Boris - don’t forget RB Daf Trucks that morphed into Peter Brown Daf Trucks. Before he and Tony Randall set up RB, I believe Peter was a truck salesman fro Mulliners selling Commers.
boris:
Something a bit different , i,ve often wondered what some of the present day dealers used to sell & how they came to be , in my area the ones i remember are W Grose - Bedford Trucks , Airflow Streamlines - Ford Trucks , Billows - Volvo , Derek Jones- Scania , Brookside - Dodge , Henly’s - Leyland , Arlingtons - Mercedes , V in line - Seddon/Atk
W.Grose Had three very big customers supplying trucks and didn’t work very hard chasing other sales. When Bedford ceased they became Renault dealers for about a year before pulling out of commercials.
Derek Jones Originally a small commercial garage who took on the Renault agency for the area. When Dodge was taken over by Renault the dealership was taken away from him and given to the Dodge dealers Brookside. He then took on the Scania agency that were fairly new in this country at the time and hit the jackpot.
John R Billows. Groundwork/tipper contractor who saw the potential of Volvo Trucks when they first came to UK and started a dealership that became one of the biggest in the UK until it was taken over by Volvo.
Brookside were part of the Weetabix Group supplying all their Dodges and then became Renault, but by then Volvo were into the Weetabix fleet
Croyland Motors were small Bedford dealers who were bought out by United Carriers and supplied all their Bedfords which they had previously had through W.Grose.
Good thread! For those interested in the various ERF-dealers/garages I kindly refer to the thread “ERF in Europe”
where quite some listings as well as adverts are given. Happy blogging!
mackemflan:
Anyone remember Taits Transport Services of Haydon Bridge , northumberland , they were main dealers for volvo & also ran a fleet of tippers , 86s 88s , etc . I remember hanging around the yard when I was a kid , dreaming ( stupidly ) that one day I would be a driver. They also had a depot at longtown where they used to build tipper bodies .
They also ran coil carriers out Ravenscraig and Gartcosh steel works.
I ran for about 6 months in a V reg Volvo F7 from Tait vehicle hire at Darlo. In Taits blue with TVH Darlington on the side. EHH ***V when I worked for National Carriers, a cracking little motor for it’s day. Then I got my Sed Atk 400 day cab back at NCL 
I remember spending a day broken down with a Fiat at the Iveco dealership at Walsall …Ackers and Jarrett.
The one at Carlisle was Nicholson and Tuck around 1979. Also Rylands? at Bamber Bridge.
robroy:
I remember spending a day broken down with a Fiat at the Iveco dealership at Walsall …Ackers and Jarrett.
The one at Carlisle was Nicholson and Tuck around 1979. Also Rylands? at Bamber Bridge.
Ackers and Jarrett as well as a Iveco dealership were a truck rental company, when I was at Thomas Ingles transport Wolverhampton we hired Mercedes (LP’s ugh!) and AEC units from them, I seem to remember they were just through the lights past Pleck rd. were the lorry park was.
I bet no-one has any old pictures of Volvo - Gomersal Crossroads Commercials before it moved to Birstall?
Or what about the Leyland dealer at Selby?
Come on Trev H, how about these Wolverhampton dealers B+W motors Derry Stree,Scania dealers, Don Everall for Ford,Bradburn and Wedge for BMC’s,
Greenhous and Attwoods for Bedfords, Wolverhampton Motor Services for Commer/Dodge
On Tyneside we had
Bedford Adams & Gibbon (several branches) taken over by Bristol Street Motors
Albion FW (Ted) Cawthorn on the Team Valley, merged into Hargreaves,
Dodge North Eastern Motors Lemington
Mercedes Bell Trucks, (Jim Bell, nice fella) have 4 or 5 branches now
ERF Paynter & Stadium , Can’t remember where they were originally (Larry will know!) but ended up at Shiremoor, That place ended up with Buist above the door and were Leyland dealers. It was then a Dickens DIY and is now Boundary Mills.
Scania Union Trucks Killingworth
Foden Can’t remember who the dealers were (in Darlington I think) but I Know some warranty work was done at Tilcon Birtley. Theo James at Bedlington was a repair agent.
DAF Brian Sharp on Teeside, ERF originally I think, which then turned into North East Daf Trucks and had a place at St Lawrence on the Quayside,then ended up at Blaydon.
There was a Leyland depot on the Team Valley but that was turned over to Hargreaves who seemed to own a lot of the Leeds dealerships. Eventually Hargreaves closed the workshop and just had an industrial unit for spares. Warranty work was done at BRS TVTE or at Stockton.
One day in 1967 the two Tait brothers turned up with F86 and a N series (had a long bonnet) demonstrators. I think they were both 6 wheel tippers. My father was tempted to buy Volvo but was a bit worried about the dealers being so far away from us.
tyneside:
On Tyneside we had
Bedford Adams & Gibbon (several branches) taken over by Bristol Street Motors
Albion FW (Ted) Cawthorn on the Team Valley, merged into Hargreaves,
Dodge North Eastern Motors Lemington
Mercedes Bell Trucks, (Jim Bell, nice fella) have 4 or 5 branches now
ERF Paynter & Stadium , Can’t remember where they were originally (Larry will know!) but ended up at Shiremoor, That place ended up with Buist above the door and were Leyland dealers. It was then a Dickens DIY and is now Boundary Mills.
