It’s all in a name

If you are an eagle-eyed truck enthusiast, you will have noted that our Hayton Coulthard and Pollock vehicles all have individual names. This has been a long-held tradition, so when Pollock recently welcomed “Simply the Best”, “Doddie’s Legacy”, “Golden Girl”, “Rapid Reiver” and “Flying Scotsman” to the fleet, we explored the process behind the naming conventions. It is a story of passion and paths aligning.

For our Hayton Coulthard fleet, since 1966, each vehicle has received a name based on suggestions and ideas from the team. Each name, (always ending with the word ‘Pride), has meaning to an individual in the team, making it a very personal affair.

For the Pollock fleet, there is an equal amount of sentiment behind the names but the process for reaching them is quite different. Rather than be chosen from within the business, the Pollock trucks are named by Rick Ferrari, a long-standing Pollock enthusiast. Rick tells us more about his journey to becoming the brains behind the Pollock names, together with some of the reasoning behind the names.

How did you get involved in naming Pollock vehicles?

The origins of this tale date from September 1968, when Carol and I married and moved to Essex. For the next decade I commuted by car to my place of work in East London and, from the first day, when I was stuck in traffic, I noticed some HGVs had their own ‘personal names’ bestowed upon them. To relieve my traffic jam boredom, I jotted down the names and registrations. Pollock was among the first, distinguished by having more diverse and evocative names than the norm. It was only after noting several names that I worked out the ‘thread’ binding them together was that of current events occurring in various themes such as pop music, NASA space programs and TV shows.

In July 1971 Carol and I holidayed touring Scotland and called in at Pollock’s. I introduced myself to Ian and George Pollock. A couple of years later, I wrote to Ian suggesting he use the name “Kohoutek” after the newly discovered comet. You can imagine my delight the first time I saw it out on the road having not known it existed! At the same time, I suggested “Likely Lad” – this name being taken from the sitcom ‘Whatever happened to the Likely Lads’ – and that was the name of the next lorry.

On 1st March 1972, I received a letter from Geoff Mile of Gateshead and discovered that I was not alone in pursuing my arcane hobby. In fact, although 10 years younger than me, Geoff had been “at it” since circa 1963 and, coincidentally, his favourite haulier was Pollock of Musselburgh, both because of their choice of names and distinctive livery! I replied to Geoff’s letter and today, more than 50 years later, we remain firm friends. Geoff used to visit Musselburgh a few times each year, with Ian Pollock sometimes procuring him a ride home in one of the fleet’s vehicles. Needless to say, Geoff and Ian’s relationship remains strong today.

Geoff married Linda in June 1978, and I thought this event important enough to warrant a new Pollock name. My earliest interest involved named Steam locos and one of the classes that intrigued me most was named after characters from the novels of Sir Walter Scott. One name was slightly different – “Jingling Geordie” was the nickname of a real person. Geoff, being from Tyneside, was a Geordie, and ‘Jingling’ was a good descriptive word, so I suggested to Ian that he might like to name his next vehicle “Jingling Geordie” in honour of their marriage. Ian’s letter advising Geoff that he had actually done this arrived on the morning of the wedding – the timing could not have been better.

At around the time Scott Pollock was born, his father Ian, decided to name the next batch of trucks with the suffix “Scot” to recognise the new generation. Ian regularly turned to Geoff to provide inspiration for new fleet names. This was in the days of vehicles being signwritten, with each new Pollock truck taking some time to be liveried, so time was generally at a premium. From then on, Geoff became the main source of names until circa 2010, when unfortunately, circumstances meant he could no longer devote enough time to the task. So, he passed the baton to me.

How do you come up with ideas for the names?

Since naming began, drivers, friends and relatives of the Pollock family suggest names so I’m not on my own.

However, as time goes on and the fleet grows it is generally more difficult to produce new and interesting names. The Pollock fleet livery is eye-catching, so I consider it vitally important to have equally eye-catching or memorable names. In this respect, I source names in many ways.

Firstly, I keep an eye on each day’s news to see if anything is breaking that could be of interest. Secondly, inspiration does not always strike when you want it to, so patience is a virtue.

At the beginning of each year, I always check for important anniversaries. Then some alchemy is required to turn that information into an interesting and entertaining lorry name! For instance, I discovered that 2024 was the 200th anniversary of the RNLI, which is why there is a “Lifeboat 200” in the fleet. This year being an Olympic year was also useful as that event is invariably a good source of names. Another important factor to consider is geography, so I prioritise Scottish names wherever possible.

The redesigned livery also helped as the phrase “Delivering Winners” is now the universal strapline of Gregory Group, so I also look for winners of all sorts such as the racehorses that won the Derby or Grand National, or the winner of the Formula 1 championship. Though they aren’t always suitable!

