Bumped up for the amusement of the Poole regulars. Enjoy! Robert
Long before BFerries bought out Truckline, long before the Poole Harbour Commissioners installed miles of fencing and barbed wire, the Port of Poole was a great place to ship out from, or to work in. There was a great atmosphere, folk worked hard and played hard, we were all in the same business together, even most of the Cussies were more with us than against us, and this only faded after it turned into a passenger port.
I’ve only just found this site (thanks, Kerbut!) but I’ve seen lots of names I knew well ‘back in the day’, and many of them have stories attached.
Who remembers Stanley Bodsworth, probably Atkins’ oldest driver at the time? He had a weekly run with military gear from Derby to down near Bordeaux, and was always back up to Cherbourg for the Friday morning boat. One Friday, the sailing was cancelled, even Cap’n Labbe with the cocoatin wouldn’t sail, so our Stanley had to get the afternoon boat. Disembarked in the dark in Poole, and pulled into the dutch barn for immo and waterguard check. Left the sidelights on, and trudged up the steps into the Portakabin. “Anything to declare, Stanley?” asks the Cussie. “Just one bottle and one carton” says our Stan, picture of innocence. Just then, enter John Watton, a young (then) two-ringer, who asks Stan if he’s sure about this. “Yes, certain” says Stan, bushy moustache bristling with injured innocence. “Well, step out here and explain this then”…
We all peered out, and above the cab, clearly illuminated behind the Atkins sign in the false cab roof, we could see the silhouettes of cartons & bottles. Our Stanley used to buy well over the limit, creep down to the garage deck, pull out the rubber seal to access the lights behind the sign, and stuff his smuggle in the cavity. Whoops!
Stanley was a former Royal Marine, who’d landed at Dieppe during the war. One particularly rough crossing, we were in the driver’s saloon, legs over tables to stay in place, asking each other how long this rollercoaster would last.
Satn looked at us, and said “Harumph! Don’t know what you kids are moaning about! When we went to Dieppe, it wuz rougher than this, and the boogers wuz shooting at us!”
There were lots of charactersshipping through Poole then. Who remembers Wrecker? or Spider? Or even the Cuba Libra kid?
Let’s write the book on Poole…
Stavros
Cuba Libra kid has been mentioned in the Comptons thread.Glad you have joined ,only need to get HBH on here now.
Stavros
Cuba Libra kid has been mentioned in the Comptons thread.Glad you have joined ,only need to get HBH on here now.
Welcome Stavros.
As you have opened a Poole thread, here are two:
Cherbourg registered Atkins Mercedes (in Cherbourg).
I trust you mean when Poole Harbour “entrance” looked like this, circa 1974.
When flying across the channel was fun, mad Jacques in the stretched Mercedes Taxi in Cherbourg and the eloquent Haven Hotel in Sandbanks, in preference to sailing.
Thanks for the photos, gazzer. I worked with Georges Osmont after Atkins sold out to British International, at GBE.
The taxi was actually Pierre, or Pierrot le Fou. He’d got past the 900 000 kms, heading for the big million, when some dozy git drove across the double cabbageway near Valognes, wrote the Merc off, and put Pierrot off driving for a couple of months with a badly broken ankle.
I’ve seen a lot on here about ECT and Ian Rycroft. He was one of the icons in Poole, folk said he could read a telex roll upside down at 20 paces on a dark night, he always knew what was going on, everywhere. I put this to the test, put up a mickey mouse telex with some guff about Rycroft being unreliable, should keep him on the credit watch list. So after a visit from him on his daily rounds, he gave me a pull on the compound, asking who was putting the word round that he was a bad risk. I owned up, and we had a laugh about it - but he’d read the telex at dusk, right across the office!
He was always straight down the line with his drivers, even in bad times their money was always there.
One of the lads who was stuck in a cabin underwater in Zeebrugge came into my office in Cherbourg after his first time on a boat since the disaster; he was a wreck, shaking, and didn’t know how he could get back. He’d been up all night, outside on deck near a lifeboat. I phoned Ian, who called me back within the hour to say he’d got a private pilot to nip across from Hurn, and could I get Roger a taxi for the airport. He kept Roger on to drive the BP oil contract, and left his wages on continental rates.
Reggie Bugler was another Poole haulier who was a first class boss.He was a good businessman, drove a hard bargain, but if he shook your hand on a deal, it was as good as in the bank. One of his drivers got banged up in La Rochelle, killed a guy on a bad junction, and Reggie asked me to go down, get him bailed out and back home. Shortly after, one of his lads turned up with a very generous brown envelope for me. Reggie’s best job was moving Sunseeker boats from Poole down to the Med - very expensive kit, all convoi exceptionnel.
Did any of you have work done in Bill Dolling’s garage? A real circus - sent an apprentice off to grease the fifth wheel, driver came back to find the spare covered in grease. (I’d always thought this was a typical driver’s joke about duff mechanics, but this time it really happened!)
And who remembers Bernie’s secretary in the Doman office? When she took papers to Customs, wearing her see-through skirts & teeshirts, the whole terminal stopped & stared.