Scania Union Trucks Killingworth
Foden Can’t remember who the dealers were (in Darlington I think) but I Know some warranty work was done at Tilcon Birtley. Theo James at Bedlington was a repair agent.
DAF Brian Sharp on Teeside, ERF originally I think, which then turned into North East Daf Trucks and had a place at St Lawrence on the Quayside,then ended up at Blaydon.There was a Leyland depot on the Team Valley but that was turned over to Hargreaves who seemed to own a lot of the Leeds dealerships. Eventually Hargreaves closed the workshop and just had an industrial unit for spares. Warranty work was done at BRS TVTE or at Stockton.
One day in 1967 the two Tait brothers turned up with F86 and a N series (had a long bonnet) demonstrators. I think they were both 6 wheel tippers. My father was tempted to buy Volvo but was a bit worried about the dealers being so far away from us.
Hi Tyneside, ERFs were at Gosforth Traded as Stadium Garage Owned by a fellow named Davison IIRC, there was a a bloke in the spares dept who just asked what you wanted & walked away & handed the part to you, No looking at parts books or reference sheets He was a marvel I only new him as Joe, The good old simple days, Regards Larry.
I remember Jeffries Commercials in Neath Road Swansea who were Leyland Albion & A.E.C dealers who were taken over by C.V Sales who later moved to Pyle. There was also Fletchers of Swansea also Leyland dealers Days of Swansea for Ford Nelsons who were Bedford dealers J & P Beavan Dodge / Commer and Atkinson dealers later Mercedes Benz dealers Fairwood Commercials for Foden and W G Davies for E.R.F
Let’s not forget the formidable West Wales Operation of Volvo Truck & Bus Dealers and Massive Haulage Contractors MANSEL DAVIES & SON LTD 
E.W.
Lawrence Dunbar:
tyneside:
On Tyneside we had
Bedford Adams & Gibbon (several branches) taken over by Bristol Street Motors
Albion FW (Ted) Cawthorn on the Team Valley, merged into Hargreaves,
Dodge North Eastern Motors Lemington
Mercedes Bell Trucks, (Jim Bell, nice fella) have 4 or 5 branches now
ERF Paynter & Stadium , Can’t remember where they were originally (Larry will know!) but ended up at Shiremoor, That place ended up with Buist above the door and were Leyland dealers. It was then a Dickens DIY and is now Boundary Mills.
Scania Union Trucks Killingworth
Foden Can’t remember who the dealers were (in Darlington I think) but I Know some warranty work was done at Tilcon Birtley. Theo James at Bedlington was a repair agent.
DAF Brian Sharp on Teeside, ERF originally I think, which then turned into North East Daf Trucks and had a place at St Lawrence on the Quayside,then ended up at Blaydon.There was a Leyland depot on the Team Valley but that was turned over to Hargreaves who seemed to own a lot of the Leeds dealerships. Eventually Hargreaves closed the workshop and just had an industrial unit for spares. Warranty work was done at BRS TVTE or at Stockton.
One day in 1967 the two Tait brothers turned up with F86 and a N series (had a long bonnet) demonstrators. I think they were both 6 wheel tippers. My father was tempted to buy Volvo but was a bit worried about the dealers being so far away from us.
Hi Tyneside, ERFs were at Gosforth Traded as Stadium Garage Owned by a fellow named Davison IIRC, there was a a bloke in the spares dept who just asked what you wanted & walked away & handed the part to you, No looking at parts books or reference sheets He was a marvel I only new him as Joe, The good old simple days, Regards Larry.
Charles Buist were Morris, Murray & Charlton Austin same motors different badges. Paynter were Gardner & merged with Stadium Garage. For us it was a god send Buist took them over, as our biggest customer it became apparent that the FJ 360 unit was not up to the transporter job we were using Leyland & Atkinson the first ERF went into service Jan 1970 which pleased the Buist directors.
AEC dealer was Hodgson.
Evening all,
Lorry Dealers, and where did they come from…boris an interesting question…
Derek Jones, a very amiable fellow, became a Saviem Dealer in Thrapston, during the 70s, then was "chopped in the Peugeot Citroen Merger for the ex Chrysler Dealer Brookside Garages, (run for Findon Holdings by an equally amiable , but ex Spitfire pilot). Meanwhile the boy who used to work in the field for Saviem, had joined Scania…and bingo Derek`s future was assured…and Im glad for him!
Then in the Midlands Chris Kellys WestMid was almost certain to take on DAF…but then the, (soon to be ex), “Management” of Hartshornes persuaded Norman Lloyd, (Lloyds of Ludlow), to stump up the cash, and Midland DAF were born in the ex Fiat premises at Station Road Colleshill.
