1920's Surrey Sterilised Milk Company, prior to Express Dairy takeover (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1930's? College Farm delivery wagon complete with cow!
1956 1925 Sentinel Steam Waggon: from album showing 30 years of progress in transport fleet. (Express News July)
1920's College Farm and Frith Manor Farm Sentinel Steam lorry. (Express News Autumn 1975)
1920's A well-built chain-sided float body fitted with a substantial cab feature on this three-ton ‘RAF’ Leyland, dating from around the time that Walter Nell was appointed engineer and transport manager. The vehicle appears to have been decorated for a parade. (Courtesy The Express Dairy Motorised Fleet, Allan Bedford, Heritage Machines)
1930's Express Dairy Transport. Mike Overfield-Collins comments "Wow this a very rare beast now. It is a Sentinel Steam Waggon and the fact it is on solid tyres dates it from around 1925 to 1927. It usually takes an hour or two to fire up the boiler to generate the steam." (Courtesy Paul Smith)
1934 AEC Monarch box van, fitted with a four-cylinder, 80hp petrol-type AE163, chassis no 637073, fleet no 185, was registered on 27/7/34, BGO 490, at a total cost – including the in-house body – of £890. With a ULW of under five tons, a five-ton load could be carried. The last ‘rota overhaul’ in December 1943 cost £208, enabling this ‘veteran’ to soldier-on until September 1946, when it passed to the legendary Birds of Stratford, for £50. (Courtesy The Express Dairy Motorised Fleet, Allan Bedford, Heritage Machines)
1935 AEC Monarch (Express News Autumn 1975)
1939 This is something of a rarity, an AEC Mammoth Minor, chassis no 03662084, with engine no A173/1799. It was first registered in Leicester on 1/11/39, and purchased from Murphy Bros in the town in July 1944, for £3,500. This model was only listed between 1936 and 1940. In 1945, the box van body shown was built and fitted, and the cab repaired at cost of £389, followed by a mechanical overhaul at £609. In February 1947, it passed to Birds of Stratford, for £650 (Courtesy BCVM). (Courtesy The Express Dairy Motorised Fleet, Allan Bedford, Heritage Machines)
1956 1934 Bedford, used for egg transport: from album showing 30 years of progress in transport fleet. (Express News July)
1950's (before death of King George VI in 1953)
1950's (before death of King George VI in 1953)
1932 Express Dairy Transport (Courtesy Paul Smith)
1932 Express Dairy Transport (Courtesy Paul Smith)
1950's Cricklewood? (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1950's (Courtesy Michael Aldread)
1950? Vehicle from the Express Bakery in Highbury ,London (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1950's Rigid Truck (Courtesy Phillip Budd)
1950's Rigid Truck (Courtesy Richard Gaylard)
1945 A scene at Cricklewood bottling depot around late 1945 with, on the left, fleet no 594, AWO 298, a 12-ton Foden ‘DG’, first registered in Monmouth in April 1936, on chassis no 17024. It was purchased by the dairy in July 1943, from Fodens at Sandbach, for £1,751, with the box body being fitted at the end of the year at a further cost of £352. It passed to Birds at Stratford in March 1947, for £650. On the right, the ERF fleet no 605, GRB 939, on chassis no 2230, was first registered in Derby in August 1940. It was obtained from Murphy Bros of Leicester in August 1943, for £3,200, then received a new box body in December 1943, costing £378. Disposal followed in July 1947, again to Birds for £1,000. In the centre was perhaps a lone survivor of the many AECs to join the Express. This Mammoth Major, fleet no 293, chassis no 366099, DLM 480, was first registered in December 1936. At the time of its purchase, two Sentinel steamers, waggon nos 1581/82, fleet nos 37 & 38, were taken in part-exchange, at £20 each. (Courtesy The Express Dairy Motorised Fleet, Allan Bedford, Heritage Machines)
1945 Taken at Cricklewood, this shows another mixture of box vans lined up at Cricklewood. The attractive TSC18 Leyland Beaver on the left, was one of a number of these purchased in 1942. A second, petrol-engined Mammoth Major, fleet no 303, supplied in December 1936 is seen on the right, and wears diminutive wartime headlights. The Atkinson in the centre, however, has a large set, and was another second-hand purchase from Murphy Bros of Leicester. New on January 1st, 1938, chassis no FC514 was fitted with a Gardner 5LW no 40725, fleet no 604, FRF 492. It was purchased in August 1943 for £2,750, and sold to Birds of Stratford on 28/1/47, for £1,175. (Courtesy The Express Dairy Motorised Fleet, Allan Bedford, Heritage Machines)
1950's Dave Fane comments "Bedford, looks like Cricklewood. KGW 301, 1681"
