GEORGE WILLMOTT

Latterly; Willmotts Transport (Wells) Ltd, Princes Road, Wells, Somerset

London Depot

The company had a London depot at Royal Mint Street, Aldgate E1, where there was an office and overnight parking for the lorries. This, the site of a large bombed-out building, had to be vacated when it was to be developed and they next moved to a location near King’s Cross station, which was shared with other west country hauliers such as; Tone Vale Transport, Taunton Meat Haulage and Messrs. Guest, Wood & Ling from Bath. Overnight accommodation for drivers was at the nearby small Crestfield Hotel, where they had by arrangement, use of the dormer room at the very top of the building as a bedroom with about eight beds. Later in the mid-1970s an office, shared by other haulage firms including Bayliss Transport, was used at 232 Harlington High Street, Harlington, Middlesex. From here loads would be obtained from Quaker Oats Ltd at Southall.

This would be delivered to Bayliss Transport at Pucklechurch, or Hadfields at Exeter. Babycham was transported from Showerings at Shepton Mallet to their Brentford depot, the Royal Docks, London and to Shipstones Star Brewery in New Basford, Nottingham. Also, to Dunn & Moore in Glasgow, John Smith’s, Tadcaster, the Vaux Brewery in Sunderland and the Federation Brewery, Dunston, Gateshead, back-loading with the Babycham empties and wood pulp from Hartlepool docks for St. Cuthbert’s paper mills and the Wansborough Paper Co. Ltd at Watchet. Another back-load from the north of England was long life milk from Dewsbury to Unigate in Walthamstow. Bank note paper from St. Cuthbert’s to Liverpool docks for export and court and legal paper for the Law Courts from Wiggins Teape in Fetter Lane in London. Back-loads were obtained from Clearing Houses such as Silver Roadways and included sugar from Tate & Lyle at Silvertown to their depots at Walford Cross, Taunton and Tavistock. Card paper from St. Cuthbert’s Paper Works to the Metal Box Co. factory at Great Guildford Street, Southwark