Wigan Album

The Rendezvous was a popular place for changeovers, being roughly halfway between Wigan and ' the smoke '. The Rover would appear to date the photo to the early or mid 70's, around about the same time that we Ashton drivers used to change trailers there with the Chiswick lads. We knew this place as Tubby's. I don't recall the menu being quite as comprehensive as your photo would appear to indicate though Bill, although having said that, we would always be there at 5am when all of these ' working girls ' would most likely still have been at home in bed. None of them seem familiar to me anyway. The last time I was past that way, the place had been turned into a massive BP truck stop. I'm not sure what's there now, although I seem to recall hearing that Stobarts have some kind of involvement in the place. Good photo though mate. Although I never knew your mate Ted, the photo reminded me of a few of my old pals, many of whom are no longer with us. It also set me thinking about The Sunset at Penkridge, The Hollies, the Chester Road cafe near Sutton Coldfield before the M6 link was completed, Arthur's at the end of the East Lancs, the world famous Jungle over Shap fell, and the best of the lot in my opinion, the Elvanfoot cate on the A74. You'll remember all of these Bill, and many more no doubt. Most of them were dumps, but they were of their time and served a purpose I suppose.

Cheers. Ozy.

Oh, I forgot the New Island at Lowton, and Burkhill's at Carr Mill. Blimey, they're all coming flooding back to me now. That wooden shed on the A57 at Rixton, and the other wooden shed near Barton airport. Motormans on Standedge, the one on Woodhead who's name I've forgotten, was it the Robin Hood?, I'll have to stop now, I'm beginning to hyperventilate........The Moss at Carlisle.........The.....NURSE!......NURSE!......QUICK......I'M GOING INTO SPASM.

Bill Parr. I have been reading your comments about Reeds, First of all could you tell me if Ted Holland came from UpHolland, Secondly, you may like to know that I am Bill Unsworth's Daughter.

I love this kind of photo. Can't you just hear the lad with the camera saying " Come on ladies show us a bit of leg" and the ladies, for a laugh duly obliging. Mind you, they wouldn't have known then that they would sent Ozy into spasm all these years later!

Wish they'd move so we can see the car more.

Thanks for uploading the photo Bill knew Teddy for years, in his latter years of his time at Reeds he worked nights doing the Kellogg's and Heinz,

The man that took the photo was it Don that had a watch repairing shop at up-Holland as your going up Alma hill before coming to Reeds

Hi Dougie, Ozy and Weatherwax
Firstly yes Ted Holland lived on the same estate as you and your dad Bill Unsworth I remember your dad starting on night truck in 1960 he came from Fred Rose Transport Blackrod. I also recal coming to see you at an estate near Carr Mill to discuss your dads Reed Pension with you.
Yes Dougie Don was the watch man he lost his licence while. he was working for BRS. He got a job with Reeds working on the bank for a while then I trained him up for his HGV class1 licence which he passed with ease
Don was a really grand chap and yes Ted finished on nights in order to increase his Reed Pension the same as Alan Sherrington did later on. Glad to see that you recall some of the old Transport Cafes Ozy.The Hollies we used to call it the Glasshouse you’ll well remember Bobs at Dunchurch and Lincoln Farm the list goes on and on I loved them all as they became second homes to distance(roamers) drivers before sleeper cabs and the one you was thinking of was as you said the Robin Hood . Do you remember coming over Woodhead or Stanage and looking in your mirrors and seeing a fleet of Slaters AEC 8 wheelers bearing down on you they would overtake you anywhere and with there all black paint jobs and far superior power they were quite menaceing and a number did in fact go over the tops to never return but if you were Cab Happy you just got on with the job. Finely for anyone who was keen on trucks in our day you only had to go down on the dock road in Liverpool and you would find trucks of every make from all parts of Britain waiting to offload or load from ships from all over the world and re cafes their most of been one on every corner yes it was quite a sight and as well as steame engine lorries you also had the overhead railway running the full length of the dock road from Dingle to Seaforth yes pure nostalgia

Hiya Bill. You mention the year 1960. I was still at school at that time, so without wishing to seem disrespectful, it would appear that your driving career goes back a little further than mine does. My career in road haulage only began in earnest sometime around 1967 when I got a job driving a petrol engined, threepenny bit cabbed BMC FG for the Makerfield Spring Seating company in Bolton road Stubshaw. The ( factory ), for want of a better description, was demolished around about 1990, or thereabouts, and a small private housing estate, aptly entitled ' The Springs ' was erected on the site. Ironically, I was engaged in delivering the concrete for the footings and the slabs, whilst driving for Pioneer concrete, during the construction of the dwellings.....I have to admit that I don't recall the steamers on the dock road Bill, although Ray appears to remember them vividly. To be honest, my experiences of loading and unloading at Liverpool docks weren't the happiest in my career. However, I distinctly remember the wet slick cobblestones at the bottom of Walton brow. What with the adverse camber and all, leaning towards Scotty road, I've slid sideways there on several occasions on rainy days, whilst attempting to take a run up the hill.
I well remember the ' Docker's Umbrella ' though. I'm guessing that it was demolished around about 1956, as I would have been about nine years old at the time, and my dad took me on the last day before closure. I don't recall a great deal about the event, other than it was a dull sunday in the winter months, and we travelled the entire length of the line from pierhead, up to Seaforth, back down to Dingle, then back up again to pierhead. Surprisingly, from memory, there didn't appear to be many fare paying occupants of the carriages on the day, quite unlike the last days of steam trains in the 60's. Of the many things that I am endebted to my father, this experience is just one of them....Youre right about transport cafés Bill, they used to be on every corner, as were pit canteens pretty much. Things change though, constantly, sometimes for the better I suppose, but I personally think primarily for the worse, but that's just my opinion. I remember when they completed the section of the M6 motorway over Shap fell, bypassing the old A6, the Jungle Café closed for business in a matter of weeks. Same thing happened with the Checkley café near Tean when they upgraded the A50, they've built houses on there as well by the way. As far as I'm aware, the Saltbox is still in business. But the above are just a couple of examples, I'm sure I could come up with many more given the time to think for a moment. A lot of the old transport cafés got turned into Little Chefs and Happy Eaters....NO WAGONS ALLOWED....etc. That's fine by me incidentally, I wouldn't give the garbage that that lot churn out to the dog. Anyway, it's all history now mate. It was enjoyable mostly, but being paid to stay in bed also has its merits, don't you think?
Now weatherwax, I never knew your dad unfortunately, although I may have seen him knocking about Fred Rose's yard. If you have any photos of your dad at work, please put them on here. If you don't, then go to Beckett family on People, and you'll find a couple of photos on there of the type of wagon that your dad used to drive.
I'm off to bed now, I've got a Newport changeover at Strensham to do at four o' clock.

Regards. Ozy