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George Spenceley recalls his years as a long distance lorry driver, the friends he made and the incidents that happened along the way.
My first long distance run as a tanker driver for ICI was one Easter Sunday when I drove to Glasgow. I turned up for work, collected my expenses for the journey and after a brief description of the route from one of the lads I climbed aboard the Scammel tanker for the two hundred mile trip.
I had a great feeling of excitement as I started the huge Gardener engine, it's wooden framed cab, the hand brakes and numerous other things rattled as I selected the second gear.
I slowly let out the clutch, built up the revs and speed by double-declutching at each stage until I'd reached the sixth gear. I was alone and on my way to Glasgow at a steady speed of twenty miles an hour.
Middlesbrough to Stockton and on to Darlington, in about an hour and a half I'd reached Scotch Corner. The hard, horse hair stuffed seat was very uncomfortable on my backside, I'd only done thirty miles and felt as if
I'd never reach Scotland at this rate.
At this point I didn't realise there was much worse to come for every little hill had to be negotiated, I'd change down, two, three or even four gears to get the large vehicle up it and if the other side was steep I'd have to reverse the action to stop the whole thing from running away.
I arrived at Carlisle shattered, my backside felt bruised with the constant shaking and my arms were tired from wrestling with the steering wheel (no power steering in those days). I stopped the vehicle for a break and had lunch before the second lap of my journey.
I'd been told that once I'd climbed Beatock Peak it was then a good run down into Glasgow, getting up Beatock was very slow. The weather had turned nasty it had started to rain so this didn't help me. After almost eleven hours driving I arrived at the famous Sauciall Street ICI offices, here I could park the vehicle for the night.
The commissioner directed me to the Great Weston Hotel, I paid about five shillings and was given a small room. It was a very tatty place but the bed linen looked clean so I had a wash and thought I'd have a nap before my evening meal.
I was so tired that I must have fallen into a deep sleep and didn't waken until it was almost time to start work again. My return journey to Wilton was uneventful, the vehicle now empty, plodded up and down the hills with ease.
It still wasn't very comfortable for the blasts of cold air blew up my trouser leg through the slots in the wooden floor were the foot controls came through.
On my next trip to Glasgow the commissioner suggested I should stay somewhere different, 'My Aunt stays in Maryhill, she will put you up for the night'. I'd heard a number of stories about drivers taking digs with someone's Aunt or Sister and some of the tales were quite weird, however I thought it's only for one night.
He took me to a large grey tenement building, we went up a couple of flights of stairs and there he knocked on the door and a middle-aged woman answered. 'I've brought this young lad round he's looking for digs and I know you could do with a couple of extra bob' he said.
The woman took a long look at me, 'Aye you can stop here but it'll cost you five shillings and you'll have to sleep in the hole in the wall but you'll be alright. I will have to go out for some shopping so come in out of the draughty passage'.
I was led into the kitchen and invited to sit down, the smell of old cooking didn't appeal to me nor did the big scruffy dog that came and sat at my feet. I wondered what I'd let myself in for but where else could I go, the Salvation Army? No, I've heard even worse about that!
I was still sitting in the chair when she returned with her shopping and it was obvious to me that the money I'd given her was all that she had. 'Do you like ham?' she asked, 'I've got a nice piece for your dinner'. 'Thanks' I replied. 'can you tell me where I can wash up before my meal?'
'Aye yes, I'll remove the pots from the sink you can wash in there we don't have a bathroom, you'll find the toilet along the landing its shared with the other members on this floor'.
While I'd been sitting in the living room cum kitchen I'd noticed a large dark red curtain covering one of the walls but as it was dark outside I assumed it was a window. I got the surprise of my life when I asked to be shown to my bedroom, the woman said, 'You're in your bedroom, I did tell you it would be the hole in the wall'.
At that she pulled the curtain to one side and there set in the wall was a double bed. I tried not to show my surprised for I'd never seen the like before. In the army I'd slept in some unusual places but I'd never slept in a hole in the wall before, first time for everything!
George Spenceley, 2002
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