Rugby & District Historic Transport Studies Group

Long gone are the days of doorstep deliveries, Remember milkmen and the sound of electric milk floats and clinking bottles at 5 am?

Or bread men?

Milkmen with their wire bottle holders and bread men with their wicker baskets full of Tin loafs, bloomers and Cottage loaves, all now are sadly a thing of the past. 

My father William John Bird worked for Mothers Pride Bread in and around Quinton.

Dad lost his left hand during the Second World War, and worked for a time at Selly Oak Hospital in the laundry, in fact it was here that he met my mother Joan.

My Mother always said that I wanted to work from a young age and tells a story of when I was very young I disappeared from the back garden and despite a search she could not find me.

When my father got home the search was  broadened and I was found perched a number of feet up on the scaffolding of Dunedin House which was being built eating sandwiches with one of the builders.

The Builder, Vic his name was, told her that I had climbed up and I had asked if I could help!

I was 5 or 6 at the time, and was told I could go again, after repeating my vanishing act another 2 or 3 times, if Vic helped me up, but not to do it on my own……Mothers!!!!

When I was about 7 or 8 years old I started to help dad {though help was a debatable description!} on Saturday mornings, sometimes getting up at 3 am for 10 bob! Health and safety would have kittens!

My sister Janet and my younger Brother Brian have all done this.

At the time bread deliveries by Mothers Pride were made using Austin J2A’s with light alloy box backs with racking inside.

The Drivers had to use long poles with hooks on the end to drag the trays from the back, however if the trays skipped off the rails it was nearly impossible to get them without crawling in, a task I seemed to do a lot!

 I remember that under the passenger seat was a strap that when pulled a small basin would drop down, complete with tap! However the water supply came from the Radiator and was always red hot!

I was born and lived in Welsh House Farm Road until the age of 10, so I used to meet dad at various places like War Lane, Quinton Road West or Victoria Road and from there we would finish off his round.

The Welsh House Farm Road of today was very different, beyond Rilstone Road was Welsh House Farm and its orchard that was always being scrumped!

When the road was extended and Longham Croft was built, Dad delivered the Bread to the builder’s canteen, I think that was the first time I had ever seen so much toast, Tea and bacon butties!

I have to say that the Tea was probably the best I have ever tasted.

Back to bread, One day in Moreton Close Dad pulled up with the van facing downhill pulled on the hand brake with his right hand and hopped out of the van to collect payment, as I gazed out of the passenger side window I could see that the van had started moving!

I jumped into the drivers seat (No Seat Belts back then) and started to steer the van out of the way of parked cars while standing on the brake pedal, No servo assisted brakes back then and I weighed about 2 lbs when wet!

 I managed to miss all the parked cars on the way down and even managed to turn right on to Wisley Way, missed a Jaguar of some kind but clipped a Fiat that mounted the curb and ended up in front of the flats, but it stopped the van, I looked into the side mirror to see my father running around the corner with his white coat and cash bag flapping wildly, and at the same time Fiat’s owner was shouting at me through the now open passenger door.

When he got to the van my dad asked me why I had not pulled on the hand brake!!!!

Bread was in wax paper wrappers, and often this would pop open on the tray or in the basket, but I remember tucking a loaf under one arm, charging down Hunslet Road, knocking on a door only to find that I had 3 or 4 slices of bread left in the wrapper, the rest were laid in a neat line on the ground back to the van!

One Saturday dad was delivering to one house in Blandford Road and I was 2 or 3 doors away, when the van set off in the direction of West Boulevard!

Dropping his basket Dad set off in hot pursuit and caught up to it, that day we were introduced to a new and growing problem car theft!

However the thief was a school friend of mine who could not get the van into 2^nd gear, the local bobby (Remember them?) was called and my friend (Who will remain nameless) was give a firm clout around the ear and dragged home to get more of the same from his parents.

In fact this family were well known and my friend’s sister always wore roller skates and would always hang off the back of the van as we pulled away!

One of my favourite places to deliver was Dorchester Drive where a lovely family lived, however it was their visitors that I was interested in.

A woman From Northfield Road would often be there with her young son Tony and Daughter Debbie who had long dark hair and a fantastic smile. Life got better when a Woman 2 doors away from them had her bread delivered, I then had 2 chances to see her. Years later we married for 15 years and we had 2 wonderful  daughters of our own, In fact my first Grandson is named after my father.

There was another family on Lower White Road who always asked us in for a cup of tea when cold or a cool drink in the summer, but they had a Chow dog that for some reason took a dislike to me and would always growl when I was there. If they were out we left the bread in the front porch and the chow would run at the front door baking fit to burst and bounce of the wooden panel at the bottom of the door.

One summer I approached the house, opened the front door to find that the owners had a new inner door, all glass! In horror I watched the chow charge down the hall way and smash through the glass!

Without thinking I shouted at the dog to “Sit Down” and to my astonishment it did, and from that day on it was my best friend.

Mothers Pride would set up sales competitions usually for new lines. One year Nimble was the big thing and Dad won, his prize was a watch that he gave to me, and I am glad to say that I still have the watch.

This was a portent and over the next year these competitions were more frequent and the gaps between houses were getting longer.

Before too long Mothers Pride found it hard to compete with  Shops and the ever increasing Supermarkets, so they started to deliver to them instead, so Dad started a new round delivering to shops in the Wallsel area.