This shot would be taken just about 40 years ago,stood against the first Atki I got the previous year,the tail light arm of one of the two Mastiffs is visible in the foreground but their day’s were numbered as I’d put an order in for two more Atkis to replace them.Being about 23 at the time I did have a bit of a struggle persuading decent drivers to start work for me as they were always 5 to 10 years older than me !! But I managed,one way or the other, plus I was working among them so that helped a great deal.I dropped a “bollock” with the odd driver in those days but I managed to survive the early years and from then on we were able to attract some of the finest drivers in the industry. Happy days,if a bit “hairy” to say the least.Cheers Dennis.
Great shot Bewick…
Me i was still in school only 11!!! 
EW
Waiting for my first ever brand new motor, a Seddon “32/4” with a 180 Gardner. It siezed up after just seven miles ( I was cleared from all blame ) but that’s another story. Cheers Haddy.
Still at primary school playing on building sites driving JCB around 
climbing trees as we kids did in them days
Being a general scallywag 
40 years ago this month I was off to Woolwich to do basic training, I’d served my time as a Diesel Fitter with A W Ellis, Tillotson and Ouseburn Transport, all in Newcastle upon Tyne. The money was crap and I was fed up and had been talked into joining the Gunners by my older Brother as he said the money was better, Germany had nice beer and everybody knows you get to travel the world. By May I was in Northern Ireland and during guard duty around two in the morning I wondered what the hell I’d done!
Still during my nine years many things I’d learnt in the transport game as a fitter and from my Dad came in handy on many occasions and I got all my HGV licences up to Class One before I left, looking forward to becoming a proper Long Distance driver, I called on many local companies for work, this would be the second time I thought what the hell have I done. The old motors of the Seventies had almost gone and everyone was wanting (and seemed to be driving) a foreign wagon with a bed, I eventually got an old Brit day cab, oh well its all part of life’s rich pattern as me old Ma would say.
Cheers Franky.
I’d passed my test just over a year previously 1st Jan 1971 and would probably have had the ash framed Seddon with a 150 Gardner and 6 speed David Brown box and plated at 32 tons running mainly for Ferrymasters
This was the previous Seddon which I may have passed on by then. Plated at 24 tons
Jan 1972 I was serving in the Royal Dutch Navy doing a 18 month stint in Curacao, West Indies.
Early 1972 I was based at British Bakeries (Mothers Pride) regional office in Manchester working with the Projects Manager. I used to regularly visit all the 17 bakeries we had in Northern Region then, boundary was Blackpool across to Scarborough in the North, Stoke across to Cleethorpes in the south of the region including Mansfield. At weekends I was driving for Ray Holden of Little Lever and most Sundays I would do a round trip to Glasgow and back with one of his AECs loaded with ACDO soap powder. If I was home early enough during the week I also would do an evening shift run fo Ray from Leigh to Meltham with castings for David Brown tractors.
1972 i was driving a leyland comet 4 wheeler on contract to pilkingtons tiles[clifton m/c] for william nuttalls[clifton m/c]on london,1st load multidropper 2nd load 1 drop,good job that was.
regards dave.
Driving fuel tankers, D1000’s with the V8 ■■■■■■■ or ERF artics (■■■■■■■ with Fullers). I wish I could turn the clock back, they were good years.
Having already got my class 3 licence through ‘grandfather’ rights, I knew exactly which firm I wanted to work for which was to do continental work for Howells & Reavels out of Southall but I needed a class 1 licence. So I left Rapp Metals, Hayes and joined Kensal Haulage as I knew that they paid to put drivers through the class 1 test. You had to sign to say that you would stay with them for at least 1 year afterwards (or pay them back the money they had spent on putting you through the test). Luckily after about 6 months of artic work with them the lease ran out on their yard and they moved out of the area to Watford which meant my contractual obligations ended. Great!! I went straight down and got a start with H&R whose work was mostly to Italy. So I achieved my goal. Life was grand!!
40 years ago I was a mate on one of these, we had just got them in 71, the one in the background that is, a Leyland Lynx, they wouldn’t let us have the Buffalo’s at Coventry, before that we had Albion Clydesdales, it was so nice to have a heater. Then in 73, I got a job with Mousley Trucking driving one of there 35cwt’s, this included some work to Germany and me still only 19, happy days.
My memory is fading!!!
I hadn’t long passed my car driving test. I think I was working for a fruit and veg company in Southend, driving Transits and Bedford TK’s.
I didn’t pass my HGV test until ‘76.
My first artic was a Bedford TK with a Scammel coupling. They were fun.
Did anyone on here ever knock the ‘legs’ sideways, or completely knock them right under?
Dangerous bloomin’ things in my opinion.
You mention Scammel coupling to the younger drivers of today, and it’s ‘wossat?’
The first 5th wheel trailer I pulled was a 33ft single axle, with the wheels right on the a*** end.
Blimey, you didn’t half need to take a wide swing with that.
I was probably doing geography or history.
I was still at school 
Good idea Bewick.
40 years ago I was with Eileen Ellingham Middle East battering up and down the road in a variety of vehicles that sometimes spent some time with us (about one trip’s worth) either paid for or not. A couple that I think we actually owned were my favorites, a Scammell Crusader that had been modified by a sharp kiddy in Tehran and had stainless stacks and the whole 9 yards and fitted with a with a Rolls or a Bussing ‘Unterfleur’ (mid engined) roadtrain which sometimes had German plates and sometimes Turkish.
Life was nothing if not sharp-paced and if you were not up to it it promised many close-up examples of studying foriegn Police Forces.
David
What I should have done ,on reflection,is “claused” the title of the thread with “for all those of us over 60,what were you doing 40 years ago” !! We are been over-run by cab happy school kids !!! Only joking ! Bewick.
Bewick:
What I should have done ,on reflection,is “claused” the title of the thread with “for all those of us over 60,what were you doing 40 years ago” !! We are been over-run by cab happy school kids !!! Only joking ! Bewick.
Defo and your point is 
Bewick:
What I should have done ,on reflection,is “claused” the title of the thread with “for all those of us over 60,what were you doing 40 years ago” !! We are been over-run by cab happy school kids !!! Only joking ! Bewick.
Dennis I would assume that your comment would apply to all of us on here just at different times in the last century other wise we would have all took the advice and never entered the industry and become accountants,bankers or solicitors or some such dishonest rip off professional boring people who would have no exciting close to the wind tales to write for the enjoyment of the other members. The transport industry will be the same in a few decades time as every one is being watched and kept tabs on these days. I would be out of place in the transport industry today and the same can be said for a few more of our generation on here we did not ring in unless we required loading instructions and such like and the job was done our way without interference from office staff who know nothing of what happens on the road.
cheers Johnnie
I should have trained to be a solicitor, it’s good money going by the bills they’ve sent me over the last 6 months. £210 +vat per hour. 
1 phone call (2 minutes,) £35 thank you very much. 