Mysterron:
In case anybody is interested Eddie Worthington is alive and kicking, although he hasn’t been well of late. He is recuperating at his Static caravan in ■■■■■■■■ I called round today to see him as he has not been on this site for ages. I think he has become pee’d off with all the FAIRY STORIES that have appeared on this thread and I for one agree with him. What do other W.H. drivers think. Come on air your views. Barrie Hindmarch: Eddie sends his regards. While on the subject I think I owe you a few thank u’s. I came to you looking for employment in mid 60’s and was turned down each time. Had you given me a job I don’t suppose I would be living the affluent lifestyle that I now have. Come on you drivers let’s hear some true stories and not the make-believe ones that have been put on this thread in the last year or so. Regards Ronnie.
Hi Mysteron,
So sad to hear Eddie hasn’t been too well. What is the problem?
Like you say I would love to hear drivers memories. Things have changed so much these days. We often used vehicles for use they never were designed for and once left Spennymoor a driver was on his own to do his best t do the work, not watched over every mile of the journeys, and free to take whatever route he chose, so unlike today. Same on a night drivers headed for town centres were they could meet up and have nights out together. No stopping in laybyes and cooking and staying in cabs watching TV etc. So much must still be out there to be told that were unique times well worth remembering.
Trust you are keeping well
Barrie Hindmarch:
Hi Carl.
The shop in Silver Street that the previous post refers to was probably a high class grocers called Greenwells .It was about half way down on the right as you left the Market Place and the only legal way to make a delivery was to wheel the goods down on a sack barrow. One of the products that we delivered there was bacon (before the advent of compulsory refrigerated vans) which was wrapped in sackcloth bales and as I remember was damned heavy and very difficult to carry on the sack barrow. I usually dragged the bale to the tailboard ,stuck my shoulder under it and staggered off down the street. However on one occasion the bale was far too large and heavy for me to do this so I stopped right outside the shop, hopped out and dragged the bale into the shop only to find on my return to secure the tailboard a huge Bobby who gave me a good bollocking and told me to get the wagon moved sharpish.I moved on thus allowing the traffic to flow through Durham again and that was the last I heard of the incident.I wonder if today’s policemen would be as tolerant and understanding?
Regards Barrie
Hi Barrie,
I remember Greenwells shop very well, from my school days in Durham. Everyday after lunch we used to walk round Durham on an afternoon for an hour, before returning for afternoon lessons, and as you walked passed Greenwells the smell of newly ground coffee filled the air outside the shop, also they used to have casks of butter on the pavement and used to take butter out and pat it into shape before wrapping. Although I suspect struggling to carry a bale of bacon, you wouldn’t appreciate.
This brings to mind dad always saying that the reason he was bow legged was the years he struggled with hind quarters of beef on his shoulders when we carried meat during the war years. People today could never understand what delvieries of foodstuff to shops were like in the pre 1980s
Also the damage done to your bones where both yourself and my dad at our respective premises lay on concrete floors in freezing cold damp conditions repairing wagons
Hi Carl.
When I read these posts I wonder just how we managed in the “Bad Old Days” . One of the criteria when deciding whether someone was suitable for a job was could he lift a hundredweight. At that time everything was weighed in Imperial measure and carriers vehicles had no mechanical means of assistance thus if you couldn’t lift it you couldn’t deliver it. When I first worked for my father butter came in hundredweight kegs ,sugar, salt ,cereals, flour were just a few of the commodities that you needed to be able to handle in your everyday job. When I look at delivery vehicles today I see that even Transits and ambulances have tail-lifts it makes me think that we missed out somewhere.
regards Barrie.
Barrie Hindmarch:
Hi Carl.
When I read these posts I wonder just how we managed in the “Bad Old Days” . One of the criteria when deciding whether someone was suitable for a job was could he lift a hundredweight. At that time everything was weighed in Imperial measure and carriers vehicles had no mechanical means of assistance thus if you couldn’t lift it you couldn’t deliver it. When I first worked for my father butter came in hundredweight kegs ,sugar, salt ,cereals, flour were just a few of the commodities that you needed to be able to handle in your everyday job. When I look at delivery vehicles today I see that even Transits and ambulances have tail-lifts it makes me think that we missed out somewhere.
regards Barrie.
