My home town's annual Charter Fair is always a highlight of the year for me - two consecutive weekends when, by ancient Royal Charter, the town centre is taken over by funfair rides and attractions, together with the lorries that transport them of course. Think of British fairground transport and you'll almost certainly think of ERF.
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| In 1999 the B-series ERF was still fairly common on the fairs. |
Ever since I started photographing the fair way back in 1998, one particular lorry has attended every single year and has become a firm favourite that I am always delighted to see. Registered JKY 452W, she is a B-series ERF built in 1980 and fitted with the fantastic-sounding 240bhp Gardner 8LXB straight-eight engine, and has been owned for many years by the Forest family, who I believe are based in Oxfordshire; having belonged to the late Malcolm Forest, she is now in the hands of his sons Mark and Gary. A classic showman's drawbar unit with a box body and generator, the double-drive rear bogie apparently predates the lorry itself, having been transplanted from an even older A-series.
At the most recent fair I was told by her proud owners that they have a repaint planned for the winter months and there is no intention whatsoever to retire her from service. As the once-common B-series gets ever rarer on the fairs, here's hoping this fine survivor continues for many more reliable years!
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| Same lorry, same place, 15 years on and still looking just as smart. |
Just listen to that sweet straight-eight Gardner...
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