The odd story of the Swastika electric laundry vans
Discussion
I was reading a detective story the other day by the excellent Irish writer John Banville, ( who writes them under the nom-de-plume of Benjamin Black). Set in the fifties in Dublin it was rich in period detail, and at one point referred to the Swastika laundry van.
This brought back memories buried in my cranial basement of these vans and others like them as at one time there were huge numbers of them in Dublin. At the house where I grew up the milk, bread and laundry came by electric van, and I have vivid memories of the quiet whine of the milk float and the rattle of the glass bottles as it went on its way at 5am.
Anyway, back to the Swastika laundry. I never connected the symbol until now, decades later. As a child, the red vans were a common sight, and had used the swastika since 1912 when the founder was given an ornament of a cat which had the symbol and decided to use it. After darkness began to fall in Europe with the rise of Hitler he added the "founded in 1912" to distinguish his swastika. Amazingly it was used uninterrupted in Dublin until a merger sometime in the seventies. There was a remaining swastika on the laundry chimney until a visiting British general noticed it from the window of the British Embassy and asked for its removal.
It seems so utterly monstrous now to have continued to use the symbol after the war, but I never heard it even discussed when I lived in Ireland ( until 1975)
The various delivery vans looked like this:
Bread vans from Johnson Mooney and O'Brien
a very late breadvan in 1980
how we got out milk
The swastika laundry vans
This brought back memories buried in my cranial basement of these vans and others like them as at one time there were huge numbers of them in Dublin. At the house where I grew up the milk, bread and laundry came by electric van, and I have vivid memories of the quiet whine of the milk float and the rattle of the glass bottles as it went on its way at 5am.
Anyway, back to the Swastika laundry. I never connected the symbol until now, decades later. As a child, the red vans were a common sight, and had used the swastika since 1912 when the founder was given an ornament of a cat which had the symbol and decided to use it. After darkness began to fall in Europe with the rise of Hitler he added the "founded in 1912" to distinguish his swastika. Amazingly it was used uninterrupted in Dublin until a merger sometime in the seventies. There was a remaining swastika on the laundry chimney until a visiting British general noticed it from the window of the British Embassy and asked for its removal.
It seems so utterly monstrous now to have continued to use the symbol after the war, but I never heard it even discussed when I lived in Ireland ( until 1975)
The various delivery vans looked like this:
Bread vans from Johnson Mooney and O'Brien
a very late breadvan in 1980
how we got out milk
The swastika laundry vans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika_Laundry
More vehicles here:
http://comeheretome.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/swast...
As an aside my milk here in London still comes in a bottle (although via a Ford transit), much to the amazement of my Irish connections.
Haveing said that you can now get bottled, unpastuerised milk in Dublin (Avoca, Monkstown).
More vehicles here:
http://comeheretome.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/swast...
As an aside my milk here in London still comes in a bottle (although via a Ford transit), much to the amazement of my Irish connections.
Haveing said that you can now get bottled, unpastuerised milk in Dublin (Avoca, Monkstown).
Edited by Irish on Wednesday 29th August 15:00
Ah the old breadvan, I remember it so well, the delivery driver opening the back and the smell of fresh bread pouring out, lovely, my treat was a "wagon wheel" thinking back it seemed the size of a dinner plate!
And probably was.
Great post, thankyou
And probably was.
Great post, thankyou
Edited by felixlighter on Wednesday 29th August 21:44
Edited by felixlighter on Wednesday 29th August 21:45
Edited by felixlighter on Wednesday 29th August 21:46
Edited by felixlighter on Wednesday 29th August 21:46
nicanary said:
I recall having milk delivered by those electric floats in the 50s/60s in my native Norwich.
Our milkie still delivers 3x a week in a 'leccy float. Not at 5am though and sadly we have few dealings with him directly due to the wonders of direct debit and internet ordering.The PO used to use a lot of electric 'floats' to bring the post from the PO depot to the railway station and back, in the days when post moved on passenger trains and didn't clog up the roads. Why in this so called green world we live in does this sort of thing not happen anymore?.
My best mate's (when I was about 13) father used to work for the PO and I was also on friendly terms with the railway station staff, so as a kid I used to drive the electric float thing around the yard at the PO (usually flat out in a race track pattern!)and even up and down the platform at the station, brilliant fun but looking back at it now I'm amazed we got away with it.
My best mate's (when I was about 13) father used to work for the PO and I was also on friendly terms with the railway station staff, so as a kid I used to drive the electric float thing around the yard at the PO (usually flat out in a race track pattern!)and even up and down the platform at the station, brilliant fun but looking back at it now I'm amazed we got away with it.
Quite evil and utterly incorrect. It was, of course, well known that they were 'in' with Hitler and smuggled elite SS (panzer/fallschirm/gebirg etc.)jager troops into Ireland from the U-boat -> milk-float and from thence to local Abbey's where they disguised themselves as nuns, ready to enter Britain for nefarious purposes (or rescue Hess). The only way of telling if you saw a nun, whether they were about to snap your neck like a twig or not was to throw a quick 'heil' at them and catch them out.
I have evidence of it, and the Royal Family all know about it and have lizard people guarding the secret.
-R
I have evidence of it, and the Royal Family all know about it and have lizard people guarding the secret.
-R
robsa said:
Quite evil and utterly incorrect. It was, of course, well known that they were 'in' with Hitler and smuggled elite SS (panzer/fallschirm/gebirg etc.)jager troops into Ireland from the U-boat -> milk-float and from thence to local Abbey's where they disguised themselves as nuns, ready to enter Britain for nefarious purposes (or rescue Hess). The only way of telling if you saw a nun, whether they were about to snap your neck like a twig or not was to throw a quick 'heil' at them and catch them out.
I have evidence of it, and the Royal Family all know about it and have lizard people guarding the secret.
-R
Verdamt! Foiled at the last moment! Now ve vill hav to enter Britain via a "bed and breakfast" in Weston-super-Mare. Call ourselves Mr.Bimmler und Mr. Hilter. What? That's not a map of Weston but a map of Poland???Pip-pip old chap, ja, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton, toodle-oo ja......I have evidence of it, and the Royal Family all know about it and have lizard people guarding the secret.
-R
nicanary said:
Verdamt! Foiled at the last moment! Now ve vill hav to enter Britain via a "bed and breakfast" in Weston-super-Mare. Call ourselves Mr.Bimmler und Mr. Hilter. What? That's not a map of Weston but a map of Poland???Pip-pip old chap, ja, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton, toodle-oo ja......
The German plot was extensive and stealthy, they were almost invisible...
though sometimes acted suspiciously...
but nothing got past the Irish MI6 who were often cunningly disguised....
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