NEWPORT’S FINEST

I first interviewed John Wynn at his home in April ’88 for a feature that later appeared in Truck & Driver magazine. I can still recall the huge beaming smile on his face back then as he told me how he’d brought his life full circle in that he was back earning a crust doing something he loved – yes, driving a truck. Aged 55 years old, there wasn’t much that this native of Newport hadn’t seen / done in virtually every aspect of road haulage in places as far apart as South Wales, Sudan, China and the Falkland Islands. And of course he loved to wax lyrical about all things Wynn’s; all things haulage – especially the heavy stuff – and all sorts of things in life. John was someone who was gifted with a great memory and his distinctive soft Welsh ‘musical’ lilt of a voice was always a joy to listen to as he passionately told the tale.

It wasn’t all sunshine and light of course – and yes, his face did blacken as I pressed him on some of the finer details which were even then still running sores. Six years earlier – in 1982 – he had felt obliged to hand in his resignation when Wynn’s owners (Bulwark United Group / BET) said they were closing down its beating heart of Newport to re-locate its HQ to Stafford. Doing that, they said, would take them closer to their biggest GEC customer. The corporate oversight reckoned that was the only way to stem the slide of erosion going through the ultra heavy haulage world. But of course