At the time, my recollections of this vehicle with my local brigade in Gateshead was an appliance which had only been issued with a roof-mounted wooden ladder and such a small appliance looked a little incongruous with a huge, 50ft John Morris Ajax escape ladder slung on its tail. Model manufacturer’s ‘poetic licence’ I thought, but I was to be proved wrong when I recollected a story from my own life.
In 1961, a certain young lad had just moved ‘over the water’ from Newcastle to Gateshead. At the tender age of nine and still in short pants, he had continued his passionate interest in commercial vehicles after spending the previous three years watching trucks pass along the Coast Road leading to Tynemouth and Whitley Bay.
Yes, this is autobiographical again. My parents encouraged my interest as it had been a difficult and emotional move for me, leaving behind special friends and a life which I had enjoyed. Fortunately, I had 18 months at a small private school in Gateshead while I waited for the eleven-plus to catch up with my age. These
