IN DEPTH
Memories of 'Model Milk' - it seems you either loved or hated it... some thoughts of those who lived in Bradford about sterilised milk - remembered to this day as 'Model Milk'
1930's "Bradford Model's pioneer Wilfred Lowe would find little diffculty in recognising the original extension" (Express News Christmas 1976)
1930's "Bradford Model's pioneer Wilfred Lowe would find little diffculty in recognising the original extension" (Express News Christmas 1976)
1934c Bradford Model Dairy 2000 gallon demountable tank and flat-wagon. LNER Wagon1734, in chocolate brown livery. Phil Baxter "Can anyone remember the milk train that ran along and above Bowling Back Lane to the Model Milk dairy-it became a scrap yard in the 70s?" (Courtesy Matthew Pinto, Milk on the Rails)
1950 Map of Express Dairy Co. locations. Appleby, Bideford, Billingshurst, Bradford, Chester, Chesterfield, Dewsbury, Egham, Faringdon, Frome, Horam' Greater London (2 Farms, 5 Bottling Centres, 116 Retail Branches, 250 Dairy Shops), Leyburn, Midlands (Wholesale Depots, Milk Bottling Dairies, Retail Branches, Milk Delivery, Cheese Factories, Milk Collection), Rowsley, Seaton Junction, Sheffield, Tarvin (Courtesy Alan Salt)
1952 Bradford Model Dairy featured in The Dairyman magazine. Express bought the part-completed new dairy from Craven Dairy and then finished it to their own specifications. (Courtesy Paul Luke)
1954 Aerial shot of Laisterdyke, Bradford, with Bradford Model Dairy arrowed, 'Model' on the chimney. The bottling plant opened in 1926 and was acquired by Express in the 1950's; a new dairy was opened in 1951. (Courtesy Matthew Pinto, Milk on the Rails, Photo: C.H. Wood)
1957 Laisterdyke Dairy, Bradford (From 1:1250 OS Map, published 1958, National Library of Scotland)
2024 Laisterdyke Creamery Chimney still visible in Bradford
1952 - Bradford Model Dairy's new dairy opens in White Abbey Road. Described in the Bradford Observer - Tuesday 27 May. (Courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD)
1952 Transcript of Bradford Observer article abou the opening of the new Bradford Model Dairy.
1952 Transcript of Bradford Observer article abou the opening of the new Bradford Model Dairy.
1952 The new Bradford Dairy plant in White Abbey Road was opened on 27th May by the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Alderman John Shee. Walter Nell was also in attendance. Bradford Observer, 28 May. Anne Cullerton comments "John Shee was my uncle". (Courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD)
1957 New Bradford Dairy, White Abbey Road. Pen & ink drawing of Bradford Dairy
1957 New Bradford Dairy in White Abbey Road (From 1:1250 OS Map, published 1958, National Library of Scotland)
1957 Review of Northern Region people and activities. (Express News March)
1957 Bradford and Manorcroft Dairy, Dewsbury
1957 Review of Northern Region people and activities. (Express News March)
1960's? Express float on Little Horton Lane, Bradford...Chester Street Bus station on the left. (Courtesy Brian Tasker, Memories of Bradford FB Group)
1962 Bradford Model Dairy tractor unit on Christmas duty for Busby's Department Store. (Express News Spring)
1964 New Bradford Dairy, White Abbey Road. Susan Green comments "My dad Cyril Donkin was the processing manager there and he also used to take school children round to see the working dairy. His office was at the front of the dairy. I used to go and see Dorothy in the lab and watch her testing the milk. Happy days. Dad received a silver cigarette box for 25 years service and a gold watch for 30 years service. We moved from Batley to Bradford when he got the job, which came with the house we lived in. My parents went on to buy the house from the dairy when my dad left there." (From Express Story 1864 - 1964)
1964 Express Dairy, White Abbey Road, Bradford. Carole Goodwin commented "Collected milk for my dad’s milk round from there during school holidays when I helped him. Then when older and driving used to cover for him when he had his very infrequent holidays. 7 days a week job as not many families had ‘fridges then!!". Andrew Hall added "My dad and uncles were milkmen working from there. Derek, Leonard, Les and Maurice Hall. Prior to this they worked out of the arches at the Foster Square station." Margaret Trence remembered "My dad worked there... used to have Christmas parties for the kids. Think was at the Russian club. We loved it, Santa and a present-about 1960." (Courtesy Antony Partridge, Memories of Bradford FB Group)
