Women behind successful transport Men

Just got to thinking as you do just how many successful transport men had a good wife or partner behind them who helped get where they are today. Speaking from experience I had that support from my wife when building our company up from an owner driver to fleet operator and handing over to my sons to carry on today, although I have retired from active duty my Mrs who is nicknamed " The Boss " still goes into the office four days a week and is very much hands on with the financial side of the business getting money paid in and also doing the payroll. I remember in the early days when we used to buy second hand trucks to operate my Mrs saying we cant afford to put another truck on the road yet, and as was pointed out by my then accountant once you got the truck you needed ten grand to run it before you saw any payback into the system, but bull headed as I was I carried on and with a bit of juggling we made it through but not without some tricky times I might add.
In the early days we had our house on the line, a thing I don’t recommend to any one as the tension it can cause is some times unbearable, and any one who has suffered financial pressure knows what I am talking about, this causes arguments about trivial things that don’t matter at all so beware and avoid this at all cost is my advice.
Any way enough rambling by me, lets here if any one else had “super woman” help them on there way to success or otherwise, Buzzer.

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don’t know if she had a man,but Ma Walker,who used to run A.M.Walker,at Cosby,Leics.,was a legend in her day,and someone not to be messed with,according to my dad.got a photo of the 8 wheel Atki tipper he drove for her,but cannot find it anywhere :cry:

Maybe I’ve been unfortunate (or stupid in my selection process!) but the only women I’ve had have been more interested in spending money than earning it :unamused: :blush:

my miss gets paid more then I do,thinks I am daft for been in this job,hard to do owt else after 37 years :unamused: keith

Speaking personally I couldn’t do what i do without my mrs. We bicker and ■■■■ and moan and keep on at each other but without her continuing support id never be able to do the job I do. We really ought to give the other half some appreciation.

Tipper Tom:
Speaking personally I couldn’t do what i do without my mrs. We bicker and ■■■■ and moan and keep on at each other but without her continuing support id never be able to do the job I do. We really ought to give the other half some appreciation.

nice one :smiley: keith

Going back quite a few years now,but one of the old firms in Stoke was A & H Davey,better known as Arthur and Hilda.
The firm goes back many years when success only came as the result of hard graft.
Every photo I have ever seen of the company,Hilda is always there.
The transport side packed up a few years ago,however,their son Barry Davey now runs Beech’s,the ERF/MAN garage on the A500.
I’m sure there are many more local firms that were the result of such a partnership.

keith 2:

Tipper Tom:
Speaking personally I couldn’t do what i do without my mrs. We bicker and ■■■■ and moan and keep on at each other but without her continuing support id never be able to do the job I do. We really ought to give the other half some appreciation.

nice one :smiley: keith

I don’t think it’s only the big boys wifes if it wasn’t for the love patience and devotion of the drivers away for days/weeks at a time also the men who kept them on the road there would have been a lot more divorses than there was .

When I started at Fred Chappells the job was run by two brothers, Fred on the tipper side, Ronnie on the tanker side BUT, the power behind the throne was old Mrs. Chappell, their mother (a grand old lady). Ronnies favourite saying was “yer sacked, collect your cards”. No problem, up Soothill in Batley to have a word with Mrs Chappell, “get back to work you daft bugga and tell him if he asks that I said so”.
More recently, for a few years before I retired we had a couple of Transits doing light haulage (no tacho :wink: ). I ran one and my sister in law ran the other, we made an annual nett profit, but it would have been impossible without my wife, she did all the adim. work, and she worked bloody hard.

A lot of small hauliers and owner drivers that I have known over the years have had their wife doing the paper work, and using the phone etc organising the work from a small office at home.
Jean Sharples at Eardisley ran a fleet of lorries alongside her father for many years,and then carried on running them for several years after his days.
Cheers Dave.

carryfast-yeti:
don’t know if she had a man,but Ma Walker,who used to run A.M.Walker,at Cosby,Leics.,was a legend in her day,and someone not to be messed with,according to my dad.got a photo of the 8 wheel Atki tipper he drove for her,but cannot find it anywhere :cry:

I did not have any direct dealings with Annie Walker, but she was a legend, who was born around the turn of the century about 1900, and started and sold a business to THC and became a manager for them at a regional level, and was well known for expressing herself both forcefully and colourfully.
She then started A.M. Walker which was taken over by TDG. She was married and was known as Lady Hall.
I would love to learn more about her, but it is unlikely that anyone who worked or dealt with her is still around

vertco:

carryfast-yeti:
don’t know if she had a man,but Ma Walker,who used to run A.M.Walker,at Cosby,Leics.,was a legend in her day,and someone not to be messed with,according to my dad.got a photo of the 8 wheel Atki tipper he drove for her,but cannot find it anywhere :cry:

