This one came close. UBU 780S
to this one, UBU 773S
240 Gardner:
lemonmouth:
Anyone know where an SA dealer isI would’nt mind one of these for a tenner
In fact I’d buy half a dozen
What, you want half a dozen Krupp-cabbed Atkis??
No-one did in 1969…
Pay attention 240 
Just the Badge 
davepenn54:
Brillliant pics once again from Bubbleman
I’m sure nearly all their fleet were Fodens and the drawbars were a special job with raising bodywork produced by a manufacturer in either Holland or Switzerland
Think they had up to 8 of them on the road at one time.
Regards
Dave Penn;
Hi Dave, as far as I know in the 70/80’s Harrison and Jones ( Flexible Foam ) with their yellow and blue Fodens were indeed based at The Swan Mill and I think The Bee Mill, in Middleton Junction, I think that they also had another factory somewhere down in the south.
Draka Foam who I think at one time had a fleet of Scania’s with their red and gold livery were based in Glossop.
I seem to remember that there was a Panda Foam but I can’t think where they were from.
Dunlop foam or Dunlop pillow were based at Pannal near Harrogate.
Kay Foam had their factory in Bollington near Macclesfield and were either taken over or merged with a German company called Metzeler Foam to become
Kay-Metzeler. Kay-Metzeler had a blue and white livery and had a large elephant as their trade mark, the drivers and the vehicles were operated by B.R.S. contract hire. I think that Kay-Metzeler were eventually taken over by Vitafoam and in 1990 Hanson’s from Huddersfield took over the contract, supplied the drivers, a new fleet of E.R.F’s and at the beginning six new 40 foot step frame trailers which increased in numbers later.
Vitafoam had their head office and main factory at The Don Mill and The Sudan Mill in Middleton, Manchester. They also had factories in Paisley, Maesteg, Houghton le Springs, Ashton Under Lyne, Measham, High Wycombe and Hainault.
Eventually, Vitafoam took over Calligen Foam in Accrington and they might have had a place near Darwen. I have a strong feeling Dave that you can remember seeing most of these companies in the past but I wonder how many of them are still operating today.
As regards Dorma at Chinley Malc, I find it hard to think that Draka Foam would of moved in there as it was a struggle to get in with a forty foot flat trailer, I seem to remember that there were steam pipes going across the road at the back. Dorma were textile printers and dyers and we used to take those I.B.C’s from I.C.I. in there in the 90’s.
All we need now is for Marcus The Bubbleman to post a couple of old Vitafoam pictures he is such a wizard I am sure that he can produce some .
With the foresight of Roger Kenny, Adrian Cypher and Marcus Lester these companies which I thought had almost been forgotten will go on in the memories of lots of people for a long time.
If there was an annual Trucknet award for the best thread of the year then surely Truckerash with his Trucking In The Eighties thread should of won it last year . This year I think The Bubbleman should take the honours, well done Marcus keep it up and thanks mate.
Regards Steve.
Hello again,that was a nice piece from Steve ,I think a lot of fellas should be in for “thread of the year”…look at Dave with his welsh border tippers…everyday he puts something on…theres one for a start,anyway because Steve said I could come up with a couple of Vitafoam motors here are some.Theyre from the late Roger Kenneys collection and they not his best work.
Back to todays pics then…Atkis
Hope these are of interest.
Cheers Bubbs.
Hi Mushroomman
Vitafoam are still operating from Sudan Mill in Middleton.Dont know how many they are running these days though.Check out Paul Andersons NORTHWEST TRUCK SITE he has a piece on about Blue Dart Transport which became part of Vitafoam + its a great site to browse through lots of nostalgia. I agree with you about the bubbleman great thread.
240 Gardner:
bubbleman:
The last one is for 240.
Cheers Bubbs.
Who was in the cab at the time
Thanks very much Marc! On the Stray at Harrogate for, I think, the 1984 Trans Pennine? I remember the photo appearing in Motor Transport a week or so later. At that time, it was still at work as a shunter, and restoration was still a few years away.
hiya,
Bubbs and 240 have wrestled this old girl but she was quite recent then, still think they looked better in Bills and Kens Fathers livery.
thanks harry long retired.
Cheers for the plug about the Welsh Border thread Marc. I am a long way behind yours. As regards your post today I see you have one of Carefoot’s artic tippers.Quite by coincidence I posted a couple of theirs seen down here this week.
Cheers Dave.
harry_gill:
240 Gardner:
bubbleman:
hiya,
Bubbs and 240 have wrestled this old girl but she was quite recent then, still think they looked better in Bills and Kens Fathers livery.
thanks harry long retired.
Maybe you’ll remember the driver of this one Harry - it was based in London for all of its working life, not Blackburn - he had this lorry from brand new in March 1967, and he it on distance work until October 1980. He just wouldn’t have a new lorry.