1970's? Glenn Stratten comments "Who remembers these, easy to nick a bottle on way to school..lol." Tommy Hoban comments "Remember leaving school and going to work for Express Dairy at their garage on Sunbridge Road. Worked on the Wales and Edwards three-wheelers. Fibreglass cabins-horrible itchy stiff to work with." (Courtesy Glenn Stratten, Memories of Bradford FB Group)
1974 Bradford supervisor Les Speight presents Bryce Benson (Bradford Model Dairy head). (Express News Summer)
1900's Bradford Midland Station Yard - Scott's Dairies
1904 Bradford Midland Station Yard - Scott's Dairies
1900's Bradford Midland Station Yard - Scott's Dairies
1976 Bradford Model Dairy celebrates 50 years
1976 Bradford Model Dairy 50th Anniversary. (Express News Christmas)
1976 Bradford Model Dairy celebrates 50 years
1976 Bradford Model Dairy celebrates 50 years
1976 Bradford Model Dairy celebrates 50 years
1976 Bradford milkman Derek Hall found an abandoned baby on his round. (Express News Summer)
1976 Bryce Benson with his management team, L-R: plastic sales enthusiast John Woodhall, dairy chief Syd Mason, shop sales king Alan Stead, and office boss Tom Battersby. (Express News Christmas)
1976 Raymond Broadbent, who previously ran his own property-repairing business, watches over one of the twin French 'Sidel' blow-moulding machines. Working on a 2-shift basis, these churn out plastic 'pinties' at roughly 80 a minute, with tops trimmed, the bottles are blown several hundred yards into a huge net silo above the stacking and filling complex. (Express News Christmas)
1976 No 2 Dairy filling line, nearest the camera: ex-miner and former Coldstream Guardsman Arthur Senior and, further back, Harry Griener who, with true Yorkshire grit, has taken a few major eye operations in his stride. (Express News Christmas)
1976 General Office Staff, L-R: Receptionist Christine Spence, Mary Chadwick and Mrs Irene Wild. Diane Allen comments "Quite a few of these people were still at Bradford Model when I joined in 83. Bryce (who actually had moved on to Wakefield I believe, but was married to my boss so still seen around), Tom, Arthur, Harry, Mary & Irene." (Express News Christmas)
1976 Mrs Edith Manley joined us in 1962 as a crater. Now a scrutiniser, she was appointed the depot's Union representative 18 months ago. In our picture she is seen handing over a CWS 'stray' to Dennis Kelly, an enthusiastic rabbiter when not in day-to-day control of No 1 Dairy. (Express News Christmas)
1976 Two Hebron sisters pictured in the diminutive canteen. Jean, the younger (left), supervises the Lab with Dorothy (Mrs Pipe) as a part-time underling. In the background, Stanley Sparks, with a mere 48 years to his credit, shares a table with Chief Engineer Harry McMahon, while canteen assistant Mrs Maureen Gill hands out an inexhaustible supply of tea. Diane Allen comments "Yet more memories unlocked-Jean Benson (nee Hebron) was in charge of the lab when I started there, with her younger sister, Margaret, as her deputy. Loved the Kelly brothers, all fantastic people." (Express News Christmas)
1976 The well worn autoclaves of No 1 Dairy, with Rotatruk operator Albert Crossley. The 60-foot sterilising cylinder was imported as a bulky whole across the English Channel. (Express News Christmas)
1976 The Hydrolock installation, where three people supervise a continuous process. Facing the camera: dairy foreman Stanley Leese (right) and recently married chargehand Philip Hindson. (Express News Christmas)
1976 Bradford's Derek Hall, a father of three, heard cries from a tiny bundle lying beside the side door of a church in the early hours of a particularly cold morning. An active 31, Derek was already half-an-hour ahead on his round, and it was matter of seconds before he had the bundle - 'My name is Tara. I am 5½ months old' according to the note attached. Pictured here with his unofficial mate in Bradford Childrens' Hospital, Derek declared 'I never expected to deliver a baby'. 'Well done', and at the same time sympathise with supervisor Peter Stubbs who was forced to take over the round for a while. Lisa Hall comments "This was my Dad, sadly passed away nearly 23 years ago. I remember the reporters coming to the house and a short news report on Look North." Adie Mandy Mclear added "Uncle Derek, my mom’s brother." Hayley Mclear "This is my Uncle Derek 🥰. There was an article in the Telegraph & Argus, also a piece on local news. He was my Mum's brother & we spent a lot of our childhood with him and his family." (Express News Summer)