I did not have any direct dealings with Annie Walker, but she was a legend, who was born around the turn of the century about 1900, and started and sold a business to THC and became a manager for them at a regional level, and was well known for expressing herself both forcefully and colourfully.
She then started A.M. Walker which was taken over by TDG. She was married and was known as Lady Hall.
I would love to learn more about her, but it is unlikely that anyone who worked or dealt with her is still around

Yes, Ma Walker a legendary transport woman who could out cuss-any man and who interviewed her potential drivers by asking them to lift a concrete kerb stone. If they couldn’t she showed them how to do it! It is true that she did marry a lord of the realm, so she was her ladyship. :astonished: :astonished: :astonished:

Probably the best known “woman behind the throne” of a major transport company today is Anne Preston of Prestons of Potto.

The only women behind me that I liked were those that couldn’t run as fast as me as I hot-footed out of their front door in the morning and headed off to get in my lorry before she could read the number and get the name of the company I was driving for.

gingerfold:

vertco:

carryfast-yeti:
don’t know if she had a man,but Ma Walker,who used to run A.M.Walker,at Cosby,Leics.,was a legend in her day,and someone not to be messed with,according to my dad.got a photo of the 8 wheel Atki tipper he drove for her,but cannot find it anywhere :cry:

I did not have any direct dealings with Annie Walker, but she was a legend, who was born around the turn of the century about 1900, and started and sold a business to THC and became a manager for them at a regional level, and was well known for expressing herself both forcefully and colourfully.
She then started A.M. Walker which was taken over by TDG. She was married and was known as Lady Hall.
I would love to learn more about her, but it is unlikely that anyone who worked or dealt with her is still around

Yes, Ma Walker a legendary transport woman who could out cuss-any man and who interviewed her potential drivers by asking them to lift a concrete kerb stone. If they couldn’t she showed them how to do it! It is true that she did marry a lord of the realm, so she was her ladyship. :astonished: :astonished: :astonished:

Probably the best known “woman behind the throne” of a major transport company today is Anne Preston of Prestons of Potto.

Nice to know Anne Preston’s still around. Proper lorry- person.

keith 2:
my miss gets paid more then I do,thinks I am daft for been in this job,hard to do owt else after 37 years :unamused: keith

I’m sad to hear that, it’s disappointing when your OH doesn’t appreciate what you do.

I’ll mention my OH, who joined me after ten years. Not every man can cope with his missus being the boss :wink:

If you worked for BIRDS GROUPAGE you worked for a women Mrs levette was proper old school and there was no way of pulling the wool over her eyes or mugging her off…Way to cute

gingerfold:

vertco:

carryfast-yeti:
don’t know if she had a man,but Ma Walker,who used to run A.M.Walker,at Cosby,Leics.,was a legend in her day,and someone not to be messed with,according to my dad.got a photo of the 8 wheel Atki tipper he drove for her,but cannot find it anywhere :cry:

I did not have any direct dealings with Annie Walker, but she was a legend, who was born around the turn of the century about 1900, and started and sold a business to THC and became a manager for them at a regional level, and was well known for expressing herself both forcefully and colourfully.
She then started A.M. Walker which was taken over by TDG. She was married and was known as Lady Hall.
I would love to learn more about her, but it is unlikely that anyone who worked or dealt with her is still around

Yes, Ma Walker a legendary transport woman who could out cuss-any man and who interviewed her potential drivers by asking them to lift a concrete kerb stone. If they couldn’t she showed them how to do it! It is true that she did marry a lord of the realm, so she was her ladyship. :astonished: :astonished: :astonished:

Probably the best known “woman behind the throne” of a major transport company today is Anne Preston of Prestons of Potto.

thanks for the info gingerfold and vertco :slight_smile: there is a chap goes down my local club who worked for Ma on the Carlsberg contract.i’ll see if he has any stories about her!

OK then, here’s a question:

The rather frightening female that is on the Dragons Den, Hillary Devine is it?, is said to have made her millions in Road Transport. Now firstly I cannot imagine anyone making millions in Transport - loosing it yes but making it - but I would like to know what was her company?

David

David Miller:
OK then, here’s a question:

The rather frightening female that is on the Dragons Den, Hillary Devine is it?, is said to have made her millions in Road Transport. Now firstly I cannot imagine anyone making millions in Transport - loosing it yes but making it - but I would like to know what was her company?

David

One of the overnight palett courier companies I think.

Hi All
She owns Pall Ex which if I’am right run no lorries of their own that’s why shes made money