well i,ll try and get this back on topic 
ash posted some pics of central freight nottingham as anyone got any pics or story,s to tell of this firm as i know a few of there drivers and non of em have any pics.
Carl:
well i,ll try and get this back on topic
Yes, they got fed up with paying the rates on the Channel and decided to fit floatation tubes round the wagons, with a foldaway propeller connected up to a pto.
Now, did I ever tell you about the time… 
Sorry Carl, know the firm, but no stories, no pics 
Was Simon Cherry something to do with central freight carl? I have very vague memories of him being jailed in france for smuggling. It made my local paper
Carl:
well i,ll try and get this back on topic
didnt one of their drivers marry an italian girl and went to live there? prato seems to ring a bell, cant think of his name, saw him in germany some time later driving for italian firm. anybody fill in the name for me. 
SUPERCUBE:
Carl:
well i,ll try and get this back on topicdidn
t one of their drivers marry an italian girl and went to live there? prato seems to ring a bell, cant think of his name, saw him in germany some time later driving for italian firm. anybody fill in the name for me.
That must be Prato John you are talking about
Are you sure it was Prato John and not Johnny Prato?
well it its good to see some old Francis photos brings back some memories
im sorry Al i dont remember you must of been after my time when i worked for george there was me Bobby Cairns, Georgie luxford, Bobby Bell,
Billy Woolstone, Les Dixon, Tommy Perry was his yard man and gopher
Mickey Evans yes Paul was the fitter and a good one to. i used to run Italy
out of stratford lift ( Gentransco) always left sunday back on friday. dont want to be argumentive but when i worked for George he was paronoid about deisel
thats why the pumps were in the middle of the yard so he could see them from any where in the yard. if my memory serves me right the customs man was shot by a subbie in SALMON LANE east london and not by George. that was the writing on the wall for the firm. George asked me one friday if i wanted
to work the next day Saturday for £35 quid in my hand so i met Tommy Perry
and George in the yard the next morning and we took a flat bed trailor round
to Deptford creekside where the old prefabs were and he had us taking up the flagstones in the street. when we asked him did he have permission he just said “well i think so” and we took them up his house in Knockholt to be broken up for crazy paving HAHA. a lot has been said about George over the years some good some bad but i liked him and he ran a good ship and by the way AL those E.E.C Books were all kosher it was great in Aosta to refuse to bung the customs men coz you knew yer permit was a good un. oh by the way the two guys who had the fruit in finland yard were Ginger and Little Joe last i saw of those two they had a car lot in Orpington Kent.
I was there in 80/81
I do remember those names, Billy Woolstone, Georgy Luxford heres a photo of Tommy on the Forklift, I took over the Scania 111 WOO 710S from Billy, and did Germany, and then Italy, it was him that said I should as it was great littler earner, and was too good to miss, and he was right.
Did you drive that 110 left ■■■■■■ with an AC unit on the top, that did a ME run?
Remember Theo the Greek, Shipping Manager, all he did in life was try to catch us out with all our dodgy Diesel Chits, who always wondered why those motors only managed to do 4 MPG, “it was all those Mountain Theo” we used to tell him, then fiddling your Tankshein to get through the German Border.
Yeh he was Paranoid about his diesel, but the tank was on the side of the yard, and when it was full of bent Electrical Oil, he was happy to see it being used, no I don’t think I said George did it, the Customs Officer, but I had a CPC, and became the Transport Manager as well, so I was closer to him than most of the drivers, I also had a pub in a Previous life, and was the Licensee of his pub the Henry 8th in Hever, where he was also shot. I also had the Van yard in the Lower road, selling Lt’s and Mercs, with Joe Copeland, and other things, he sold them books, we got £16000 for them, and them moved into a tiny yard in Columbia wharf, and then the Bricklayers Arms, as Hilldyke, he got rid of the big motors, and just kept the Bedford TK’s, I made more money just back loading others, and he had had enough by then.
I have some photos of him somewhere at Little Acres in Rushmore Hill, at the many parties,
I cant say he was a great bloke, as he was never a mate, he used you all the time, but we all stood for the three card trick from George, but it was an adventure I would never had missed, as I was sad when they got him, one of life’s character’s.
What’s your name by the way?
Alan
It’s sad to see this thread down on page 7 and that nobody has added to it for over a year.
I don’t know who is making these videos, but he is doing a great job, so many thanks to him.
Deck Boy Peggy might find this interesting. 
