Hi Tel, you are correct , it was Charlie King. I can remember being with Reg Revell and Bill Staples waiting at the Salzburg border en route to Vienna to pick up loads of Belgian butter. Whilst we were waiting we were looking in a shop window which sold faced candles. WE saw a replica of a laughing Charlie and we were rolling up saying thats his face when he’s kidded you up to go up the road against your will. There was also a miniture which resembled you, but I wont say what it was up to. Dont forget that I still have a photo of a liitle bloke in a mac, trying to sell Dougie Hannant and me DIRTY photos in Hamburg… Bill,
Hello,Bill.Thanks for that,I had to ask as the memory dims a bit.I agree with Tel about getting up to Riom as I was there in October and on parts of the journey up I had to use diff lock as there was black ice on the road.Did it O.K.but another scare was that tunnel on the way to Clermont Ferrand.There were jagged pieces of rock hanging down that were very near to the trailer roof.Exciting times!On another trip to Germany, I’ve still got a permit issued by the mayor of Hamburg so we could run to Bremerhaven on a Sunday to catch the ferry,loaded with Anchor butter.It was a four hour permit but we made it.Long time ago now but good to look back on.Regards to you all,900x20. 
Hi Dave/900x20, How is Ted,?. He’s been absent for a while, I hope that he is OK and keeping well. The Keats monster is a bit quiet, I reckon he’s stuck up that new chimney. Bill.
Hello,Bill. We’re both well and enjoying life down here in West Sussex.It’s good to keep in touch and a shame that some of the firm are no longer with us.Life down here is peaceful, so much so,if you’ve got ulcers,they get up and **** off,as there’s nothing for them to do.We look in on the site every day to keep up with things so no probs.here.Thanks for asking,we’re going for the Queen’s Telegram! Regards,Ted and Dave. 
900x20.
Finished the log burner at last,you could run to berlin on a sunday,used to deliver to Spandau on the monday morning,saw Rudolf Hess in the court yard exercising,had a drink last sunday with a man who used to cook in the prison in Spandau, he said he used to play chess with him.Then on to Gutterslow,spelled that wrong, for the black bread,couldnt load until the wednesday,so I used to stay at the secretarys flat,Frau Buttnic,nice lady,then Ray Smith moved me on,he could be so unkind sometimes. Terry
Hi. Hope you don’t mind me stopping in and asking does anybody recall UCC ERF number 708 ? It’s a 1959 truck with a wooden Jennings cab.
ERF XLO975 by mwsmith20, on Flickr
If anybody recalls this truck I’d be interested to hear what UCC depot it was supplied to and recollections. I read further back in the thread a mention of 707 working Southampton - Liverpool, would 708 been a Southampton truck too?
Thanks, Mat.
Mat,In Southampton I can only recall there being a yard near the docks,no lorrys based there.When I first went to Iiverpool there was not any lorrys or drivers based there,UCC bought a local firm out I think it was called Ritsons,which became UCC,so we started doing change overs at Castle Brom.I was based in Liverpool for a couple of months taking the trailers of the Irish ferry as there was no tug masters in those days,so there was no depot then,that was about 1965.Bill might give you more info on this,as he is a lot older than me. Terry
Hi UCC 708, I seem to remember that the 700 series of UCC vehicles used to operate from our depot in Lambeth Bridge Road. We did have a few if these and the rigid lorries didn’t last long after both Lambeth and Bow Common Lane depots were moved into the BRS depot in Yabsley Street Poplar. Our depot at Black Prince Yard ( an old horse depot with stables was mainly used for wooden container making plus repairs). At Poplar all the old lorries were got rid of and artics plus the continenta Scania 110;s were retained, later moving to the old Yiddal Davis yard at Warley. Southampton, Liverpool and Manchester went after a while. Sometimes you will see our old drawbar tractors in the old lorry sites. These were numberred in the 500’s up to 591 =598 which were Scammels.The earlier ones were old Fowler motors stripped and rebuilt . They were rebuilt every couple of years, but when you got used to them they were good old workhorses . This has been a history lesson for the young lad who made the last posting. Regards Bill S.
Hello, thanks for the quick replies. The truck now belongs to my father who found it in Portsmouth in a derelict state, and is now a rolling restoration. When I spoke to him earlier on the phone he said it was first registered in London. He hopes to get a build sheet for it from a contact. He recalled the chap he bought it from claimed there was a container on the back, I don’t know much more that at the moment. thanks.
Hello fellers just finished hibernating now that summer is here. Nice to hear all the urine extraction times have not changed. Ref 700 cars before I joined UCC they were used as draw bar outfits complete with trailer mate a legal requirement at the time. Alan ■■■■■■ used to have one working out of Black Prince road Lambeth. His regular mate was named Charlie alas I cannot recall his surname he always worn a Fedora hat . Liverpool and back was a weeks work because of the 20 mph limit. I joined the firm at Poplar so all this was way before my time. Alan went on to London Carriers after UCC doing night trunks with Guy B Js and draw bars. He amazed the shunters at both ends cos he could reverse them onto loading banks even the shunters had to put them on a front pin and drive them on. Just another piece of useless info. Nice to know there are still some decent people about.Regards Dave.
