Draft:East Coast Truckers Children's Convoy

• Comment: This requires a radical précis to remove the lengthy narrative newsletter tone. Is ot a notable event? I have no way of telling! 🇵🇸‍🇺🇦 Fiddle^Timtrent Faddle^Talk to me 🇺🇦‍🇵🇸 14:23, 13 August 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest guideline, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. Mvprincess (talk) 15:09, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

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The East Coast Truckers Children's Convoy was founded by Glenn Johnson and his wife Mary Johnson in 1986.It was very successfully run by them until 2010.The very first Children's Convoy consisted of 22 trucks with a high value passenger load of 22 deserving children. The 25th convoy had 110 Trucks and a very large contingent of family, supporters and children. Glenn Johnson announced his retirement just before the 25th Convoy he was handing full control of his beloved Children's Convoy which was by now a well organized professional event that had been witnessed and enjoyed by thousands' over the last 25 years into the capable hands of Rob Bilman. Rob would go on some years later to found and run a very successful truck show in Suffolk.

It was 1981 and CB Radio was becoming ever more popular especially amongst UK truck drivers. The Movie Convoy and the hit record Convoy by C.W.McCall which were released in 1978 added to the boom in C.B.RadioThe problem was, you could legally by a C.B. Radio in the UK but you were not allowed to transmit with them, a typical gobbledygook UK Government piece of legislation. So hundreds of people who were now using them found themselves in court and paying hundreds of pounds in fines. UK Truck drivers would be stopped by police all over the UK who would be accompanied by British Telecom, they would have their apparatus confiscated and probably prosecuted under the Wireless Telegraphy ActTruck drivers in Norfolk decided to form a club to help each other regards the loss of their C.B.Radio and a hefty fine. Thus the East Coast Truckers Club was born. The first advertised Club meeting was held at Ebeneezer's Night Club Norwich a committee was formed and a more permanent meeting place was agreed. The next meeting was to be held at The Norfolk Dumpling Hall Road Norwich. The first elected committee was Colin Carter[Chairman]Terry Thiel [Treasurer] Ronnie King [Secretary] and Glenn Johnson [PR] Within just 2 years the membership had increased to more than 200. Fund raising for various causes became the corner stone of the club a trait that would see them through many years. The Club had Truck pulling Competitions, Dinner Dances, Concert Evenings, Truck Shows Outings boat trips and picnic's for the children and many other activities as well as fund raising where ever they could. The ECT had become a well organized and funded club, as the ECT was growing hundreds of CB Clubs sprang up all over the UK but today there are just a few left. The UK Government legalized CBs on the FM band width, meaning that the very purpose of the ECT and its security for the truckers regards fines and such like would now not be needed. They had however been striding forward with many other interests, one of those was a Town and Country weekend, it was into its 3rd year and was really buzzing with all kinds of stuff. Country Music Group's and Singers, Clay Pigeon Shooting, Mud Wrestling, Obstacle Courses and a huge Truck Show. The event was held every August Bank Holiday for 3 days, its success was also its down fall for the ECT because it was so popular and raking in money other people saw it as a cash cow and found a way of releaving the ECT of it. As recollection's vary the ECT committee decided it would best to park that one and forget it.

The Town and Country weekend was always held on the August Bank Holiday, the Club now had a big hole in its Event Calander, the committee were looking for ideas, Glenn Johnson the PR side of the committee had an idea and told the committee he would do some research and report back at the next meeting. Glenn and his wife Mary had visited a children home many times since the birth of the club in relation to giving the children gifts from well wishes so they made an appointment to see the manager of Repton House Children's home at Old Catton Norwich. Glenn had a idea of taking the children on a day out in members trucks with the truckers family, similar to the London Cabbies, the manager agreed it would be a good thing for them and gave Glenn his blessing. Glenn then visited Pleasure Wood Hills a Theme park near Lowestoft. The meeting went very well as Glenn had their permission to bring heavy trucks on to their park for an afternoon of fun for the children, he was also gifted a bonus as the park would let the trucker and the child enter the park for free. Glenn then research the best route from Norwich to Lowestoft and back. Glenn sent a letter to the Police in Norwich informing them of the planned Convoy and could they send help, they did agree to help if staff was available on a holiday weekend. Glenn Johnsons mother Doreen Johnson had also gifted the convoy with another piece of good news, she had discussed the trip to the residents of Cobholm [A small Hamlet which was part of Great Yarmouth] and they agreed to have a tea party in the afternoon and entertainment. That was the day sorted. Glenn went to the next meeting of the ECT and put forward his plan. Unanimous was the answer, yes! There was still a few things to sought before the big day, it would be nice if all involved looked the part with matching Tee-shirts, Glenn had a good relationship with Tony Sadler who was Sales Director for the Volvo Truck dealer DUFFIEDS of NORWICH, he agreed to supply the required Tee-shirts and a small gift for the Children. Then to the find the Truckers who wanted to join the Convoy and give up their day and donate their truck, that was relatively easy as they all wanted come but Glenn selected what he considered to be the ideal trucks for the purpose at hand. 8 o'clock August Bank Holiday Sunday 1986 the invited Trucks started to arrive at Repton House Old Catton Norwich. Tea and toast was supplied by the home for the Truckers and their families, at 9.30 our police escort arrived !, one bloody squad car. The Police Officer and Glenn had a discussion about the journey then as 10 o'clock approached the Truckers and their families loaded their precious cargo and set of for Lowestoft. The CB chatter was lively and full of the usual banter between all of the Truckers with some of the children joining in, the Convoy arrived at Pleasure Wood Hills at 12 mid day the precious cargo was unloaded along with bags and hampers of food. Let the fun begin. It was at this point that Glenn was told by our single police man and car that he was off back to Norwich and we would have to find our own way back safely, thank you Norfolk Police! At 3 o'clock every body got back to the trucks ready for the short run to Cobholm. Unlike years to come Cobholm was easy to park all of the trucks [on the 10th Convoy the number had grown to 55 Trucks] Every body filed into the Cobholm Community Centre to tables laid out with large amounts of everything children love to eat. There was a sing along and everybody agreed it had been a great party. The very first of many. Thanks to Glenns Mum Doreen and all her helpers .At just after 5 o'clock it was time to say goodbye to the wonderful people of Cobholm. Then as the Convoy was leaving the Hamlet and making its way back to Norwich someone said "why don't we go home via the sea front and Great Yarmouth's Golden Mile" and so they did. And that was the format for the following 10 Convoys. All of the trucks arrived safely back to Repton House in spite of no help they did manage to keep the Convoy together. All agreed it had been a brilliant day. Could the ECTs afford to do it again, that was the next big step. The Club did however make a big splash in the Yarmouth Mercury. There was 2 really big photographs and a very good write up, you can check it out @ That was the first of dozens of positive write ups to come our way.

