THE FAMILY FODEN
As soon as he was old enough to get his licence, Andrew Shorrock drove a Gardner 6LW-engined Atkinson for his father’s cotton business. After its working life, he restored it, although it’s no longer in his possession. Together with a Fowler steam roller, he went on to restore other trucks – all with Gardner diesels.
For Andrew, Gardners are an even greater love than trucks. With his son Elliot, he has restored a collection of Patricroft’s finest, all in polished-perfect, exhibition standard, full working order. What the family hasn’t owned in recent years is a truck.
That changed in 2016. Elliot Shorrock was asked by an acquaintance, John Walton, if he would chop down a dead tree. Very much an outdoorsman, Elliot today runs a large livery stable. During his career through, he has had stints driving HGVs. Father and son are close, so Elliot is equally infected by his dad’s interest in Britain’s commercial vehicle heritage.
Next to the tree to be felled was an open-sided barn. Inside, half buried under years of clutter, a derelict truck aroused Elliot’s curiosity. Closer inspection revealed it to be a two-axle Foden FG6/14, registration AAB 499A, with – to his surprise – a four-door cab. It didn’t strike him as being an aftermarket conversion either. Some barn find…
A follow-up visit was arranged. Andrew went along, too. They managed to get the Foden towed