Hi Barrie,
We had to install lots of taillifts in 1970s as Thorn demanded them, but reluctantly.Many of the older drivers said they never bothered using them as they could unload the cookers and fridges quicker without them.
However on removals we never thought of using ramps and never bothered with sack barrows, must have been gluttons for punishment.Carrying out washing machines & cookers were the norm On office removals I always recommended that Filing Cabinets were always left full, and desk draws were filled with contents from desk tops to save packing and make it easier to pick up from where they left off next day. Our lot lifted full filing cabinets down stairs and whilst they were carrying simply continued onto vans. How times have changed.
I’m sure so much that both our companies did would never have been allowed under health & safety laws.
Strange is life
Seeing this wagon broken down in the middle of Oxford Street London, with a Octopus on the back made me feel so sorry for the operator. Bet their phones were on fire.
Way back in about 1970 we had a van who had been delivering to the AA offices in Leicester Square. Pulling out of te square it stopped right in the middle of the road. The police wee going mad with us to get it moved and we were 280 miles away. However it was just at the time the AA had introduced a breakdown scheme for HGVs which was pretty pathetic as the patrols they sent out were useless but never the less we had joined and there he was outside their head office. telling the driver to go inside and ask them to get a breakdown truck didn’t help as they were just an admin office and knew nothing about the operation of the AA. When we contacted their break don number the got a breakdown out fairly quickly but every second seemed like an hour because of the pestering and threats we were getting from the police
I remember when my dads BMC 701 which he drove for Bootys Transport of Oxford broke down in Trafalgar Square Carl, the two speed axle became stuck in neutral! Luckily the Copper on duty there was an ex mechanic and removed the little plate on the axle changeover unit and wedged it in gear with a piece of wood, saved a lot of wasted time and expense. Why is it that mechanical things expire at the most inoppertune times eh? Could be a whole new thread, ‘Where was the most awkward place that you broke down’.
windrush:
I remember when my dads BMC 701 which he drove for Bootys Transport of Oxford broke down in Trafalgar Square Carl, the two speed axle became stuck in neutral! Luckily the Copper on duty there was an ex mechanic and removed the little plate on the axle changeover unit and wedged it in gear with a piece of wood, saved a lot of wasted time and expense. Why is it that mechanical things expire at the most inoppertune times eh? Could be a whole new thread, ‘Where was the most awkward place that you broke down’.
Pete.
hiya,
A tyre failure just outside of Winchester Cathedral front nearside ( ran over something
that had fallen off another vehicle and obviously being on the front made other than
getting tight into the side any further travel was impossible I was on for the BRS at the
time so the tyreman was quickly in attendance, but I do remember being asked for my
exact location I burst into song with a hit song of the time “Winchester Cathedral” but
had to verify my location and was told to stop messing about, but the tyreman was still
smiling when he arrived and got me underway in quick time.
thanks harry, long retired.
In the early 1980’s the company were successful in winning the contract to bottle 7up.
In the mid 1980’s a successful management/employee buy out which brought the company back into local ownership again, lead by George Gray and Keith Kerwood with people such and Joe O’Connor and John Losh.
After further successful trading the Jones Soft Drinks business was sold to Hey Brothers together with Neeshams the Beer traders of Ushaw Moor, the company then traded from Ushaw Moor as Neesham - Jones Ltd.
The Grays retail side of the business continued to be operated as a separate concern by Joe O’ Connor and John Losh trading as Grays Soft Drinks (1984) Ltd from a medium sized unit at Chilton Industrial Estate, some routes were done by drivers employed by the company in addition to the franchise salesmen
The Spennymoor bottling plant was sold to Schweppes Soft Drinks who used the site to bottle their popular ‘Appletise’ drink, the plant eventually being closed and the site being sold and demolished for housing.
Grays Soft Drinks (1984) Limited sadly closed and was dissolved in 2003, however some of the franchise men continued to trade as independent soft drinks distribution agents, though without the Grays lable.
[/quote]
Are you sure that Grays Soft Drinks won a contract to bottle 7up ? Was George Gray not already making a lemonade called 7up and sold the name to someone like Schweppes ?
