Birmingham Dairies Milk Floats

[Chris Parker]

Good evening all

Just to start off, thank you for allowing me to be part of this wonderful informative group.

My father worked for Birmingham Dairies at their Middlemore Depot from 1981 upto the closure in the mid 90's.

I would like to ask if anyone has and pictures of the Electric and diesel milk floats that made up the fleet of trucks owned by Birmingham Dairies.

Many thanks in advance.

Chris

 

[jennyann]

Link to a Handsworth/Birmingham Dairies Float now at Wythall Transport Museum and a couple more float photos by David Fane.

 

[susan o dell]

hi chris my grandad also worked for b ham dairy his name was harold o dell i was 5 when he died so he worked thre up to 1964/5my nans name was gladis they lived in yardleyi think gradad was a maneger or a superviser not suresue o dell now sue bryan as im married nowx

 

[alan darbyshire]

Hi Chris, i worked at bourneville depot in selly oak road 63 till 67 wythall museam has some old floats and oxford diecast
make a wales & edwards three wheel electric float, pocketbond make a 4 wheel electric float both at wythall, pictures enclose
also a couple of rangemasters

 

[Vivienne14]

Great floats Alan, thanks for posting. Viv.

 

[Reg Mills]

My name is reg mills , I worked for Birmingham dairies when they were in James watt St. I drove their 5 ton lorries on the school runs and milk to bromsgrove dairies and various other depots

 

[Vivienne14]

Were they also called 'floats' if pulled by a horse? Viv.

 

[Astoness]

Were they also called 'floats' if pulled by a horse? Viv.

View attachment 179284

i would say no viv but cant be certain...great photo

lyn

 

[Vivienne14]

For info, 'milk float' refers to electric and horse-drawn vehicles:

An electric accumulator battery-driven vehicle (formerly also horse-drawn), designed for the house-to-house delivery of fresh milk; common in Europe, especially the United Kingdom.

float is a form of two-wheeled horse-drawn cart with a dropped axle to give an especially low load-bed.They were intended for carrying heavy or unstable items such as milk churns.The name survives today in that of the milk float and carnival float

Viv