Truckers North, truckers South - Leslie Purdon

In the late 1940s, Shay leaves school as soon as he can to become a trailer-boy on a Gardner truck that is noisy, cold and limited in speed. The driver, Fred, is one of the old school, a transport man through and through, who knows the best cafes and pubs and all the tricks of the trade. Shay soon comes to love this life on the road despite long hours and frequent absences from his home in Kent. In those days, lorries were less able to cope with bad weather. "Truckers North" includes a vivid account of the terrible winter of 1947 when twenty miles an hour was an achievement and the powerful vehicles were dangerous to handle. Shay encountered some lively characters: the drivers who worked, played and joked hard; the kindly landladies who provide a home from home; Rosy who awoke the man in the boy. Shay progressed in his career, moving on to become a driver himself and finally the proud owner of his own HGV.