Damn right.
1 Like
When I think of some of the things we did as kids itâs a wonder Iâm here today.
RN married quarters at Rosyth there was an old pill box in a field, me about 4 years old just about to jump off after the older bigger kids âŚ..before my Mam rushed over and stopped me.
Later on riding our bikes on a frozen small lake doing skids, and the obligatory tree climbing seeing who could climb the highest.
1 Like
Itâd have been OK if it was a an ERF though 
I at least know that the Austrian painter and decorator was an insane Socialist who just didnât like anyone who opposed him, or anyone that he considered as being a rival like Rohm, or anyone considered as being Jewish.That obviously included any trade union member who wasnât onside just like POS Socialist scumbag Callaghan v the Winter of Discontent.Trade Unionists indeed.
But for some reason that supposedly anti Communist, German Socialist Workers, Party made an alliance with the USSR as in Soviet Socialist and Russian Communist Party.As part of a plan to tear down the USSR and the German Polish borders to add to their respective ideological collectives.Then the two Socialist halfwits fell out over a plan to forcibly relocate Germans from their beautiful Fatherland to the Russian wasteland and call it Greater Germany.Then they all came for the Jews as in the Holocaust and the Atlee regime murdering Yaakov Weiss among others like the crew and passengers of the Exodus for the crime of understandably saying zb this place weâre done with it we ainât welcome weâre going home to where we belong.Then the USSR and DDR arming Adolfâs previous Arab mates to the teeth to wipe Israel off the map in 1967 and â73.
In the housing estate where I grew up (in the 60âs and early 70âs) in Glasgow the dad of the family who lived on the ground floor used to park his (loaded) artic and trailer outside his house. He drove for Jack Critchlow and although they had a small office in Glasgow they didnât have any premises. He took great pride in his wagon and every Sunday he would tilt the cab and throw a couple of gallons of diesel over the engine to clean it. It was probably him that got me interested in transport.
In Corunna Street Glasgow in the â60s there was a bit of wasteland between the houses and Ilkeston Haulage owned one of the houses opposite with a large room with a bay window downstairs. After loading whisky at Dumbarton bond, we went round there to park the roped and sheeted loads in full view. While some of us grabbed some kip on the various settees in the room one man at least had to be on duty watching for little feet under the trailers which meant there was a young scally on the far side about to â â â â â * and nab a few bottles. 
*Talking of kids who canât speak English, monitoring these posts, what is wrong with â â â â â as in (â â â â â and burn)?
Do you remember Ashworths GOM. He built his own bodies and trailers.He could also âfettleâ those old AECs. I was born and brought up not far from his yard at Allerton
1 Like
Itâs still there lying empty. If it doesnât open as a pic click on box in bottom left corner.
Well well, fancy that, presumably because it belongs to that church (?) but I see it has given the lie to my memory, no bay windows in the stylish houses opposite. Funny how memory plays tricks with you, but perhaps, as we were always tired out on that job, I might have an excuse.
Iâm assuming that this was the lorry park as the other buildings are all pre war. From a look at the old maps site it was previously a tenement building but perhaps it took a hit during the war and was demolished. Itâs not connected to the church however.
Unless there is another Corunna Street in Glasgow that is the place. must be because the street is so short, but back then it wasnât boarded off and it was just a dusty bit of waste ground, just about large enough to get a couple of Highwaymen with bow fronted, and probably less than 40â, trailers on while we had a break in the office.
The trailers were bow fronted because with the engine out front a normal trailer would wack the back of the cab on corners. Made it awkward to stack handball cartons though trying to get it squared off for sheeting at the front.
The police never bothered us, never asked for log sheets, all they were bothered about was getting us off their patch in case we were hi-jacked and gave them extra work to do. One reason why we were knackered, if they saw as with our heads down in a lay-bye they would bang on the door and make us go away.
Only time a load was suspected to be the victim of being nicked was on another bit of waste ground at Stapleford near Nottingham just down the road from where I lived. I, and 2 other drivers, Goerge Milner and Dick East used to park there too. One night Dick Eastâs wagon caught fire and after it was over the police suspected Dick of doing it himself to cover the fact that he had had a few cases away. Never proved anything though. I find it amazing now that such valuable loads were treated in such a cavalier fashion.
There was a transport cafe just down the road in Stapleford or Sandiacre and there were usually at least a couple of âforeignerâ wagons on âourâ pitch. They used to ring the caff and a woman would drive out in the car to take them back to the digs and then again in the morning.
It was on that ground where I learned to drive an artic. Got back one Friday night, before Ilkeston when I worked at Shawâs, and the boss said get your gear out of your wagon, an Albion 4 wheeler, youâre on that Dodge artic on Monday itâs loaded for Liverpool Docks (sorry @grumpy_old_man , the mention pains me too). So I took it home and practiced there all weekend then when I got to the dock had to reverse it blind side around 2 corners inside the warehouse. I was so pleased with myself I didnât even mind handballing the bloody lot all by myself.
Speaking of whisky thefts, when I was working at the BRS depot in Lister St, Glasgow we used to trunk full loads of whisky down to Liverpool docks. Although this was in 1979 the loads were sent in normal roped and sheeted trailers - I guess that was to make it easier to grab the pallets and put them in the ships holds. Anyway, a pub in Glasgow was discovered selling whisky that was only available for the export market. It was only us that the distillers used for these particular loads. Clearly it had been stolen but where and when was the problem. If no-one has recorded a loss how do you prove that itâs been stolen? The police were however determined to get someone for it though. After all, you canât have any Joe Bloggs pulling a fast on on their patch (especially when they werenât getting a cut).
Turned out that one of the bar staff was married to one of our drivers - who just happened to be on that contract. Still didnât solve the problem though. This was such a specialised load that was only ever sent about twice a year and the last load was only a few weeks before this (which he had delivered) so we pretty much knew that he had taken it. However, all our delivery notes had been signed for as âreceived in fullâ so how did it make its way to the pub?
Plodâs solution was to interview the driver and threaten him that âif he didnât confess they would fit his wife up on some other chargeâ. The man did the honourable thing and confessed. Naturally he was dismissed.
What particularly piqued me about this though was the total apathy shown by the branch manager regarding this. In this, and many other difficult to deal with situations, he would just put his head in the sand hoping it would just go away. The general haulage side of the branch had horrendous industrial relations but he was, in my opinion, completely out of his depth at this level of management. I donât think that it is a coincidence that his father was a previous director of the old BRS though.
He was later moved on out of the operational side of the company and was given an administrative job with one of the divisions in England. By doing nothing and upsetting no-one he eventually made it to become MD of one of the English divisions. BRS in a nutshell.
Iâve tried to picture the scene but Full loads of whisky and Liverpool Docks just doesnât sound right. 
3 Likes
Itâs a transport related oxymoron. As in âa reliable Leyland 500 engineâ 
I await whilst our resident âStephen Hawking on all things transportâ contributor wades in with how good an engine and concept it really was. It was just misunderstood, Surrey County Council swore by them (whilst the rest of us swore at them).
1 Like
Heâs got other things on his mind at the moment, this mornings subject is Hitler (Adolph, deceased)
I know that with âour heroâ we are in the presence of greatness but IMHO his medication should be adjusted.
We ran a dozen or more Bisons with the 500 engine turbo and non turbo on local tipper work. With the Fuller box they were an ideal combination for our type of work.
Very little engine trouble.
They were certainly a much better prospect than the Reivers we ran before them.
3 Likes
Cheers Patrick, Skoda cars and trucks Iâd say.
1 Like