Cant remember drivers name but if its the same one i met him in hull in the late 90s.He had the old uniform,flat cap,leather belt,and clogs on his feet.I can,t see the reg on the pic but i think it was a d plate,all the brass on the truck was polished,including the suzie taps,and the truck was in the old livery,black.He had a very dry sense of humour and told me he did his own oil and filter changes as he didnt trust bowkers fitters.He told me the truck was painted every 12months when he took his hols,and he lived on a canal boat nr chorley.Dont know wether this rings any bell’s.
regards dave.
Can’t beat Atkis, specially if they’ve been on black ! Like this particular example. 
hiya,
was the guy called john hemylrick (spelling) knew him quite well the couple of times i worked for Bowkers met him many times,but that particular motor shown didn’t look tidy enough for john’s taste.
thanks harry long retired.
dafdave:
Cant remember drivers name but if its the same one i met him in hull in the late 90s.He had the old uniform,flat cap,leather belt,and clogs on his feet.I can,t see the reg on the pic but i think it was a d plate,all the brass on the truck was polished,including the suzie taps,and the truck was in the old livery,black.He had a very dry sense of humour and told me he did his own oil and filter changes as he didnt trust bowkers fitters.He told me the truck was painted every 12months when he took his hols,and he lived on a canal boat nr chorley.Dont know wether this rings any bell’s.
regards dave.
Part way there, Dave!
Johnny Hemelryk had worked for W. H. Bowker before World War 2 and then returned to them after the war. When the R.H.E. took over Bowker’s transport operations (but not the firm) in 1949, he left as he was firmly opposed to nationalisation. He then bought an ex-Fellows, Morton & Clayton narrowboat, ‘Peacock’, fitted with a Bolinder semi-Diesel engine. He actually worked the boat until 1955, when he re-joined W. H. Bowker as their first London-based driver after partial denationalisation of the haulage industry.
He continued to live on the boat and, at some stage, secured moorings in Paddington basin, where it remained for his lifetime.
Having had various motors over the years, most notably a Guy Invincible tractor with a Bowyer Brothers cab, John was given this Atki (GBV 759E) brand new in March 1967. It worked initially on a B Licence in contract to MAT at Barking, and stayed on the MAT job for about 4 years. After that, it went onto U.K. general haulage, always based in London. Yes, he did used to service the motor himself at Paddington, on the wharf next to the boat. He always referred to the Atki as “My Friend”.
When he had his holidays every summer, it was the boat that used to be painted every year, not the lorry — he used to sail it to dry dock in Uxbridge and then scrape and repaint its elm keel. The Atki used to be MOT’d whilst he was off.
During its life, the Atki had one engine rebuild, one clutch change and one set of bearings in the gearbox. When retired from front line service, it was almost 14 years old, had covered 1.1 million miles and still had the original Hardy Spicer couplings on the prop shaft.
By late 1980, the final deadline for tachograph installation was looming at the end of the year, and John was already over retiring age, and so both retired in October. Bill Bowker decided to hand the Atki over to John for safe keeping, and sent him home with it, taxed as a private vehicle, tested and insured.
In January 1983, John came back to work on shunting duties in Blackburn, and brought the Atki with him. He used to lodge locally, and went home every other weekend to Paddington. John worked in the yard and used the Atki for collecting and delivering empty trailers, and carried on with this until finally retiring in December 1985.
This time, he left the wagon behind, and its rather tired cab was fully rebuilt and so it began a new career as a show lorry. It’s been rallied as far afield as Sweden, has completed a Lands End to John O’Groats charity fundraising trip and appears on the Shap history video, and lots, lots more besides. John’s last trip out with it was on the London to Brighton Run in May 1992. When we dropped him off at Paddington on the way home, it was the last time that “Friend” was to visit Paddington Wharf, and John died there in December 1992.
‘Peacock’ is now a star exhibit at the Black Country Museum, repainted in its original FMC colours, and “Friend” is on show at the British Commercial Vehicle Museum in Leyland.
(Sorry about the essay, but it doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the story of a remarkable man)
“Friend” at John’s funeral at Kensal Green, January 1993:
And with a Dyson dolly, used when coupled to a 4-in-line low-loader:
And, finally, coming off the ferry in Sweden in 2005:
Hello again,What a great piece by Chris(240) about Johnny and old 47,most “drivers” today dont know how to check the oil let alone change it…Heres a pic of 47 on the Bournemouth to Bath run on the occasion when some lowlife stole its big A. 
Volvos today.
Hope these are ok.
Cheers Bubbs.
bubbleman:
Hello again,What a great piece by Chris(240) about Johnny and old 47,most “drivers” today dont know how to check the oil let alone change it…Heres a pic of 47 on the Bournemouth to Bath run on the occasion when some lowlife stole its big A.
Hello Marc
Thanks very much for the photo - that was in September 1987! I hadn’t had a good weekend with poor old “Friend” - I parked it overnight in Bournemouth at the event start near the football ground, and next to a fairground. I was pig sick when I saw it next morning like that. Then, on the way up to Salisbury, I was cut up by an overtaking coach driver who hit the o/s mirror arm and forced me up onto the kerb, which is no fun without power steering.
