lift home and I was so excited. It was an eight wheel Atkinson with a drag, they were shunters for Suttons for a while in the North East. I bumped into John a few ago when he must have been in his late 70’s and he was still driving coaches on the continent.Hi Ray, John Merritt was a great help to me in my early days on the road as a coach driver,
at the time he worked for Hall Bros/ Bartons based in Hebburn. He was part of the " Three Musketeers" at Halls, along with Noel Gandy and Danny Stewart. I kept in touch with him for quite a few years and often went out for a beer with John and Noel. I was only a part time driver for Halls/ Bartons, as I also had a full time job driving a lorry, but those lads treated me as one of there own. Which was normal for anyone entering our industry at the time, as long as you weren’t a smart arse/ know all you were welcome and helped. Regards Kev.
Hi Kev, Yes John was a lovely bloke. My old man and him were good friend’s although he was a lot older than John and would have been 105 now. I remember John drove for Bowater Scott and used to pop in for a cuppa. The last time I saw him I was with Harry Nichol one Sunday morning in the Schooner. That was several years ago now, Harry passed away about 6 years ago. Regards Ray.
Lawrence Dunbar:
Very nice ■■■
All the best
animal:
Lawrence Dunbar:
Very nice ■■■
All the best
Hi Angie, Hope you are keeping well and hope to see you at the next drivers get together in March, All the best, Larry.■■■.
Lawrence Dunbar:
animal:
Lawrence Dunbar:
Very nice ■■■
All the best
Hi Angie, Hope you are keeping well and hope to see you at the next drivers get together in March, All the best, Larry.■■■.
All good here thanks hope you are well should be at the next driver get together look froward to it
Some not so good news just heard Bob Thorpe ( fitter at Adams ) has dementia not sure what stage yet will try to find out
animal:
Some not so good news just heard Bob Thorpe ( fitter at Adams ) has dementia not sure what stage yet will try to find out
Hi Ang, Im sorry to hear this , But Thorpy was a driver and worked for Adams in the 60s right up till he packed in and retired in the 90s, Larry.
Lawrence Dunbar:
animal:
Some not so good news just heard Bob Thorpe ( fitter at Adams ) has dementia not sure what stage yet will try to find outHi Ang, Im sorry to hear this , But Thorpy was a driver and worked for Adams in the 60s right up till he packed in and retired in the 90s, Larry.
Yes Larry, Bob Thorpe was also known as “Top Coat”, always wore a busmans overcoat with the white reflective band on the right sleeve , a H&S device of days before indicators so the hand signals could be seen in the dark 
remember the signal for turning left? 
regards Kev. Ps Thorpy always said the coat was old Jakey’s answer to fitting a heater in the motor. 
Ray Brown:
Season’s greetings to everyone!
I reckon that Hilman Imp is the most modern vehicle there (unless of course that’s an Ingersol-Rand compressor behind that Standard 8 saloon to the left of the pic in front of the bus.
A Venture Atkinson Alpha bus with Willowbrook body near Dipton I believe.
Cheers, Leyland 600.
Leyland600:
A Venture Atkinson Alpha bus with Willowbrook body near Dipton I believe.
Cheers, Leyland 600.
Hi Leyland600, I think this was taken at Blackhill. The coal merchant Rueben Page was based there, Along with Arthur Page tipper firm, Hope you are well, And all the very best for 2022, Larry.
ravda:
Bedford KM Adams and Gibbons
This belongs to Geordie Richardson, Geordie and his son Steven have a good collection of old motors including the 2 old ERF cartransporters