Bedford TK

[neil 524]

After driving Bedford Tk in the army a good few years ago I always wanted to own one of these lorrys.

I bought this Bedford about 3 years ago and only managed to drive it on the rd about half a dozen times.

She needed a fair bit of work to get her road worthy & I didn't really have the readies to do the work that she needed so the decision to shift her on was made.

She was registered as a Somerset truck & lived her life in Somerset for over twenty years when she moved to Berkshire for a few years until she came home to Somerset when I bought her & now she lives in Hertfordshire.

She was bought from me by a transport company and she was going to be restored for showing.

[Ian 2,417]

It's a shame you didn't keep the TK Neil, she would of made a fine Horse Hauler

Back in my younger days I remember seeing TK's everywhere, these days they are only at shows or have been converted to horse boxes..

[neil 524]

Ian, I wished I did keep it really as it was a nice truck , I remember being taken on the back of one when I was a little nipper , my nan used to take me Pea pickin in Kent , those were the days

[Charlie Smith 192]

My Great Great Nan, Great Nan and Nan and so on.. all done pea pickin in kent Neil, and down here in Sussex well all over the place really they too have told me story's about riding in the back of old pick up's (bedford J types etc) and the old TK's I guess times was a lot different back then now a days seems you're not allowed to have fun! Haha.

My uncle has a TK, currently undergoing a full restoration, he has hopes of showing it one day, there's a local iron yard here that still have a TK in service, lovely looking lorrys,

[Wristpin 400]

TKs, thems modern!  Drove ex army petrol O types - square bonnet and bull bar, hauling vining peas between field and stationary viners. No mobile ones in those days. Round the clock operation seven days a week . Great fun and good money in 1960!

[neil 524]

Pea picking in Kent was a local neighbour hood thing between my nan and a few other old ladies that lived in the street.

We used to travel from East London on the back of the Bedford TK & used to go through the Dartford Tunnel .

We would spend all day loading hessian sacks full of peas , stack them in big piles & then get them weighed at the end of the day .

Then we would travel back to East London calling in at a pub down near the Thames river were my nan would get me a half of bitter shandy and a packet of plain crisps .

The trip back sat on the back of the Bedford TK was the best bit for me . But not if it was raining.

[paul 64]

Nice truck, a friend of mine has one which was ex army, which was also four wheel drive and much higher up, suppose the height was because of the axles. He actually got it third hand as after military service it went to a turfing company because of the four wheel drive capability. Now the bed has been shortened and is taken up fully by a hiab crane as he is a steel erector. She smokes a bit but is still used regular.

Paul

[Mister Mad Mower 64]

Nephew owns a large sprayshop / blasting company ( you can drive a 40' hgv into the spray booth ) He restored a TK a few years ago , he still has the origonal army cab roof rack sitting on top of one of his containers as the owner did not require it for the Tk as it was for haulage work .