Hi all,
This may? not be a welsh motor? At a guess I would say sunter’s or siddle c.cook? But this road will be familiar with many, the main entrance/exit to and from the abbey.only recently bypassed,there’s a few tonne gone over that stretch the last 60 years.
oiltreader:
This weeks offering starting off at Mabey Bridge, thanks to Mark Hobbs.
Cheers
Oily
hi oily,
thanks for sharing those pictures 
.i have always wondered how the hell they get such large loads out of that place 
regards andrew.
Some more, I am not all up to date with today’s Welsh hauliers, so apologies if not all of these motors are South Wales based, but they’re certainly on Welsh ground.
Cheers
oily
Hi all,
More cool pictures from oily thanks.this glyn s.john f86 is seen here leaving griffin mill garages.
proper firm glyn s johns
Brill photo anybody got anymore glyn John pleassssssssssse thankyou
rward:
proper firm glyn s johns
Evening all, which is more than can be said for Griffin Mill!!! cHEERIO FOR NOW.
Not at all biased, mon brave?
Oui, my apologies…but there are lots of stories!!!
Saviem:
rward:
proper firm glyn s johnsEvening all, which is more than can be said for Griffin Mill!!! cHEERIO FOR NOW.
Griffin Mill are still going on that site with about 4 car dealer franchises. The truck side was taken over many years ago by Volvo [wales and west?] who later moved out and now have a workshop on the nearby ind est.
Neil.
mechanic77:
Saviem:
rward:
proper firm glyn s johnsEvening all, which is more than can be said for Griffin Mill!!! cHEERIO FOR NOW.
Griffin Mill are still going on that site with about 4 car dealer franchises. The truck side was taken over many years ago by Volvo [wales and west?] who later moved out and now have a workshop on the nearby ind est.
Neil.
And who can wonder why■■?
Saviem:
mechanic77:
Saviem:
rward:
proper firm glyn s johnsEvening all, which is more than can be said for Griffin Mill!!! cHEERIO FOR NOW.
Griffin Mill are still going on that site with about 4 car dealer franchises. The truck side was taken over many years ago by Volvo [wales and west?] who later moved out and now have a workshop on the nearby ind est.
Neil.And who can wonder why■■?
hi all,
come on saviem,we are all wondering why■■?,you just can’t leave it there please tell us more 
regards andrew.
hi all,
whilst our friend saviem keeps us all guessing 
here’s a poor quality picture of ex j&m subbie mike conally’s roadtrain.come on saviem…you know you want too,just have a big gulp of bollinger
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Sorry I couldn’t make it today graham,a customer called, I promise to try harder next time thanks for calling
Another from Walters group.
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Evening all, oh dear, oh deary me, what have I done??
Well of course it really is no major issue, no headline story, just the normal “motor trade” falling out! Remember Hartshornes were one of the very first Volvo Dealers in the UK, Jim McKelvie, and AT Hartshorne, having known, and worked reciprically for years, on Steel traffic in and out of Wales and Scotland. But of course Griffin Mill were late comers to the Volvo fold.
Now poor little insignificant Saviem, (part Welsh), with family dotted all around the Valleys, Newport, Porthcawl, Cardiff and Swansea, had always treated Wales as home. When I was driving, there were always “family” digs available, when I was selling Atkinsons, each operator, bend in the road, pub, were just as familiar as my native Black Country, and Shropshire!!
So , of course I carried on selling whatever we had available into South Wales, as easily as into Cradley Heath!!! But of course , then along came Colin Griffins little operation. So of course we clashed…and how!!
The “barneys” were, (I believe, quite incandescent…but of course I was not involved…that was the domain of “management”)!! a major cause of concern to Ted Carrington, (the then, man on the spot for Ailsa Truck). Aparantley Hartshornes had a sort of “itinerant representative”, who was selling Volvos down in Gods Country, to the chagrin of the (self appointed) Arcangel Gabriel!! This must stop…but of course it did not.
Why, oh simple…we could not get new stock,…so we sourced our own used examples…and many were the buyers in Gods Country!!! And because we all, at Walsall, believed in looking after “our” customers, quite often my car was full of spare parts, for delivery around Wales, because the operators could not get them from “their” Dealer!! So of course the lorry sales followed!!
An illustration, the Principal of Griffin Mill, BMW ensconsed, races to Barrhead , to collect a gearbox for an F88. Now that lump is not going to improve the condition of any BMWs trim, is it?? Only to find, upon return, that the operator was already mobile, … guess where the bits had come from!
But then of course there was the incident when Saviem, unable to retrieve a demo Ailsa F88, from an International Operator, not far from Nantgaredig, (no names, no pack drill), found said vehicle, down, (literally), in the plant yard, behind the station, minus its wheels!! Mind you, to any young man, used to changing Foden wheels, finding Volvo ones, and getting them back on was reasonably easy.Although the young fitter who was with me was quite cream crackered at the days end!
But when it came to the deal for the “new” ones, the new Welsh Volvo Dealer, instead of staying to nett figures, and selling on closeness for parts and service, chose to undercut our nett price,…secured a sale…but lost profit…which is really the objective of being in business.
Loads more incidences of a similar nature, gave me (personally), a healthy disregard for Griffin Mill, probably, in fact definately unjustified. There must have been many people working for Griffin Mill, who gave their very all to support Volvo, and their customers, not at all helped by a Black Country Renegade, running around the Princepality in an overloaded Ford Corsair 2000E, (or in ex Dutch F89s).
So I now formally apologise for any slur upon the image of Griffin Mill, and shall away to the Bollinger, to warmly remember such happy, and mirth filled days around Gods Country, Cheerio for now.
ex o.j.williams e10 erf,now living in a sunnier climate than pembrokeshire .
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