PETROLEUM TRANSPORT COMPANY

The Petroleum Transport Company operated from premises at number 3O Summerhill Road for many years which was used to distribute both Petroleum products and heating oils. I will have to try and write to David Rutter again, as perhaps he knows Eddie Gibbons from The Petroleum Transport Co’s address in Mill Hill. I will have to ask Cissy Minter if she can remember his surname (Cissy Minter once lived at number 32 Summerhill Road, which is next door to the depot and also the house once occupied by the ‘Viney’ family. She must be approaching 90 years of age and still lives at number 37 Summerhill Road- Now Know it was Eddie Gibbons) I do have an address for John Towell in North Harrow who took over from Eddie when he retired about 10-11 years ago. I once did some work at John's house but I am not sure if he still lives there.

THIS PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS THE FORMER ENTRANCE TO THE GARAGE AT 30 SUMMERHILL ROAD

Eddie was in the office for Petroleum Transport in Braemar Road, Tottenham (Just off West Green Road) and when they bought Smylies Garage in Philip Lane he went there. When Dudley Bellamy died I believe they sold the business to Proteus Petroleum Transport, who then sold both sites in Summerhill Road (Number 30 and 38/40) and then the garage in Philip Lane. They also sold the depot they had in the railway yard at Palace Gates (Alexandra Palace-Wood Green) they then moved the drivers (Only 4 of them) to the Proteus depot at Shellhaven. They also bought out Adams Heating Oil Transport in Southgate. Proteus was a Greek owned company who sold all the assets that Dudley had. This included Wilson’s Garage in Lansdowne Road Tottenham, Clapps Garage, which was near the ‘Spurs’ public house on The Roundway, Tottenham. They also had another garage somewhere, which was sold.

I can recall that Dudley had a really old Petrol Tanker in Smylies garage, which the Bellamy family had kept as it was vintage, but they (Proteus) scrapped about another ten old tankers, which were garaged at 38/40 Summerhill. I think Dudley was keeping them also for vintage, but he died before they came of age. He was a really nice man. I also knew most of the staff and drivers at Petroleum Transport.

Its also interesting to note that the Petroleum Transport depot at Palace Gates was geared up to take Petrol and Heating Oils delivery directly from the rail tankers. The company used to deliver Heating Oils direct to the houses. They had lots of runs into Bedfordshire, and when they were empty they re-filled from another big supply depot in the Bedford area, which enabled them to make more deliveries before returning home.

So the story could be as big as Horseshoe’s. They both had strong links to this area.

Ray Swain
5th Jan 2004

Editors Note: To complement this story we have also received the following information from Fred Hardy who once lived next door to the depot at number 28 Summerhill Road.

"When you research the Petroleum Transport Company, try to find Mr. Reggie Downs, Mr. Charlie Mallows and Mr. White. They were all drivers for the company for many years. In WW II Reggie served as a Commando, Charlie served as a bren gun carrier driver. Both saw considerable action. Mr. Bellamy the owner had a son Dudley and a daughter. The PT Company later moved to a new location somewhere along off Philip Lane I believe near Greyhound Rd."

Fred Hardy also recalls his memories at the outbreak of war in 1939:

fred_hardy_1939.jpg (13814 bytes)

This photograph shows me as a 3 year old sitting on one of the Petroleum Transport trucks at 30 Summerhill Road. I think it was taken on the day war was declared or very near to that date. I have been told that as a 3 year old I walked from the garage into our kitchen and said to my mum

" Now we have to fight the Germans because of those bloody Poles". Needless to say my mum reprimanded me for blaspheming. It appears I had been listening to the truck drivers conversation after war was declared

(Note: The original owner of the Petroleum Transport Company was W.R Bellamy who played Football for Tottenham Hotspur from 1926-7 until 1934-5 season. We also understand Eddie Gibbons played for Spurs and we have found a record for the 1952/1953 Season)

Editors Note: We have now received some futher information from Vic Hardy (Fred's brother) with his memories of Petroleum Transport Company.:

'Reading your article on on The Petroleum Transport Company, I realise that you have not got the beginnings of the Company. As you know we lived next door at number 28. I am not sure of the exact date but it must have been about 1936. Mr Walter Bellamy the ex Spurs player started with a partner a Mr Grey, and who by 1938 had left perhaps retired or bought out. I used to go out in the lorries for a ride on Saturdays and school holidays. We used to go to 'Thames Haven' to collect the petrol. One driver was a man named Ernie Sullivan and the other one I remember was Jack Gorman. There were others but I don't remember their names. My brother Charles worked their mechanic until he joined the navy in 1939. My brother Dick took over the job when he left. Somewhere about this time they had a fire while pumping petrol from one lorry to another, causing extensive damage to the garage. The war came in 1939 and the lorries were taken over by the Army, cleaned out and used as water carriers. Brother Dick then went into the Royal Air Force and Walter Bellamy also went into the Royal Air Force. Monk & Glass the Custard Powder firm then used the garage as storage during the war.

My brother Charles was very friendly with the mechanic who worked in the garage at the rear of number 32. I suppose he must have been working for Horseshoe Coaches. I can also remember my mother telling me that during the war, part of the garage was rented by Mr Allen the owner of the Piggery and they made tinned meat there. I used to help Jack Chapman feed the pigs and I can remember opening some of the tins of meat that must have left over when the place closed down'

Extracted from Vic Hardy's letter dated 10th March 2004

PETROLEUM TRANSPORT COMPANY - UPDATE DECEMBER 2010
We have recently been contacted by Steve Bellamy who now lives in Queensland Australia. Steve has provided us with some wonderful new photographs and has also informed us that one of the original tankers used by the Petroleum Transport Company had been shipped out to Australia many years ago and it now occupies pride of place in the garden of his mother's home in Perth, Western Australia. What great news that this historic relic from the history of both the Petroleum Transport Company and Summerhill Road is still in existence.

The above photograph shows two of the old tankers at the garage -30 Summerhill Road, Tottenham and some further photographs of the filling station once situated on the corner of Hertford Road and Bounces Road, Edmonton which was operated by the Petroleum Transport Company.
The company was later to move part of its operations to 'Smylies Garage' which was situated in Philip Lane. Steve Bellamy has sent us a wonderful collection of old photographs of 'Smylies' that I am sure many of the older residents of Tottenham will recall with great pleasure. The above photographs show the original garage prior to demolition and the building of the new garage. In the demolition phase you can just make out in the background the former Savory & Moore (later Lentheric) building in Lawrence Road pictured just beneath the canopy of the new garage.


The company also operated from a small garage named 'Wilson's Garage' located in Lansdowne Road, Tottenham. Steve Bellamy has also sent a photograph of this operation.
There follows some updated comments from Ray Swain with his thoughts on Steve's new information: I can remember very well the old tanker that Steve mentions in his message. The last time that I saw it, it was standing all alone in Smiley’s large tanker garage waiting to be collected for Mrs. Bellamy. I knew that the family were keeping it and I can also remember all the old TK Bedford tankers going from Summerhill Road when it was sold. I think perhaps that Dudley was collecting them as they had been in number 40 Summerhill Road for years and had not been moved. I think they later went for auction.
Buncefield Oil Depot Fire (aerial view)		Buncefield Oil Depot Fire

I also wondered whether Steve and his Mum ever heard about the disaster at the Buncefield Oil depot at Hemel Hempstead, which is where the drivers from Petroleum Transport used to refill up with heating oil’s to save returning to Tottenham to refill their tankers ? When the depot caught fire in 2005 we could see the smoke billowing in the sky all the way from Tottenham. I believe they also got their diesel from there to supply to the Horseshoe Coaches depot in Kempston, Bedfordshire. They would go out with a load from Tottenham and then picked up two more loads from Buncefield to finish their rounds. Ray Swain December 2010