My name is Bobby Cairns i worked for George from 1977 till about the end
of 1979 i drove a 110 at first then had WOO 708S which Billy Woolston
smashed up about 3 weeks after i left he fell asleep somewhere in italy
coz he was only used to doing Germany every week. Georgie Luxford drove
the left ■■■■■■ with the fridge on the roof but he normally did M/E work
he had some T REG 141s then and Bobby Bell drove one. if my memory
serves me right did he have a place called CYCLOPS wharf or something
like that. i went down to his pub once with Mickey Evans and Teddy Clouton
(surrey wharf) and George didnt look right behind a bar somehow HAHA.
what ever happened to Tommy Perry ? i would think he is dead by now
he was a lovely guy always had a smile even though sometimes George
used to give him a hard time. i remember the barge race on the thames every year the firm always stopped that week and we used to get his barge all painted up and looking good then all row for our lives on the saturday of the race we never won it when i took part but it was a fun day out. 
mushroomman:
It’s sad to see this thread down on page 7 and that nobody has added to it for over a year.I don’t know who is making these videos, but he is doing a great job, so many thanks to him.
Deck Boy Peggy might find this interesting.
I’ll second that!
ERF-NGC-European:
mushroomman:
It’s sad to see this thread down on page 7 and that nobody has added to it for over a year.I don’t know who is making these videos, but he is doing a great job, so many thanks to him.
Deck Boy Peggy might find this interesting.
I’ll second that!
Now here’s a bit of useless information for you. It started as Truckin in the 80s but so many wanted to talk about the Mid East etc, that one of the Mods split it and added the (International).
Guess who. 
Hi Bobby
We must of just missed each other, but all those names I do recall, other than being a very proud “Waterman” he used to go to the Horse Fair in Hurstmansaux in Sussex or Kent, not sure where, but it was a real ■■■■■ affair, and his Secretary, can you remember her name? the blonde that always had a brand new motor.
I think you mean Columbia Wharf, was his next yard after Finland Yard, and then he went to the Bricklayers Arms, that was funny, as George as usual wanted to do something daft, his idea was to fill in the railway lines, so he got an even floor throughout, so he got hudreds of tons of ■■■■■■■■, and had them tip it between the platforms, but it went on and on, it took thousands of tons just to get it up to about a foot from the edge, then we are going to fill the rest with concrete, as I had done a bit of Concrete on Greenhams, I was left to sort it out, I spoke to my mate and we arranged 42 loads(bent) of the stuff, to be poured early in the morning before there main job started, I had about 4 depots doing the job, and my mate says we will tell him 43, and you can have the last one as a drink, yeh some chance, on the morning there was queues of lorries all the way up the Old Kent Rd, and he stood there and counted everyone of them, and I wound up with bugger all.
Alan
Horse fair at Herstmonceux? I’ve lived within 4 miles of Herckymoo for 67 years and I’ve never heard of any horse fair. Know most of the dids though.
Yes i remember the girl her name was Ann and she was a looker as well
one driver tried it on with her once and got a smack for his troubles i think
she was related to George Theo not sure on that one though. does Goerges family still live in Knockholt i remember he had a fire up there and lived out on the drive in a caravan for ages i think he had a daughter cant remember her name she was about 16 at the time. and he had a guy who i think his name was Peter was of Greek origin had a big J done up in francis colours i think he was Georges debt collector was a rght hard man. oh so many memories
makes me feel my age 
Truckerash you got any pics of alan hindles, parkers of Bolton or Fred snaylam of Bolton please.
Yes, I probably got that all wrong, he used to go somewhere where there was horse trading, sorry me brain is going as well, as he always said the reason for the coachlining on the motors was the same as the Gipsy vans, more ■■■■■■■■ then!!!.
Now Ann had a little kid, and she was well looked after by George, the rumour was it was his, she always had a new Golf, Theo was a large Greek fellow who smoked a pipe, and lived in the back office, he did the Freight Forwarding, and found the loads.
Renne was Georges wife, and he had the two girls Jan and I have forgotten, it might have been Nicola, he used to sit at home winding himself up, about there boyfriends, get drunk, throw the Brany Glasses on the floor, and then we would have to get into his car, a Merc 6.9 450 sel, and go and find them and sort it out, all I ever did was pull George of these blokes, after he attack them, and all the Girls wanted was a normal love life.
Happy days with George.
Just in case somebody wants to remember what Mont Cenis was like on a nice day, then they can have a look at this.
