Wigan Album

I used to have one of those Bedford CA vans, quite spacious, I've always liked column change gears, wonder if they still make cars/vans with them?

Hi Phil,
I remember both of thr butchers you refer to, but can't remember if either of them drove a blue van. Fouracres would have been the closest to Holt Avenue. Clayton's shop was in Church Street, near the Grapes Hotel. Fouracres was on Upholland Road, I think, almost opposite Kem Mellings garage.

Roger, Toyota Picnic had column gear change, though I don't think the model is made now as I haven't seen any around for some time, maybe some of the used Toyota vehicle imports from Japan may well have this form of gear change.

Helen: I seem to recall you having told me, once, "My memory is a little hazy". My word! you've done very well here. Regards.

Thanks, Philip,
Yes, I guess I still have my moments. Trying to remember the name of the grocers shop opposite Billy Fouracres, but so far no luck!, I remember buying Lyons Maid Strawberry Mivvi ice lollies there. But I digress......

Hi Philip, can I say, when I look at your pictures, they always seem , somehow , to capture a special moment for me... a something , we seemed somehow to have lost.. Perhaps , I am being too emotional. As we grow older and pause, our minds run to another place and time . I'm sounding silly now.. and without sherry.. I beg leave..

Julie: Thanks for your response to my photo. And don't be too concerned about showing a bit of emotion - it's good for the system. Take care.

Claytons of Orrell certainly had a light blue van a few years after this in the 1960s, Philip.

Mick: Thanks for your response.
Your mention of Mr. Clayton's light-blue van 'might' go some way towards confirming my long-held belief that the mid-blue van shown here did belong to Mr. Clayton - just wait til I see 'em'. Well done.

Must say you can tell who is the ring leader in this 'terrible twosome'!

Don't tell 'em, Veronica, ... please.

Now then Ladies and Gentlemen please bare with me while I relate this story because I find no way of shortening it. When I was at school I sat next to a boy by the name of Alan Hurst whose father owned a bakery at Simms Lane End, when we left school in December 1957 Alan was to join his Dad on the bread van I was hoping for an electrical apprenticeship but without any success. Sadly a few months after leaving school Alan was drowned on Southport marshes so this job came up delivery boy on a bread van and me still without a job my mother persuaded me to take it which brings me to the van. Mr Hurst's van at the time was a Bedford similar to the one in the photo the driver was a man called Billy Edwards, Billy eventually bought the bread round from Mr Hurst and bought a new blue van but not the one in the photo ours had a full windscreen not a split screen. At the same time as all this there was a lady who delivered milk in a dark green Austin van her name was Elsie Alker from Alker's farm on Winstanley road she and Billy eventually married and soon took over the Simms lane end pub. there was also a fishmonger called Granville he had a light blue van his name may have been Clayton but I am not sure I do know that he and his wife took over the post office near the Grapes Hotel. Just to finish this story Billy and I where delivering one day in London Fields Billing I had gone to a house on the left Billy to the right when two small boys jumped in the van pretending to be Sterling Moss then one of them took the hand brake off and it began rolling down hill with me and Billy running after it, after about 50 yards Billy dove into the cab and yanked the brake on just before it was about to enter some ones front window. Sorry about the long winded story but the photo brought back so many memories.

Philip - I assume it would have been Mr Clayton Senior. The present Dick Clayton would have been a fresh faced lad of about fourteen when the photo was taken.

Mick: Yes, the young Dick Clayton, whom later became a Motocross competitor - I believe he'd been up there with the best of them. Since uploading my photo, I've noticed a brief mention of a butcher named Peter Clayton, so perhaps he was my mystery driver. I'll search further. Many thanks for your continued effort.

David: Losing your classmate Alan, at such a young age, was a real tragedy. I'm sure you have happy memories of him.
London Fields was also the scene for a runaway Craig's Pantry van, during The Sixties, the van ending its run set firmly alongside Mrs Unsworth's domicile. Craig's Pantry's vans were green; so, too, was the cabin's interloper, apparently.

Ah!, the dear Bedford CA van, I had three of these over a period of years. A 1954 10cwt model like the above, bought it when it was 10 years old for £20, got two years out of it before it fell apart. A 1960 single screen 15cwt, bought from a butcher up Pemberton way, took weeks to get rid of the beef smell. The last one was a deep screen 1.8 Perkins diesel version 'G reg 1968' it had 100,000 miles on the clock and still purred like a pussycat. The one thing they all had in common was -- they paid for themselves doing odd jobs around Wigan area. Saturday I took local groups to their gig's, Sundays a swimming club to Tyldesley baths and through the week I would get the odd removal on an evening, made a few shilings here and there, it helped to supplement the wages. Today a fully restored example will bring about £11,000 - amazing !!!.

Re: Comment by: David on 23rd October 2017 at 00:05

"there was a lady who delivered milk in a dark green Austin van her name was Elsie Alker from Alker's farm on Winstanley road she and Billy eventually married and soon took over the Simms lane end pub"

Was this Mellings Farm?

My family was in Mellings farm. Elsie was the daughter of Herbert and Ann. Herbert was the younger brother of my grandfather James Alker.

'I remember when pop was young' and local band Oggie and the Membranes used to go around in a van like that. It belonged to Stuart Kilshaw's (drummer) dad who was a butcher, it would have been 1965. The van was brand new and Stuart had to keep it immaculate. At some places such as Room at the Top club girls would write all over the van in lipstick which meant Stuart had a late night or should I say early morning cleaning it - after he had made a note of all their phone numbers of course!