1924 Thornycroft BX Tipper

This was one of the participants in the Greater Manchester Historic Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally in Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1995.

It's a 1924 Thornycroft BX Tipper, and the programme of the event said this about it:

Thornycroft BX Tipper, 1924                                                                                       TC9816

Entered by          W.H Bowker Limited, Bamber Bridge, Preston

This vehicle was fitted with hydraulic tipping gear and was originally fitted with solid tyres and converted to pneumatic tyres during the 1930's. Withdrawn from service around 1960 and was restored in 1992 and is now finished in the correct period livery of William Bowker Ltd.

1967 Atkinson 'Silver Knight'

This was one of the entrants in the Greater Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally at Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1995.

It's a 1967 Atkinson 'Silver Knight' which has a Gardner 6LXB diesel engine. The programme of the event said this about the vehicle:

Atkinson "Silver Knight" T3046XB, 1967                                                  GBV759E

Entered by    C.J.Gardner for W.H.Bowker Limited, Bamber Bridge, Preston

Owned by the Company since new, this much travelled vehicle remains in original condition, the last engine overhaul having been undertaken in 1978.

Leyland Beaver TSC9

This was one of the entrants in the Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally in Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1998.

It's a 1934 Leyland Beaver TSC9 and was entered in the run by C.J. (Chris) Gardner of Oswaldtwistle, Lancs, but there's no other information about it in the programme of the event. The website of The Leyland Society says this about the vehicle though:

'1934 Beaver TSC9 Reg. ABP 481 Chassis No. 5244 Engine: Leyland 5.7 Ltr 4 cyl Diesel Gearbox: Leyland 4 speed manual 
An example of an early Leyland Beaver, this vehicle has been restored to represent the large number of Leylands operated by the famous haulage company W. H. Bowker Ltd. When the Bowker vehicles were nationalised by the Road Haulage Executive in 1949, the company fleet was 85 strong, the majority of them being Leylands. ABP 481 was acquired by W. H. Bowker Ltd in 1998 and has been the subject of an extensive restoration to return it to the livery used by the Company in the period immediately before the company was nationalised.'

On 16 February 2017 I showed a photograph of this and another W,H.Bowker vehicle (the Atkinson Silver Knight behind the Leyland here)  at this 1998 Rally.

W H Bowker Ltd

When I went to the Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rallies at Heaton Park, Manchester in the 1980s & 90s there were usually one or two lorries present bearing the name 'W H Bowker Ltd'. 1998 was no exception and here's a photograph I took at the rally in September of that year.

There's little information in the programme of the event about these lorries, other than that they were both entered in the rally by C J Gardner of Oswaldtwistle, Lancs. The one on the left is a 1967 Atkinson Silver Knight with a Gardner 6LXB diesel engine of 10½ litres producing 180hp. The lorry on the right is a 1934 Leyland Beaver TSC9.