1977 Stanley Sparks retires from Bradford Model Dairy after 49 years, with Irene Wild, John Woodhall, Bryce Benson, Alan Stead, Les Broughton, Les Brannon and Derek Button. (Express News Summer)
1977 Stanley Sparks, former ice cream delivery merchant, moved effortlessly from sterilised milk to supervision and stayed with us for 49 years. His farewell gift would seem to be a transistor radio presented (L to R) by Bradford Model Milk chums: Irene Wild, John Woodhall, Bryce Benson, Alan Stead, Les Broughton, Les Brannon and Derek Button. (Picture from Bradford Telegraph & Argus, Express News Summer)
1977 Bradford Model Dairy dairyhand and driver Herbert Simms retires after 51 years. (Express News Autumn)
1977 Herbert Simms chalked up 51 years' service. Seen here, clutching an electric hedge trimmer, he joined us on leaving school and remained a pillar of our Bradford Model Dairy from first to last. As a dairy hand and driver he earned the friendship and respect of his colleagues who stood him a slap-up feast at 'The Shoulder of Mutton', Batley Carr. Mrs Simms was presented with a bouquet and the Company came across with a cheque. (Express News Autumn)
1978 Bradford clerk Jayne Radley qualifies as F.A. Referee. (Express News Summer)
1978 Jayne Radley, a clerk at Barnsley depot receiving some well deserved congratulations on becoming a fully-fledged F.A. referee. She does in fact play for a nearby ladies football team and is an ardent supporter of Manchester United. Jayne at 19 must be one of the youngest refs in the country and passed her exams with flying colours. Shaking her hand is district secretary George Deakin who speaks well of the two women referees already beginning to make a name for themselves in Class 3 of the Sheffield area. (Express News Summer)
1978 Northern Region float wins at Bradford and Chesterfield. (Express News Autumn)
1980's Bradford Model Dairy, Sterilised and Flavoured milk transport in plastic bottles. (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1980's Bradford Model Dairy, Sterilised and Flavoured milk transport in plastic bottles. (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1980's Bradford Model Dairy, Sterilised and Flavoured milk transport in plastic bottles. (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1980's Bradford Model Dairy, Sterilised and Flavoured milk transport in plastic bottles. Keith Goodby comments "Bradford had the first plastic line, can’t remember when it was installed but it was operating in 1980 when I joined as part of the team installing the plastic line at Cricklewood. I used to love going to ‘Model’ as it was known locally. Really friendly team on site with a great knowledge of the process and equipment. Only problem was the smell of the lanolin extraction factory next door!!". Linda Clow adds "we used a machine called the Hydrolock - originally from the canning industry I believe." (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1984 Bradford Flavoured Milk
1984 Bradford Flavoured Milk
1984 Bradford Flavoured Milk
1984 Colin Sutcliffe, chargehand mechanic in the garage, is one of three, together with an office girl, who keep the wheels turning in Bradford. 'We look after the wagons here and at Bradford Retail,' he explained. The term 'wagons' covers a multitude of wheeled equipment, from large road vehicles to fork lift trucks. Colin and his colleagues do all their own repairs on the 30 vehicles which are their responsibility. In addition, they have been making aluminium stillages and tracking for inside vehicles — hence the welding equipment and visor he is equipped with in our picture. Married, with a 15-month-old son, Colin has been with Express Dairy for 18 years. He admits that his life is less active than it was a few years ago, when he played squash and rode motorbikes in competitions. His recreation now is to go out for a pint each night and also do a little gardening. His passion for motor sports is undiminished, however, his interest, as a spectator, took him to Le Mans two years ago. (Express News Spring)
