Hi,
Has anyone got any pictures of Removal trucks from the 1980’s & 1970’s ?
I am especially looking for some pic’s of a company from Kent / South London
calles “H Smith & Sons” they used to do a lot of removals to the middle east etc…
Thx
Hi
Do you mean H Smith of Sidcup?
Didn’t H Smith do a lot of embassy work.I can remember running down to Rome in the company of one of their motors.Big blond haired guy. That wasn’t a lot of use was it? Sorry. 
Im sure there wernt any removal companies running that far, anything like that used to go by sea via a container, I worked for an international removal company in south London and whilst we only did (local) european anything further went into a container. Having said that I vaguely remember taking some household to Davies Turners when they were up by Chelsea Bridge for export overland to M/E but that was only because it was a regular run for them, I think it just went on a trailer a groupage part load.
Most of the companies had there own little niche market and used to share the work around between themselves…Euromove out of Wembley did the Greek stuff, my company used to do alot of France and Germany, someone else would specialise in Iberia etc.
Greece was about the furthest East most people went overland though there may have been one company that did the embassy`s in North Africa.
Didnt H Smith and Sons have blue wagons with an orange stripe a long the side?
Hope this helps.
Bullitt.
There was Smith Van Lines with silver Volvos, they used to run out of Erith & do embassy work all over the place, they later became Euromove IIRC
newmercman:
There was Smith Van Lines with silver Volvos, they used to run out of Erith & do embassy work all over the place, they later became Euromove IIRC
Yep, you are right Mark, I was thinking of TransEuro, they were the company who ran out wembley specialised in Greece.
Didnt one of the drivers on Reeves drive for Euromove, cant remember his name but he was in his 50`s, nice bloke, had been on and off with RFS for a while. He mentioned that he had run to the embassies in North Africa including Algeria where he had an armed ■■■■■■ or something!!
Rick, I think RFS was the Smith Van Lines retirement home
Bill Burness, Roy Humphreys & No Neck were on there & I think Roy Coatesworth 
No Neck only had a Bedford TK with a single axle box trailer though regardless of what he says 
newmercman:
Rick, I think RFS was the Smith Van Lines retirement home
Bill Burness, Roy Humphreys & No Neck were on there & I think Roy Coatesworth
No Neck only had a Bedford TK with a single axle box trailer though regardless of what he says
You could ask this bloke, I think you might know him or his brother Bill
or alternatively put your hand in your pocket and buy one from these guys
Roy, his brother & Peter Kent are all working on a firm out of Basildon doing Asbestos removals now, Roy has a T-cab Scania wagon & drag or did last time I spoke to him. what was the name of that firm out of Margate with the yellow Mercs that they used to work for
newmercman:
…Bill Burness, Roy Humphreys & No Neck were on there & I think Roy Coatesworth
No Neck only had a Bedford TK with a single axle box trailer though regardless of what he says
Billy Burness and Roy, they were a couple of names that I had forgotten, good blokes as well.
As for “no neck”… …if he was breathing then he was “fibbing”!!!
Me and mad cow bumped into him when he was on the way back from Greece (alledgedly!! 
) and he swore blind he had managed to get up a 1 in 2 hil!!
Of course, that set phil (madcow) off with predictable results
I saw Billy in Tilbury last week, he’s still on MJD, now he has an old Eurostar, lovely bloke but never got any money (or teeth) I think he’s got about 20 kids now never got the chance to speak to him as I was on the phone & it was ■■■■■■■ down with rain, I’ll bump into him next week probably & send your regards.
No Neck on there as well but he’s got a Magnum, last time I saw him he was telling me that he had a few motors of his own running Greece Uk Greece, they can’t be doing very well though as he tried to borrow a fiver off me so he could get something to eat 
As you say you can tell when he’s lying, it’s anytime his lips are moving
I remember the first time I was in Damascus in 1975,waiting for Sammi Sarissi to get a load of us a Saudi visa from Beruit,there was a guy and his girlfriend in a 4 wheeled box van with drag under the name of Smiths with us.I saw them a couple of more times after that but not many years longer.The guy did tell me they did mostly embassy removals.it’s over 30 yuears ago so unfortunately I can’t remember the guys name,or the make of truck he had,it may have been a Ford D1000.It was dark blue.
23-03-08
Came to me during the night,(as most things do at my age),the guy’s name was Terry.