Later on, near Stonehenge, I discovered how good the brakes weren’t on the borrowed trailer when it tried to jacknife on a wet road, and then the indicator switch dropped to bits!! Apart from that, it was a good trip! John Killingbeck kindly built-up a new switch by torchlight late one evening and lent me a brand new Big A, and I was off to Land’s End with it three days later
240 Gardner:
dafdave:
Cant remember drivers name but if its the same one i met him in hull in the late 90s.He had the old uniform,flat cap,leather belt,and clogs on his feet.I can,t see the reg on the pic but i think it was a d plate,all the brass on the truck was polished,including the suzie taps,and the truck was in the old livery,black.He had a very dry sense of humour and told me he did his own oil and filter changes as he didnt trust bowkers fitters.He told me the truck was painted every 12months when he took his hols,and he lived on a canal boat nr chorley.Dont know wether this rings any bell’s.
regards dave.Part way there, Dave!
Johnny Hemelryk had worked for W. H. Bowker before World War 2 and then returned to them after the war. When the R.H.E. took over Bowker’s transport operations (but not the firm) in 1949, he left as he was firmly opposed to nationalisation. He then bought an ex-Fellows, Morton & Clayton narrowboat, ‘Peacock’, fitted with a Bolinder semi-Diesel engine. He actually worked the boat until 1955, when he re-joined W. H. Bowker as their first London-based driver after partial denationalisation of the haulage industry.
He continued to live on the boat and, at some stage, secured moorings in Paddington basin, where it remained for his lifetime.
Having had various motors over the years, most notably a Guy Invincible tractor with a Bowyer Brothers cab, John was given this Atki (GBV 759E) brand new in March 1967. It worked initially on a B Licence in contract to MAT at Barking, and stayed on the MAT job for about 4 years. After that, it went onto U.K. general haulage, always based in London. Yes, he did used to service the motor himself at Paddington, on the wharf next to the boat. He always referred to the Atki as “My Friend”.
When he had his holidays every summer, it was the boat that used to be painted every year, not the lorry — he used to sail it to dry dock in Uxbridge and then scrape and repaint its elm keel. The Atki used to be MOT’d whilst he was off.
During its life, the Atki had one engine rebuild, one clutch change and one set of bearings in the gearbox. When retired from front line service, it was almost 14 years old, had covered 1.1 million miles and still had the original Hardy Spicer couplings on the prop shaft.
By late 1980, the final deadline for tachograph installation was looming at the end of the year, and John was already over retiring age, and so both retired in October. Bill Bowker decided to hand the Atki over to John for safe keeping, and sent him home with it, taxed as a private vehicle, tested and insured.
In January 1983, John came back to work on shunting duties in Blackburn, and brought the Atki with him. He used to lodge locally, and went home every other weekend to Paddington. John worked in the yard and used the Atki for collecting and delivering empty trailers, and carried on with this until finally retiring in December 1985.
This time, he left the wagon behind, and its rather tired cab was fully rebuilt and so it began a new career as a show lorry. It’s been rallied as far afield as Sweden, has completed a Lands End to John O’Groats charity fundraising trip and appears on the Shap history video, and lots, lots more besides. John’s last trip out with it was on the London to Brighton Run in May 1992. When we dropped him off at Paddington on the way home, it was the last time that “Friend” was to visit Paddington Wharf, and John died there in December 1992.
‘Peacock’ is now a star exhibit at the Black Country Museum, repainted in its original FMC colours, and “Friend” is on show at the British Commercial Vehicle Museum in Leyland.
(Sorry about the essay, but it doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the story of a remarkable man)
“Friend” at John’s funeral at Kensal Green, January 1993:
And with a Dyson dolly, used when coupled to a 4-in-line low-loader:
And, finally, coming off the ferry in Sweden in 2005:
Thanks very much for a very interesting history of a remarkable man very few about today like that[if any.].And what about the history of the motor,fantastic.Thanks again.
regards dave.
Great story that, thanks for posting it, it’s filled in a few gap’s of what i knew about this old girl’s history. That’s a fantastic service record, and one that became expected of that driveline in Atki’s, Foden’s and ERF’S alike. Ive said it before, but these wagons were ‘true’ money earning machine’s, and for mantainance cost’s, and ‘whole life’ cost’s, they just could’nt be beaten!
A pair of true Knights of the Road, thanks for the story.
Thanks Gardner 240 for taking the time to post that very interesting story about Johnny Hemelryk .
If you have got any more like that I would to hear them .
Regards Steve.
yep agree with the other comments, a really great story and a compelling read.
If you have more tales like that I am interested in reading it.
Hi again,Bedfords today,1st ones for Harry.
Hope these are ok.
Cheers Bubbs.