Hi Michelin Man, It’s nice that you are back on the scene again. Do you recall when young Terence first started at Yabslet St, we used to sit him outside the White Swan with a shandy and an arrowroot biscuit and kidded him up that he was a heavy drinker. He took a week to get to Liverpool and told everyone that he had visited all the pubs on the way. The truth was that he didn’t knuw the way and kept getting lost. Ha Ha Bill. S.
Yes I think that was the first and last drink you bought for me,many returned,but thats the way I am good hearted,thats where most of my night out money went.Nice to see more coming back.I remember Alan well,he used to say,“dear boy”.Quite posh for a south londoner,ha,ha. Terry
Hi Tel, You always had a nasty side Young Terence, I am still smarting over the nasty underhand trick that you and your partners in crime, Pickard and Howard played on me at Pickards wedding. You set that young temptress in the figure hugging silver dress to try and make me dance. ALL this whilst my wife was watching and you three were rolling up on the sidelines. YOU WICKED BOY. It’s no wonder that you were banished to the middle east runs. Bill.
Greetings,All. 708.What a blast from the past! I think all of us at some time drove this.Soul destroying on the Motorway.Good to see it being refurbished though,it’s a piece of history.I hope the new owner has the “Cruise Control” bit of wood and the necessary block for the pump.He He. Do we know what livery it will be finished in? It’ll look good in the old UCC colours.I’d like to see it when it’s finished.
Regards to you all from 900x20. 
Greetings,All. Bill,if you’re looking in,on the Scrapbook memories thread there’s a picture of 558 tractor outside the Metropolitan Cold Stores,Smithfield and a reader wants to know what make the tractor is.It’s a bit before I joined the firm so I thought you might know.It could be one of the big Scammells or home made.See what you think.Regards to all,900x20.
Bill,apologies.The photo is on the Past and Present thread.Sorry about that,Ted. 
Hi 900x20, after scrolling through 132 pages, I found the query on 558. I have sent a message to oiltrader, saying what I knew about the tractor which was driven by a chap named Jack Hazel. Both tractors and trailers were made at Bow Common Lane. Archie Gibbs was the workshop manager and Wally Prentice controlled the wood workshop where the trailers asnd insulared contaimers were made and repaired. Happy Days. Bill.
Hello,Bill. Thanks for that and apologies for the vague info.All the best,Ted. 
900x20.
william sparrow:
Hi Keith, I’m sorry to hear that George passed away and we never knew. Dont be fooled that the Keats had a cab full of steak, he could hardly get in the cab for parrafin cans belonging to half of the African ladies in the local area. The drivers and lorry numbers brought back a few memories, I was first issued with 805 which turned over on the ferry with 19ton of hanging pork and was written off, then 811 and later 823. The company name for 805 was Indefatigable but their names were very seldom used. When Mike Norris called Midge Galbraith and myself to a meeting to discuss the redundancy package for the office staff, he looked out of the window and saw the continental men returning from the local pub and he said “What a great bunch of men they are and I dont think I will be lucky enough to work with such men again”. But I dont think he meant young Terence. It’s been nice to hear from you Keith, keerp in touch. Regards Bill.S.
I remember George didnt get many phone calls on he night shift at he gatehouse in Warley, and when the phone did ring he’d say "hello this is the UCC you see you see, in a foreign accent, and the caller would either say excuse me, what did you say and he’d repeat hello this is the ucc you see you see, and the person at the other end would normally say oh dont worry i’ll call back in the mrning lol. I als oremember George telling me that Terry Keating got arrested or jus stopped by the German police and saying to the poizeiman “you do look pretty Fritz, you do look nice decorated like a christmas tree” .
What happened in germany,I was on the way back from Kuwait,over taking signs and lorrys on the autobaun,when I should not have done going to collect the AA book of britian,printed in germany. When a helecopter landed in a field,police and a police car stopped me,escorted me to Frankfurt police station,they showed me photos of the signs and lorrys I had overtaken and asked me to pay a fine of which I refused,they sent in an officer with big leather boots,thinking that he could not speak english and not realising I was in the American zone,I said to him Hitler would be proud of you in those boots,he went mad,I paid the £180 fine,when I got back to Warley they paid me,2 months later I got a cheque from the German buda post for the money,as some of the fine was for insubordination,which the court through out,good old Germans always do the right thing,I forgot to hand the money back in the office. By the way poplar did not need any security,why did Warley have to have it,trusted men at Poplar,thieves and vagabonds at Warley. Terry