Robert Baillie Transport,Portsmouth and Horndean

[ray_smyth]

I recognised straight away what this Entress Volvo artic was loaded with. It is loaded with
Guernsey Tomatoes on special steel pallets. From the mid 1960s and for the next 18 years,
Robert Baillie & Co Ltd was the official transport carrier for The Guernsey Tomato Marketing
Board. Although Baillies had about 20 lorries, most of which were 32 ton artics, when the
Guernsey Tomatoes were at their busiest weeks, regular sub contractors were brought in
to do the urgent deliveries to Wholesale Fruit & Veg Markets throughout the United Kingdom.
When Entress was called to Portsmouth, they loaded for Newport, Cardiff, and Swansea.
Up here in the North, Robert Baillie had a depot at Doncaster, and a depot at Wigan, covering
Northern England, and Scotland. The Guernsey Tomatoes for Northern Ireland were subbed to
Agnew & Lithgow of Stranraer who had a depot at Heywood, about 20 miles from Baillies at
Wigan. The tomatoes were delivered to a fruit & veg wholesaler in Belfast.

Ray.

[ray_smyth]

Strangely enough, the first time I ever saw a Volvo F86 was about 1969, it was in
the lorry loading queue at the Heinz factory at Kitt Green, Wigan,and it was Entress.
Toward the end of 1970, Mr Baillie purchased a new Volvo F86, YCG 734J, and said
if he was satisfied with it, all of the next artic units would be F86 Volvo. He must
have bought a bad one because it spent many times off road in the workshop.
Baillies continued to buy new Atkinsons when necessary. Picture from Tim Walker.

Ray.