MAJOR ON PARADE
Page 20
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Ifs hats off to Apollo at the ancient cart-marking ceremony of the Worshipful Company of Carmen in Guildhall, London.
For all you classics scholars out there, we're not talking Greek gods, but vintage tankers. Apollo is a Mammoth Major Mk Mich was originally bought by Wincanton Logistics in Southall in 1951. After a varied working life, distributing first milk and later oil, the vehicle was sold for scrap to a farmer in 1968. Happily, it was rescued 12 years later and restored to its original livery.
The tanker was one of many vintage commercial vehicles to take part in the procession that day, which was watched by the Master of the Worshipful Company of Carmen, the Lord Mayor of the City of London and an assortment of bigwigs.
The Carmen's roots date back to the 13th century, when it was the first authority to licence vehicles coming in to the centre of London. Operators' vehicles were branded with a red-hot poker on a wooden plate, licensing them for a year. Perhaps the new Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, could take a few tips when he considers his congestion charges for the capital.