But all was not lost, for Scania was trying to bring its distribution network under close control, and had recruited ex Scammell man Cliff Groves to work along side Anders Siewertz, to create a “new” network!.. The Bradburn family concern of B&W Motors was in a parlous financial state…Chris put his head above the parapet, and KelTruck was born in the ex SCM Typewriter factory inWest Bromwich!
Sadly, (despite the efforts of Ronnie Keith), Norman Lloyd lost a lot of cash…and Chris, and the KelTruck Group, is now the largest private owned Scania Dealer in the World.
But real volume selling, and customer loyalty dealers success lay in the less well known sellers…
Ex finance rep, Peter Colby, turned the unlikely location of Wyndham into Fiat Trucks largest selling volume Dealership, (as well as founding the Collease trailer rental operation). When dear Dr Giovanni Brasca had his financial fingers so cruely burned by the cowboys that ran Stoke on Trents Sneyd Hill, Commercial Engineers operation, it was Peter who took over the operation, before selling it to his ex Lex Group Manager.
But down in the West Country Leonard Parsons doubled the average market penetration for Magirus Deutz year on year in the 70s…before the family began to feud.
Then there were the London Boys…and none more so than the Bowden Family…do you remember those wheezing 684 Fiat 32 tonners up and down the M1 with gargantuan loads of plasterboard…but that was only the haulage side…BFI had three Fiat Dealerships, North, and South of the Thames, plus a satellite at Wellinborough…and they moved some chassis…7.5 to 32 tonne, and even more when the 619 was supplanted by the 170 serie!
Then down West again we had that delightful family outfit Unit Commercials…when the receivers finally arrived at the Scania outlet they really had a hard time reconciling registration numbers on the rental fleet against the “books”…a 111 Day cab tractor seemed to have the same registration as …a Rolls Royce Motor car!!!
Back in Alfreton the delightful Knowles family ran a futuristic, (and it really was back in the 70s) dealer facility for Foden…and innovated just about all the improvements that the product really needed, from transmission, to lighting…were it that they had more influence, Foden would have been stronger…
Knowles were “on line” before most in the industry…and had a unique credit policy…behind the parts counter was a “stop” list…if you had not paid…then your name was there for all to see…(ours was never on it)!..but the National Coal Board always was…witness the gaggle of HA Vauxhall vans in yellow and black, always waiting outside…one of the few dealers who had Gardner engines in stock, on stillages…and Mrs Knowles, would step from behind the computer…don her “pinnie”, and go and prepare lunch for the staff…a fabulous company, and people…
Walsall, AT Hartshorne was a substantial motor carrier from pre WW11, then in the 60s Ted Carrington, who worked for Jim McKelvies Ailsa Trucks persuaded AT to handle the new Volvo Truck range. He recruited Stanley Batchelor to head up the operation, but it would be run to serve the operator…and it was.
24/7, that phrase so often quoted today…but it really was back in the 70s. No one ever left our door in trouble. A small dedicated team, who had lots of fun in what we did, Hartshornes was a real dealership, with a great product.And we liked our customers.
Sadly things change, and the" second generation lost it", and now its owned by Crossroads…(who were the first dealership to digress from the Ailsa policy of selling chassis at a uniform “net” price…thus preserving dealership profit margins,to re-invest in customer service), and thus depleting the profitability of the franchise.
My Bollinger is becoming warm…Ive gone on far too long…and have not covered the Whale Family, Ryland Group, or any of our Scottish Friends, or the Ford outfits…
Big subject boris…
but Im away to my Bollinger for tonight.
Cheerio for now.
LeeJ:
I bet no-one has any old pictures of Volvo - Gomersal Crossroads Commercials before it moved to Birstall?
Or what about the Leyland dealer at Selby?
Ive been there but never took photos , its a housing estate now
A few from the South East mainly:
Dees, Sidcup Ford; Bakers, Tonbridge Bedford; Western Motor Works, Dartford Bedford; Penfolds, DAF Foots Cray; WJ Bowes, Orsett ERF; Sellars & Batty ERF; Nightingale Engineering, Balham Atkinson; C&M Jury, Hastings; WH Gatward, Maidstone AEC;
Vincent Greenhous, Shrewsbury Bedford; Arnold Motors, East Peckham Shelvoke and Drewry.
I can’t recall the Foden Dealer in Sittingbourne, Sparshatts?
Boatchaser:
Who remembers the dealership just past Haydock Park racecourse, first it was a Foden then it became a DAF. Can,t think of its name was it poss North West Commercials it was on the A49 opposite the school
The place you’re on about was called Warrington Commercials. You’re going back a bit there though mate. The premises were taken over by Robinsons saddlers from Wigan. I used to drink in the pub next door, The Collier’s Arms, or as we preferred to call it, The Dull Pick. The place burned to the ground about 20 years back. ( the dealership that is, not the pub), although the pub’s long gone as well now. Eddie.
pete smith:
Couple of adverts from early 70’s
I worked at both of those places Pete,