At the next Club meeting it was agreed that the Convoy must be a definite item on their future Event list, Glenn Johnson was given a free reign to make it happen again. But the Club was still growing and planning other events then disaster struck. On March the 6th 1987 The HERALD of FREE ENTERPRISE capsized while leaving Zeebrugge port in Belgium killing 193 soles, many Continental Truck Drivers were aboard so it hit the ECT family quite hard, the committee immediately sprang into action to see if they could assist in anyway. The Disaster Fund organizer's gave the ECT sole rights to hold a fund raising appeal in Norwich and so they did. Members took 2 trucks into the pedestrian area of the City with Police and Council permission and with a team of 40 volunteers raised £12000 in just one day. That was how special the ECT had become. The second Convoy was now looming closer and because it was growing it would not be possible to get the Trucks into Repton House, so they planned to start the Convoy from Castle Plain in Norwich City Centre{where now stands The Castle Quarter The Convoy would be running 35 Trucks. Glenn Johnson had started to organize things before rather than on the hoof so to speak, for instance he informed the Police that he intended to run the Convoy again well before the summer of 1987. He was quite surprised when one afternoon a Police Motor Cycle pulled into his drive, a very tall ginger haired man took off his helmet and introduced himself. He explained that he had come to ask us not to run the Convoy as the people "upstairs thought it was a safety risk" Glenn replied that the Convoy was almost complete and ready to go and would be wrong to cancel it now. So Dick Howard the police man said "in that case I am here to help" He would be coming with 2 other bikes and they would be with us all day. Now the convoy was going places. The ECTs Convoy number 2 was just as successful as the first one but just a bit bigger, it was a great help having Dick Howard and his colleges helping the convoy on its journey 2 and from Lowestoft and along the Golden Mile Great Yarmouth. All though the convoy was getting more and more people notice it no one on the Convoy could explain to the public what they were doing, the Convoy had the very good press article after Convoy 1 but the Club needed publicity before the Convoy. That problem remained until the ECT took the Convoy to Pettit's A small wild life Park Near Reedham. It was one of Mary Johnsons ideas to try a different venue for the children, it was a lovely place but getting the trucks in and out was a bit of a challenge, however while they were there the club Chairman was approached by a local councilor of Reedham, he asked if we could run our Convoy through the Village of Reedham on our way out. That was a bit different i.e. some wanting to see a truck in their village. Glenn Johnson and the chairman Micky More, went in the councilors car to see if the Convoy could get through the village safely, it was a bit tight but do able. When the convoy left Pettitt's to go to Yarmouth it headed for the village, the main road through the village runs along the River Yare as the Convoy was travelling along the river wall 2 people were watching it from their boat, Glenn and his team would later learn the 2 people on the boat was BBC Radio Norfolk's Wally Webb and his wife Sheri, little did the ECT know at that time that was the turning point of the ECTs recognition problem.

Before the importance and impact of the ECT meeting Wally Webb we should just study how far the club has come over the last 40 years. Norwich Evening News NorwichNorwich Evening News. Norwich Evening NewsNorwich Evening News Norwich Evening NewsNorwich Evening NewsNorwich Evening NewsYarmouth MercuryYarmouth MercuryYarmouth MercuryYarmouth Mercury In addition to just a few of the hundreds of News Paper articles there are a minimum of 75 Videos on YouTube. There is a Facebook Page and a Facebook page for the veteran's called the East Coast Truckers ol boys Club. Wally Webb of Radio Norfolk fame now how lucky we were to go to Pettitts that Convoy day