You’re right Harry. Carl usually responds quicker than this. He posted he drove a Leyland FG down to Italy. I drove one from East Anglia to Scotland with a Terex engine on its back. I could have driven a flock of sheep to Kinross quicker. Jim.
jmc jnr:
You’re right Harry. Carl usually responds quicker than this. He posted he drove a Leyland FG down to Italy. I drove one from East Anglia to Scotland with a Terex engine on its back. I could have driven a flock of sheep to Kinross quicker. Jim.
Thanks to Harry and Jim,
I’m fine appart from its getting more difficult from time to time putting my ideas together.
I have been thinking long about the Grays Soft Drink to formulate a reply and will do shortly
Hi Carl ,
Good to see you posting on here again.
Your interesting stories have been missed during your absence.
We all welcome your continuation to the W.H. Williams (Spennymoor ) history and biography.
With reference to Grays Soft Drinks , they did a house-to-house regular delivery as far as Sedbergh.
A503XVK Photo of one of six new Mercedes 16 ton GVW curtainsiders A501-506XVK we ran on contract to Thorn EMI Domestic Appliances. Although in Commercial Motor there was an article about these vans I never knew a photo had been published until Prattman kindly added this to Scrapbook thread One of many vehicles I have lived in hope that a photo would turn up and one by one they keep coming.
Wonder if any of our ex employees can recognise the driver in the Mercedes? He looks young, yet as I am today, most people look young. I think of the six drivers allocated to these vehicles most were in 40-50s.Billy Turnbull was the youngest I think, so I thought it might be him
The appearance of the Mercedes in Thorn EMI livery made me decide to tell our full history of dealing with Thorn 1945-1985. As part of that I will be telling the story of the 6 curtainsiders which were to be the first of 30 on 5 year contracts, the first ever formal contract we had over the 40 years, always before relying on Gentlemen’s agreements over hand shakes which had always been totally honoured on both sides, leading up to the cancellation of the contract after only 18 months and the ‘official reason’ I will draw readers into deciding for themselves what might have been to true reason.
Carl Williams:
The appearance of the Mercedes in Thorn EMI livery made me decide to tell our full history of dealing with Thorn 1945-1985. As part of that I will be telling the story of the 6 curtainsiders which were to be the first of 30 on 5 year contracts, the first ever formal contract we had over the 40 years, always before relying on Gentlemen’s agreements over hand shakes which had always been totally honoured on both sides, leading up to the cancellation of the contract after only 18 months and the ‘official reason’ I will draw readers into deciding for themselves what might have been to true reason.
Starting next week
Hiya,
Can’t wait Carl, bring it on.
thanks harry, long retired.
Not the beginning of our business but the start of Thorn Domestic Appliances coming to Spennymoor.
When 2nd world war started my grandfather had been in business 20 years and employed 12 people, and his business was the largest haulage contractor in Spennymoor.
The Country’s needs were ammunition & so they built large Nissan Huts and set up munition manufacturing at Merrington Lane Spennymoor. I don’t know what type of work we did out of ‘The Factory’ at Spennymoor but they soon started giving my grandfather work. As I say I don’t think he was actually involved in taking the finished ammunition out, as I suspect it left in army trucks but more probably collecting raw materials from Railway Goods yard and taking to Merrington Lane.
When the war ended I know he was involved in taking away the remnants and emptying the buildings that were now sprawled over a largish area.
After the war England needed employment for the soldiers leaving the army, and it was decided to convert these buildings into an industrial estate.No doubt large grants and incentives were offered to ‘bribe’ manufacturers to come up North to places like Spennymoor, and the biggest part of the factory was taken over by Smart & Brown (Engineering) Ltd. I don’t think they were owned by Thorn originally, but with the skills and space they had available it wasn’t long before they obtained work manufacturing as sub contractors fr Thorn.
Well thats how they came to be there over the years massive factories were opened by Black & Decker and Courtaulds and for a period into the mid eighties Spennymoor was a thriving manufacturing town. Thorn alone, at its peak employed 7.500 employees Courtaulds about 2,500 with Black & Decker not far behind. Sadly I read in our local newspaper, Spennymoor being described today as a commuter town (A town with little employment of its own where people live but travel from to work)
Could be a whole new thread, ‘Where was the most awkward place that you broke down’. 
