UP FRONT
OBITUARY
Ian Kinge
(1944-2019)
Truck & Driver reader Ian Kinge
was taken on his final journey
through the village of Cherhill,
Wiltshire on Vintage Lorry
Funerals’ 1950 Leyland Beaver.
Ian had been a truck driver all
his life but the highlight of his
career was the international
work he did for Foster & Lilly,
based in Dalton-on-Tees,
Darlington.
He started with runs to Spain
and Romania, taking out either
Flymo or Black & Decker tools in tilt trailers.
When reloading with tomatoes from
Alicante, Ian used to take the out-loads from
the Spennymoor factories in fridge vans.
The most exciting trips were to the Middle
East, back in the days when there were very
few roads and often the only way was to
follow pipelines in the sand. Ian was helped
by two Bedouin guides who spoke no
English, their communication
limited to hand signs. During the
early 1970s Ian had moved
powdered nitroglycerin for chemicals
company ICI and this experience of
handling potentially explosive cargos led to
him being offered six months’ work in Saudi
Arabia and then Jordan. At that time there
were a lot of geological surveys looking for
oil deposits, and Ian plus two other driversmoved explosives to where they
were needed.
Sadly, towards the end of his
driving career, Ian, who was then
working for Sainsbury’s,
Basingstoke, was diagnosed with
Parkinson’s disease, which initially
affected his walking, and his driving
days came to an end.
Ian is deeply missed by his loving
wife Jane and his children Louise,
Robin, Jamie, Annie and
Chris and their families.
With heavy showers
forecast, Ian’s coffin
was protected by the
Beaver’s see-through
flysheet, which has
been in a drawer
under the Leyland’s
deck since 2002 and
hardly used. However,
with the advent of extreme
weather events, it has been
used more often in recent months.
If you want to know more about the
activities of the 1950 Leyland Beaver, then
call 01225 865346 or visit the website
vintagelorryfunerals.co.uk