1955 Seen at one of the many Lorry Driver of the Year competitions, this small Bedford supplied fruit and veg to the early Premier supermarkets, from their inception in 1955. Fleet no 1142 was new in June 1950, on chassis no OLAC142505, and was supplied by SMT Sales of Church Street, Carlisle, for £500, with the produce body adding a further £180. Disposal came in January 1959 to Hamptons, Fenstanton, for £110. (Courtesy The Express Dairy Motorised Fleet, Allan Bedford, Heritage Machines)
1956 Five ton Bedford at South Morden: from album showing 30 years of progress in transport fleet. (Express News July)
1950's Cricklewood (Courtesy Michael Aldread)
1950's Express Truck LYL 858, Fleet: 1198, with Raspberry Yogurt advertisement. (Courtesy Michael Aldread)
1950's Seaton Junction Produce Delivery (Courtesy Keith Sweetland)
1950's Lansing Bagnall pallet stacker makes light work of this fragile load at Express Dairies. Dave Fane comments "The lorry is a Bedford TA, new in 1953 and sold or scrapped in 1961"
1950's NLE 105 Co: 1389, Cricklewood
1950's Croydon High Street with Express Delivery Truck. Allan Dawes suggests "As it's got milk on, it must be backing into the depot. The left side of the road is still the same but right side has all gone". (Courtesy Inside Croydon)
1950's Rigid Truck (Courtesy Richard Gaylard)
1950's Rigid Truck OGT 918, Co: 1491 (Courtesy Richard Gaylard)
1950's Truck, Fleet No: 1618 (Courtesy Michael Aldread)
1950's Unloading on rollers. (Courtesy Richard Gaylard)
1954 Registered, Dave Fane comments "Commer new in 1954-PJJ 380, 1850"
1950's Delivery Van (Courtesy Michael Aldread)
1950's? Vehicle allocated to Express Dairy (Northern), but location unknown.
1954 Seen when new, this attractive Bedford ‘A’ Series, chassis no A5LCG28490, engine no A4/A525797, was registered on March 8th, 1954, as OXT 252. Just 17 days later, it received a diesel transplant at an additional cost of £310. Sold in October 1961 to T&F Motors, it raised just £58. (Courtesy The Express Dairy Motorised Fleet, Allan Bedford, Heritage Machines)
1955 Dave Fane comments "PYO 986 is fleet number 1798, new in 1955. Think it is up on the blocks so the milk will roll to the back on rollers to be unloaded. Horse carts on left side. Location unknown.
1950's Express Supermarkets delivery truck ?GF 764, Co: 1377. (Courtesy Richard Gaylard)
1950's Seaton Junction Produce Delivery (Courtesy Keith Sweetland)
1950's Egg Transport - Eggs for London. (Courtesy Keith Sweetland)
1950's Egg Transport James Ayres comments "The stately AEC with a coachpainted number over each headlight (2456) is probably a Mercury built during the mid 1950s with a variety of engine options. It was the smallest of the AEC range." Phillip Budd comments "I remember these wagons coming to Crediton, as to what they were doing there I can't remember. The drivers were very friendly guys. We got talking about his lorry, for it seemed there were only two of them on the fleet with this door image. (Courtesy Keith Sweetland)
1950's Seaton Junction Produce Delivery (Courtesy Keith Sweetland)
1950's Minsterley. "Jeff Cartright" (Courtesy Joe Lyons)
1950's Minsterley. Patrick Taylor comments "The chocolate crumb was used to make a product for Rowntrees, that department finished around 1962/3. The chocolate crumb was like chocolate fudge before it was baked and ground into powder. Often used to go down with Dad and get a bag 😛. Transport was Lewis Bros, their depot was next door to the Minsterley factory." Alec Liz Williams adds "My Dad Reg Carswell worked for Lewis Brothers" (Joe Lyons Collection)
1950's Minsterley. Patrick Taylor comments "The chocolate crumb was used to make a product for Rowntrees, that department finished around 1962/3. The chocolate crumb was like chocolate fudge before it was baked and ground into powder. Often used to go down with Dad and get a bag 😛. Transport was Lewis Bros, their depot was next door to the Minsterley factory." Alec Liz Williams adds "My Dad Reg Carswell worked for Lewis Brothers" (Joe Lyons Collection)
1950's Minsterley. (Joe Lyons Collection)
1950's? Believed to be Bollo Lane, Acton. (Courtesy Paul Smith)
1950's Bollo Lane (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1950's Chatsworth Dairy. Bedford SWE 622. (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1950's Bollo Lane (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1950's Bollo Lane (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1950'S Commer, Chatsworth Dairy. (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1950's South Morden (Courtesy Craig Wells)
1953 Bedford O Express Dairy Whitehall (Courtesy NA3T)
1960's Egg Collection vehicle (Courtesy Paul Luke)
1950's Express Shop. Roger Frost comments "That’s a 7 ton BMC FE used for deliveries to the retail shops. It would have had a double deck body with a tail lift. Express Dairy were, I believe, one of the first companies to use a double deck vehicle like this at that time. Hard to estimate the actual year, the FEs were produced from the mid to the late 1950s. I will estimate that it’s between the years 1958 and 1962.
