It was announced in our local paper last night,the death of Ron Carman,founder of Carmans Transport and Brit European.
He was 88 and had been fighting cancer for some time I believe.
It was Ron who gave me my first m/e job in 1975 and he knew when to get out and concentrate his energy in other areas of transport.
His funeral will be held at All Saints church,Old Rode,next Wednesday 20th March at 12 noon.
I will make an effort to be there as will many former employees i should think.
RIP Ron.
good morning ian, sorry to hear about ron, a lot of people called him, but he formed the basis for many owner drivers and small hauliers over the years i , myself started with one old volvo on carmans and ended up doing seventeen years on there with five units. i know of hundreds of others with similar stories who will say the same. they can say what they like , but carmans was a very well run company, especially in the seventies and eighties R.I.P Ron regards terry.
R.I.P. Mr Carman 
gaz
You have to credit Ron with being a hard nosed businessman,who always had the last word,as I found out!
I worked for Brit European back in the late 90’s. Was warned that when in the yard not to be dismissive of the old boy in the dirty overals who would wander round.
Sure enough this old boy came over and was chatting away asking me questions, you quessed it was Ron. Only time I ever met him.
R.I.P.
Hiya…that’s a small church for a man with a big personality. he kicked my ■■■■ all round the yard one day in 1970
and told me never to come back, well i didn’t until a pal of mine was parked up in the yard one night in 85. i got
to the yard barrier Ron saw me and said , i told you never to come into this yard again. wow 15 years and he
still remembered me. I never had and outstanding marks on my body only 2 eyes and one nose but my face stuck
in his mind for a long time.have a good rest Ron you’ve earned it.
John
My dad worked for Carmans on tank,s in the 80,s and enjoyed his time there . Always remember you had to park the whiskey tank,s at the bottom of the garden on the other side of the hedge. R.I.P Mr Carman
My dad worked for Carmans on tank,s in the 80,s and enjoyed his time there . Always remember you had to park the whiskey tank,s at the bottom of the garden on the other side of the hedge. R.I.P Mr Carman
Just returned from the funeral of Ron,a very good turnout,must have been best part of 100 there.
As is usual these days,I had to ask for guys names as I could not recognise anyone I knew,likewise they could not recognise me,but a lot of them I knew 40 years ago were there,those that are still alive!
Of course once we found out who was who we went back for the wake and we didn’t half do some more miles.
I was flattered that Ron’s son Rod still recognised me as the last time we met he had only just left university and was getting into the company.He now has two teenage daughters.
A few that I knew from back then,Bob Matthews who was my travelling companion on our first two Baghdad trips,Eddie Bailey,Phil Cox,Roy Goodwin.
We mentioned a few friends we have lost along the way of course,but all in all,although it was a sad occasion,it was a good reunion for some of us.
RIP Ron.
bestbooties:
Just returned from the funeral of Ron,a very good turnout,must have been best part of 100 there.
As is usual these days,I had to ask for guys names as I could not recognise anyone I knew,likewise they could not recognise me,but a lot of them I knew 40 years ago were there,those that are still alive!
Of course once we found out who was who we went back for the wake and we didn’t half do some more miles.
I was flattered that Ron’s son Rod still recognised me as the last time we met he had only just left university and was getting into the company.He now has two teenage daughters.
A few that I knew from back then,Bob Matthews who was my travelling companion on our first two Baghdad trips,Eddie Bailey,Phil Cox,Roy Goodwin.
We mentioned a few friends we have lost along the way of course,but all in all,although it was a sad occasion,it was a good reunion for some of us.
RIP Ron.
Was it not Ken Goodwin, remember him from the sugar tanks then he moved into the office was my dads boss when Roy Jones had to leave ( nudge ,nudge ) for what ever reason
My mistake Boatchaser,it was Ken Goodwin.I did ask after his brother.
did bob mathews become transport manager ian its just ive got that video on yer bike with alan barlow on for carmans at the time and he speaks to bob mathews on the phone,did bob does bob still work at irf in stoke
rip mr ron carman
Carl:
did bob mathews become transport manager ian its just ive got that video on yer bike with alan barlow on for carmans at the time and he speaks to bob mathews on the phone,did bob does bob still work at irf in stoke
rip mr ron carman
Carl,
Unfortunately,although Bob and I reminisced about our first Baghdads together,we didn’t cover more ground only to say that he was retired,I think he’s a couple of years younger than me.
I do believe that he was transport manager at some time and he also had a motor,(motors),of his own for a short while.
As usual,there’s never enough time at these meetings to say all you have want to say,and there’s a lot to say after more than 30 years!