I saw the first mobile phone I had ever seen on Poole docks, it belonged to the girl (maybe Transport Manager ? ) for Cutlers ,it was one of those Motorola bricks. Nice to see Arthur Bessants Transcon ,had forgotten about him. Shipping out on a Sunday was more like a social club,always regular Sunday shipper outers were Sean Moran ,Jessey James TM Bedford driven by John Langlands ,Eddie Rogers and George Eames ( Interoute)Keith and Les (Fairwether) Nigel who worked for TFE ,Vannes and the rest of the boat was taken up with GBE.
I used to Christopher Hills in the 80’s. I remember Swains having a base in Poole.
Just read your post about the “booty” up in the cab roof , It was lit up like in a showcase , so funny !! I was there , i remember it well and have often told the story , I thought it was in Southampton from my memmory but i am sure you are correct , the old grey matter gets a bit muddled after a while . We all stood in the waterguards shed at the time , I think his name was Wally ■■? he looked at me and winked so i knew something was up , I remember turning round , then saw what he was looking at , course he was facing it , the driver had his back to it and couldnt see . I remember us lot rolling round in fits of laughter . !! I remembere the Antelope well , being taxied up to Hern to catch the plane over . Didnt the Antelope only have a certificate for 12 passengers but could carry 24 trucks ■■? something like that . All good stuff .
did you drive for chris hills,■■
my dad worked for the fertiliser side of it for a long time, my best man at my wedding a was driver there, john dodd, drove an old seddon artic, then got a new 401…
we were best friends for a long time,
ive lost touch with john… would love to know what hes up to now,
Sorry to dissapoint you "lespaul"1765,>>> Hammer International .
thanks anyway oldtrucker,
kerbut:
I saw the first mobile phone I had ever seen on Poole docks, it belonged to the girl (maybe Transport Manager ? ) for Cutlers ,it was one of those Motorola bricks. Nice to see Arthur Bessants Transcon ,had forgotten about him. Shipping out on a Sunday was more like a social club,always regular Sunday shipper outers were Sean Moran ,Jessey James TM Bedford driven by John Langlands ,Eddie Rogers and George Eames ( Interoute)Keith and Les (Fairwether) Nigel who worked for TFE ,Vannes and the rest of the boat was taken up with GBE.
her name was Alison.
rik:
kerbut:
I saw the first mobile phone I had ever seen on Poole docks, it belonged to the girl (maybe Transport Manager ? ) for Cutlers ,it was one of those Motorola bricks. Nice to see Arthur Bessants Transcon ,had forgotten about him. Shipping out on a Sunday was more like a social club,always regular Sunday shipper outers were Sean Moran ,Jessey James TM Bedford driven by John Langlands ,Eddie Rogers and George Eames ( Interoute)Keith and Les (Fairwether) Nigel who worked for TFE ,Vannes and the rest of the boat was taken up with GBE.her name was Alison.
Rik, Steves brother ?
Hi all
Only went on the plane once.
The taxi from Poole to Hurn, as I remember, was only a standard Taxi and Truckline insisted on all the nine drivers squash in because they only wanted to pay for one.
I remember the plane had two engines one at the front pulling and one on top pushing, it looked as if it should have been parked up long ago. It was the first time in a plane for me but i dar’nt tell the pilot because I had heard if he knew it was your first time he would do some acrebatics. As it was, when we landed at Cherbourg he tried to make the first exit off the runway. the one wheel came of the ground and the opposit wing tip rubbed on the ground.We made it just 
Also while we were waiting in the aeroport for him to bring over the other drivers we noted some kind ‘so and so’ had made the pilot a medal out off a tin lid and mouted it on a peice of wood and hung it on the wall. They had engraved it saying “congratulations on compleating so many flights without incident”. It would not have been so bad but the amounts of flights was only about 4 or 5 
Regards Keith.
i used to work with a guy called nobby clark from hatton who drove one of the french registered mercs for atkins lovley guy anyone remember him
Rik, Steves brother ? Kerbut. i guess not. he s in scrap yard.
yuppie:
Rik, Steves brother ? Kerbut. i guess not. he s in scrap yard.
Yep that’s us…
Re…the TM of Jessie James i drove that for him just for short while,it went very well but was dam noisy…
the sun.afternoon boat out was like belonging to one big family,i even miss the diesel they used to call wine 
kerbut:
I saw the first mobile phone I had ever seen on Poole docks, it belonged to the girl (maybe Transport Manager ? ) for Cutlers ,it was one of those Motorola bricks. Nice to see Arthur Bessants Transcon ,had forgotten about him. Shipping out on a Sunday was more like a social club,always regular Sunday shipper outers were Sean Moran ,Jessey James TM Bedford driven by John Langlands ,Eddie Rogers and George Eames ( Interoute)Keith and Les (Fairwether) Nigel who worked for TFE ,Vannes and the rest of the boat was taken up with GBE.
Was this the Sean Moran that I met once in the Middle East,mid '70’s?
There was a gang of us pulling out of H4 in Jordan to cross the desert to Turaif in Saudi.I don’t think the others had crossed before and I had only done it once.This Sean Moran said,“Follow me,I’ll show you the way!”
Well you are always glad when an “Old sweat” offers some help aren’t you?
We must have dug up half the desert getting across and it’s never taken me as long before or since.We spent more time digging than driving!.After this I always went on my own,I can get lost by myself thanks!
I even had time to take some pics because I thought this would be a trip to remember.
Yes it is the same Sean , I believe from a post from Harry ? that he used to do Middle East with a wagon and drag.