1950's Produce Delivery service Reg: VLH 172 (Courtesy Dairy Commercial Vehicles FB Group)
1950's? PJJ 395 Produce Delivery
1960's Marshall's Dairies GLM 312C Commer Carrier Truck. (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1960's Refrigerated unit, 436 DYH Co: 2875
1960's Premier Supermarkets (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1960's Independent Wholesale Dairies (I.W.D.) made bulk bottle milk deliveries from Cricklewood dairy. (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1960's? Eden Vale delivery truck. (Courtesy Michael Aldread)
1964 Reg Produce Delivery Service Reg: AUU 727B, Fleet 3116. (Courtesy Michael Aldread)
1964 Reg Produce Delivery Service Reg: AUU 727B, Fleet 3116. (Courtesy Michael Aldread)
1964 Reg Produce Delivery Service Reg: AYO 439B, Fleet 3146. (Courtesy Michael Aldread)
1960's? Front loading bay, South Morden dairy (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1960's Low height Bedford TK, similar to the lorry that delivered bottled milk to the depot in Purley, Surrey, which had a low archway. The depot area and the Express shop front next door are still there today, although the shop front is bricked over (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1960? Vehicle allocated to Express Dairy (Northern), but location unknown.
1960's Bedford Rigid, 471 CYW, Co: 2663 (Courtesy Richard Gaylard)
1960's Morris LMT 570C Ski Van at Haywards Heath. (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1963 Austin FF/FH Express Dairy Northampton LDY 1963 (Courtesy NA3T)
1964 BMC FGK30, at South Ruislip (Courtesy NA3T/ Michael Aldread)
1960's Marshall's Dairies Commer Truck GLM 312C, Co Reg: 3363, (Courtesy Wes Garlic)
1965 Morris Rigid EUL 803C
1968 Reg flatbed truck (Courtesy Michael Aldread)
1970's Ski Delivery 1969 Reg YGH 653G at South Ruislip. Tony Smith comments "We had one in this unusual livery at Rossmore Rd depot in 1969/70 - all of the others were the more traditional blue & White". (Courtesy Dave Fane)
Exeter Exhibition Way, 1976 Bedford TK being loaded.(Courtesy Ray Hall, Exeter Memories FB Group)
1980's Dodge Truck, FWE 384V Broadfield Road, Sheffield.
1982 Cliffords Dairies delivery vehicle, Ford (Courtesy Grantley Kingscott)
1982 Reg Leyland Freighter Rigid, in Eden Vale livery. (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1986 Reg Mercedes Refrigerated Van D522 BLT at Fratton depot, Portsmouth. (Courtesy Dave Fane)
1987 Reg Leyland Express Catering Foods E390 FLB
1994 Reg DAF 45 Breakdown Truck M859 RFV
1998 Reg Volvo Express Food Service (Courtesy Michael Aldread)
1999 Reg Food Service Refrigerated Mercedes Rigid T747 JLL (Courtesy Dave Fane)
2000 Food Service Vehicle (Courtesy Paul Luke)
2003 Reg DX03 AVK (Courtesy Michael Aldread)
2004 Food Service delivery, in St Martin’s Le Grand near St Paul’s. Noel comments "I was based at Ruislip at the time". (Courtesy Noel Keady)
