UK’S oldest lorry driver can keep on truckin’
Father-of-four, 90, who’s been at the wheel since the 70s, can work for another year after health MOT
BRITAIN’S oldest lorry driver, who still works 12-hour days at the age of 90, is set to continue working for another year after passing a medical.
Brian Wilson started driving armoured trucks in Germany during his national service in 1950.
When he returned to the UK, he started his lorry driving career delivering petrol for Esso in 1953 before eventually taking over his father’s haulage company, E. Wilson & Sons.
Seventy years later, the father-of-four still wakes up at 4am for his 12-hour shifts delivering goods to places such as Rochdale, Birmingham and Newcastle. Mr Wilson, who lives in Sheffield, requires a full health check from his doctor each year which allows him to drive on the roads.
After he passed his annual assessment this year, he said he was glad to be able to continue his career.
“If I feel fit enough, then I’m going to carry on even though I’m at a big age,” he said.
“I have to go every year and I’m glad I passed it.”
Mr Wilson took over the running of his father’s business when he died in the 1970s, and has been at the helm ever since.
He has racked up millions of miles over the years, but now keeps to “short trips” – of about 150 miles.
“It all depends on how busy I am but I’ve been busy this week,” he said.
“I’ve been working every day and I’ll probably be working more than 40 hours this week. Tomorrow I’ll be working about 12 hours as I’ll be leaving for Birmingham at about 5am and then it will be 5pm when I get back.”
By this point, Mr Wilson said he was used to the work.
“I work for myself and I wouldn’t be doing it if I was working for someone else,” he said.
“I’m that used to doing the job, that I’ve just carried on.”
Despite driving for more than 70 years, the nonagenarian is considering retiring next year and has plans to go to Thailand with his wife Mavis, 89, whom he met at a fairground when he was 15.
He said: “I might retire next year but I don’t know as it all depends how my wife is.
“But when I do retire, I want to go to Thailand for a couple of months because one of my lads lives in Thailand.
“He has his own business over there and has been there for about 15 years. We’ve been about six times but we’ve not been for the past five years because of Covid. We’ve actually not been anywhere because of it.”
The couple married six years after they first met and Mr Wilson said his wife, who retired several years ago, had encouraged him to keep working.
He said: “She tells me to carry on while I still feel fit enough.
“Plus because of all the gas and electric bills going up, I need to keep working.”
Mr Wilson has never had an accident in all his decades on the road and the longest he has taken time off work was seven weeks when he broke his foot aged 40.
He turns 91 in March. According to Guinness World Records, the oldest male HGV licence-holder is the UK’S Jack Fisher, at 88 years and four days, as of 27 Jan 2021.
‘If I feel fit enough then I’m going to carry on driving even though I’m at a big age’