Hi all i am looking for pictures of thompson haulage or better know as thompson freight services. They were based at the double rivers haulage yard in crowle just off the A18. I am currently writing a book about the company. However i have been some what unsuccessfull in finding any pictures. It would be greatly appreciated it if any of you have any pictures or know of somebody who used to drive for the company. Also they later entered partnership with w h martin off brigg and became thompson and martin group. Who regretably sold out to seafield logistics.
Many Thanks in advance
wills0411
Hi Wills Pete Walker at Collease on Hoylake Rd Scunthorpe,has a few old photos & may be able to help you contact some others .All the best & good luck .Dave
wills0411:
Hi all i am looking for pictures of thompson haulage or better know as thompson freight services. They were based at the double rivers haulage yard in crowle just off the A18. I am currently writing a book about the company. However i have been some what unsuccessfull in finding any pictures. It would be greatly appreciated it if any of you have any pictures or know of somebody who used to drive for the company. Also they later entered partnership with w h martin off brigg and became thompson and martin group. Who regretably sold out to seafield logistics.
Many Thanks in advance
wills0411
Big Al from this forum is the man to ask, he was a local lad
Hi Wills, if you go onto the transport photo’s forum, theres a thread for merc sk v8’s. On page 5 there is a photo of one of Thompsons old mercs (E797OEE) in its third life but unfortunatley not in Thompsons colours. Also some where on the scrapbook memories thread (cant remember what page, so many) there is a black and white picture of there ERF 8 wheeler.
hi all many thanks for your advice. my apologies for the late reply i haven
t had chance to get on for a while.
wills0411:
hi all many thanks for your advice. my apologies for the late reply i haven
t had chance to get on for a while.
Until last year I loaded steel quite often (in a container) from Scunthorpe, The older loader there had worked for Thompsons and later Seafield for most of his working life. He told me he lived near Crowle and cycled to work and back every day. It was the only way to get to work for him as he didn’t drive and there wasn’t any public transport. I think thats about 15 miles each way !! He is in his 60s and has a bad limp but it didn’t stop him getting to work. Regards Kevmac47. Ps I think the writing was on the wall for their jobs at the time I was last there. 
hi kevmac47 yes i think i know who you are talking about he is a guy with quite long sideys from what i can remember. a guy with a very old fashioned work ethic. as i remember frombeen a kid going in the wagon with my dad he used to be one of the main loaders at thompsons
thanks for the picture upload its greatey appriciated
wills0411:
hi kevmac47 yes i think i know who you are talking about he is a guy with quite long sideys from what i can remember. a guy with a very old fashioned work ethic. as i remember frombeen a kid going in the wagon with my dad he used to be one of the main loaders at thompsons
his names Dave Poppleton.
phillybob71:
wills0411:
hi kevmac47 yes i think i know who you are talking about he is a guy with quite long sideys from what i can remember. a guy with a very old fashioned work ethic. as i remember frombeen a kid going in the wagon with my dad he used to be one of the main loaders at thompsons
his names Dave Poppleton.
I remember Poppletons from Crowle, I think the father was a market gardner and had land down Godnow Road.
The father had an old wagon and he used to hawk the vegatables he grew around the district, I met one of the
sons at The Festival of The Plough at Epworth a few years ago (I used to show my lorries there) In a previous post
a member suggested I might have pictures unfortunately I had a disastrous fire a couple of years ago and lost all
my possessions including all my pictures. regards Big Al
I remember a few of the old Thompson drivers Bill Fretwell, Ron Coleman and Foxy Fowler they
worked out of the old yard in Crowle and drove the old tin cab AEC’s. regards Big Al
phillybob71:
wills0411:
hi kevmac47 yes i think i know who you are talking about he is a guy with quite long sideys from what i can remember. a guy with a very old fashioned work ethic. as i remember frombeen a kid going in the wagon with my dad he used to be one of the main loaders at thompsons
his names Dave Poppleton.
Thats the guy, the long sideys describe him perfectly. Regards Kevmac47.
here are a few more thompsons lorries i obtained via the flicker photo site artic mokey suggested. many thanks again. Brings the memories flooding back. The strange thing is i have probably been in some of these wagons at one point or another.
Hi Wills I remember your Dad Pete I subbied & also worked for the said companies from 88 till 05 I hear the job on the steel works has nearly gone now.Thompsons was a good job .
yes its pretty much the same as most things these days. it has more or less been ■■■■ canned on the steel works. It really wouldent suprise me if the place has houses on it within the next 50 years. it a shame really as it has provided generations with work. ironically i started my first job there after leaving the army working for pd logistics. and it was on the steel works were my dad started out. i tried the whole owner driver thing but fuel prices very quickly killed it off so ended up selling up. I now work as a senior operations manager for the transport side of howden joinery in howden near goole. Istill do the odd weekend driving though esepcially around christams. I always remeber when i went in the army my dad kept hounding me about getting a hgv licence out of it and said you will never be out of wok with it. And those words were so true and still are. but the minute i started doing it he changed his tune and said you dont want to stay doing it for too long still cant understand what he meant by that to this day.
i have just had another look at the merc sk pic and you can cleasrly see it must have been hammered on the steel works. i can never remeber any of thompsons wagons been that filthy. but then again the odd day here and there in the wagon with me dad probably doesant give me the bigger picture
w thompson erf contracting for howarth timber parked up at thompsons scunthorpe depot at the steel works
I remember Thompsons when they were on the old Two Rivers cafe site,I didn’t know they’d gone in with W H Martin though. Anybody remember another Scunthorpe firm called Reeds,ran AEC Mandators in a blue livery with red signwriting. They used to run nights to Birmingham area with steel.Also Barworth Haulage,ran tankers out of Bitmac Scunthorpe and Llanwern,are they still going?