1984 John Wigglesworth, chargehand on the labelling machine, has been with Express for 10 years. Hy used to be a spray painter but had to give up the job when he lost a lung. Knowing people who worked at the Bradford Dairy, he applied for a job and now watches over a new machine which can stick labels on bottles of flavoured or sterilised milk at the rate of 200 a minute. John, who is married with a grown-up son and daughter, has one thing in common with everyone else we spoke to at Bradford. He says he has little interest in television - the only recreation he has is decorating the house. (Express News Spring)
1984 Derrick Button, a relief driver, posed for his photograph with a fork lift truck. But it could have been a much larger vehicle because his job involves driving all types except Class I (articulated lorries). The working day starts for Derrick at 6 am and, depending on the requirements, he could be heading for Newcastle, Birmingham, or numerous other places within a 120 miles radius. Or he could be helping out with a fork lift truck in the dairy, taking pallets of flavoured drinks to the stores area, ready for distribution. A fellow driver, Adrian Nash, is Derrick's son-in-law. He is married to one of Derrick's two daughters, and the two men like to play snooker together. Derrick's interest in the game goes back over many years — long before TV made it so popular. Now he finds it difficult at times to get a table in his local club, but he still manages to play three times a week. Derrick has been with Express Dairy for 22 years. (Express News Spring)
1984 Les Hays, chargehand in the blow moulding area, with a handful of granules — 18g to be precise—which is all that is required to make the bottle he is holding in the other hand. Les, who has been with Express Dairy for eight years, works a 12-hour day shift, from 8 am to 8 pm. The blow moulders work around the clock; the raw plastic being fed into them from a 40 tonne silo. They gobble up two tonnes of granules each day, and produce 120,000 bottles. The new blow moulder will greatly increase that output. The bottles, once made, are blown by compressed air along tubes to the bottle fillers. Most of his colleagues wear ear protectors. Les's solution to the noise problem, caused by the grinders, is cotton wool, because he finds it much more comfortable. Away from his job, Les — a married man with a son, 19, and daughter, 22 — 1ikes to visit places of interest and take photographs. His face may look familiar to wrestling fans, he used to wrestle as an amateur and a professional in Bradford. He was a lightweight in those days, weighing in at nine stone 12 ounces. (Express News Spring)
1984 Mary Boyle, second office clerk, shows us what it's all about. The banana flavoured low fat milk drink she is tasting has been carefully processed, blended, bottled, labelled and packaged by a team of 70 employees, each playing a different but important role in the dairy. Mary is one of four working in the Bradford general office, where her duties include looking after telesales, which she feeds into the computer through a VDU link on a daily basis. She has been with Express for eight years. Mary had been unemployed for just six weeks after leaving school before finding the Express Dairy job through an employment agency. Husband Garry, to whom she has been married for 4 years, usually drops her at the office each morning but Mary hopes soon to be able to drive herself to work. She is having driving lessons but admits she still gets nervous. At home, Mary likes to 'attempt knitting' and read thrillers. She's an Agatha Christie fan and she likes Ed McBain's books too. She's also a crossword addict. 'I try to do the Yorkshire Post crossword every day. (Express News Spring)
2000 Reg Bradford Model Dairy Leyland DAF 50, 4-Wheel Fridge Box Van, W503 RRJ (Courtesy Thelonius Monk)
2013 Shipley former electrician Ian Raistrick was suffering from mesothelioma and looking for colleagues from Laisterdyke dairy site in the 1960’s (Telegraph & Argus)
2020's Remains of Forster Square Station Yard. Frank Harrison commented "Express Dairies had a Depot there where I worked on occasions".(Courtesy Frank Harrison, Memories of Bradford FB Group)
2024 Bradford Model Dairies, Bradford Lane, BD3 8LS 'Pointsnorth1' posted on Reddit.com: "I spotted an interesting looking mill tower today whilst driving through the centre and took a little detour to find it. It's just off Leeds Road, off Ing Street/Bradford Lane."
2025 Memories of 'Model Milk' in Bradford. Page 1. (Express Dairy Tales publication)
