Whilst searching for a book on the net i found this and thought it might be an interesting read for some of you…
members.iinet.net.au/~dcjames/lorry1.html
Al
Had a quick scan through the site, WOW certainly took me back. Got my first HGV in 1965 (prove you’r over 21 and pay five bob at the county licence office) and started long distance driving in 1967 (Albion Riever 20 tonner and ERF 24 tonner) Last HGV expired in Feb this year on my 66th birthday, not a bad run, I reckon about 3 Million miles including my personal cars and motorbikes. 
Good read.I started on HGV in 1968,before that driving a bulders lorry.The HGV license came in on March 1st 1969,you had to have six months experience on whatever class of vehice to obtain you license by Grandfather rights,the qualifying period was Feb 68 to March 69,when your car license ran out you then applied for your HGV.
Cheers Dave.
I remember seeing this on the READING FORUM (my home town) and it brought back many memories of local firms now long gone. 
Pete.
Excellent piece recalling the day’s of real haulage!! It would do some of those Stobart Wallies good to learn about the proper meaning of the words “Tramper”,“Trunker”,ect.Bewick.
Dennis,Why do you keep bringing Stobarts drivers into every thread,all they are doing is earning a living for themselves and there famlies.Plus I wound’nt say that my son was a ‘‘wally’’,he happens to be an excellent class 1 HGV driver who knows his job.
John
Another interesting thread for ‘old gits’ .Started driving proper ‘lorries’ myself in 1968 shunting an old 1940’s Matador round George Thorpe’s yard at Mendlesham before he’d let me loose on the road with an old Mercury 24 tonner pulling a four in line sugar beet trailer. ‘If you can change gear with that old crash box you’ll do for me sonny jim’. If I remember rightly you had to prove that you’d been driving a vehicle for a period of 6 months in the previous 12 to claim grandfather rights for that class of vehicle. I was the first person at Thorpe’s to take a class 1 as i’d only driven an artic for 5 months in the previous 12 which p’eed me off a bit as all the fitters were signed off for grandad rights even though they’d not accrued the necessary time. But hey it was a long time ago. Things have changed a bit since then!!
Thanks for the link, very interesting 
I agree with you Bewick, the true definitions of tramping and trunking explained by somebody who really did tramp and trunk, no mention of logistics anywhere 
scantheman:
Whilst searching for a book on the net i found this and thought it might be an interesting read for some of you…members.iinet.net.au/~dcjames/lorry1.html
Al
Whatever next, silent checks, ghost drivers and two logbooks 
I am shocked
It looks like there are a lot of memories in there…
Stanfield:
Dennis,Why do you keep bringing Stobarts drivers into every thread,all they are doing is earning a living for themselves and there famlies.Plus I wound’nt say that my son was a ‘‘wally’’,he happens to be an excellent class 1 HGV driver who knows his job.
John
It just happens that Stobarts have the highest profile currently and I’m not really singling them out but merely pointing out that their interpretation of “roamers” and “trampers” is as far removed from actual reality for the term as “the man in the moon”.I don’t doubt for one minute that there are many other drivers on other firms that are identical to Stobarts.From what I see and hear on these thread’s makes my “hair curl” at times! IMO the bulk of the current crop of drivers are just “cab jockeys” and the rates of pay that are currently paid would,seem to me,to bear out the value the employers place on their drivers!I am only passing my opinion having employed a first class workforce over many years,and no doubt I could find a quality squad amongst to-days drivers and probably your son would be one of them!However I believe the rejection rate would be enormous if I “theoretically” had to try.Sorry if you’ve "taken a powder"John I was just expressing a very insignificant opinion! Regards Dennis.
I actually had a conversation with another “Lorry Driver” today One of Hendersons of Selby nicely turned out FH with an extender on He was blocking a yard in Longtown and I needed to turn round I too had a 60’ behind me but the guy moved out of the yard then backed back in when I’d finished, He then came over & had a natter about this & that whilst I unchained my load. Very refreshing I thought as I car’nt remember the last time I had a natter to another driver face to face. A very “Old School” experience.
Fly sheet
PS Who are Stobarts I keep seeing them mentioned on here, do they have lorries too?
A bit later than the 60s but still needing the same skills as that past era.The Bewick shunters were,although I say it my-self,as skilled as any in the country and we employed shunters in a number of places throughout England (No reflection whatsoever on our Scots and Welsh shunters)both North and South so I’m not in anyway favouring our Milnthorpe depot,although this is a shot of a fully freighted 38tonner leaving Milnthorpe at the time.And not forgetting our drivers who were a pretty skilled bunch in their own right,the majority of which could hold their own with the shunters!!! If thats not a comparison that has the makings of a new thread!!!