Why do you enjoy naming the trucks?

I have always thought that giving each truck in a fleet its own name was an excellent idea. Most drivers seem to take more care of “their” individual truck and members of the public often express curiosity, whilst at the same time, this simple addition assists in giving a positive image of the much-maligned road haulage industry. I think anything that can be done to improve driver morale, as well as the image of road haulage, is a worthwhile investment.

What are some of your favourite truck names?

I have several! As mentioned, “Jingling Geordie” will always be a favourite, but there are others as well:

“Canny Scot” – this name celebrated the result of the referendum on Scottish independence in a non-political way, because whichever side won, those who voted that way had to consider themselves as ‘Canny Scots’!

“Flaming Ferrari” – this is a famous and very expensive Vodka-based cocktail. My mother, who died in 2011, was very proud of her Italian heritage and her surname. She forever maintained that Ferrari was one of the most famous names in the world. She always liked to know which names I suggested and would have been really pleased to have known about a vehicle having Ferrari in its name. Scott kindly chose to use this name in 2012 in her memory.

“The Talisman” – the afternoon Express between London (Kings Cross) and Edinburgh – named after one of Sir Walter Scott’s most famous novels, set at the end of the third crusade. I saw this train on its inaugural journey in 1958 and liked the name so much, some forty years later, I used it to name of my newsletter.

“Square World” – 1st September 2018 was our 50th wedding anniversary – a unique occasion worthy of celebrating. I was therefore thrilled when Scott kindly agreed to name his first Renault T High unit as “Square World” to mark the occasion.

To explain the name – when Carol and I first met in March 1964, one of the top TV comedy programmes was Michael Bentine’s ‘It’s a Square World’. It was one of the few TV shows that Carol and I watched together as we both liked its zany humour.

After dating a few times, it became obvious to both of us that we were meant to be together, but Carol being something of a pragmatist did not go in for “all that romantic rubbish”, so, instead of saying the usual three little words, started using that unique euphemism instead. It is a phrase that both of us use to this day!

Up until then, Scott had given all his Renault trucks appropriate French names, so I felt really honoured that we were the exception.

Can you tell us about the most recent names too?

“Simply the Best” – in November 2012, “Super Scot” came into the fleet to celebrate tennis star Andy Murray winning both the 2012 Olympic Games Gold Medal and his first grand slam tournament, the US Open; the first time a Brit had achieved that distinction for more than 70 years. Since then, Andy went on to win Wimbledon twice, help Britain win the Davis Cup and was knighted. Andy retired in July 2024, being simply the best sporting figure ever from Scotland! “Simply the Best” is a phrase taken from the Tina Turner song, ‘The Best’ and was used as a strap line by Pollock for some years, although it has never been used as a name – until now. It will also be an ideal name to use for the first Volvo Aero in the fleet.

“Doddie’s Legacy” – “Doddie” Weir OBE, who made 61 appearances for the Scottish Rugby Union team, was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease in 2017. The following year he set up his foundation, ‘My name’s Doddie’, a charity committed to funding research to find effective treatments for the disease. Doddie sadly passed away in 2022, but his Foundation has gone from strength to strength and is indeed Doddie’s legacy.

“Golden Girl” – this name comes from the American sitcom ‘The Golden Girls’ and has been used once before – to celebrate the 80th birthday of the aunt of Scott Pollock’s wife, Mhairi in 2015. Keely Hodgkinson won the women’s 800 metres at the 2024 Olympic Games, becoming only the ninth British woman to win a Gold Medal in Olympic track and field events! She was dubbed the ‘Golden Girl’ of the Games because of her long golden hair – and her gold medal.

“Rapid Reiver” – Edinburgh born Josh Kerr is a middle-distance runner competing primarily in the 1,500 metres. He won a gold medal in the event at the 2023 World Championships, a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and a gold medal at the 2015 European Junior Championships. Indoors he is the 2024 World Indoor champion in the 3,000 metres. He holds the world record time in the indoor 2 mile and the European record in the indoor mile, along with the British record in the outdoor 1,500m and mile. Clan Kerr’s origins lie in the Scottish Borders, it being one of the prominent Border Reiver clans.

“Flying Scotsman” – this was the first name ever to adorn a Pollock vehicle! Originally named after the train, then the steam locomotive, the name has not been in use since 2016. Born in Dunbartonshire, former British Formula One racing driver Sir Jackie Stewart was nicknamed the “Flying Scotsman”. Competing in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, he won three World Drivers’ Championships and twice finished as runner-up over those nine seasons. He is certainly a winner – but surprisingly, he has never been associated with a Pollock name, so now is the time to redress that!

Thank you to Rick for taking the time to share his story and his thinking behind the names. Keep up the brilliant work Rick!

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