Lionel Ward

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2022.

Lionel Frances Ward was born in January 1957 in Carnarvon, Western Australia and grew up in Mt Magnet, Western Australia, where his father owned the local butcher shop.

In 1973 Lionel started a mechanic apprenticeship in Geraldton, Western Australia, and worked in this trade for eight years. After helping out a mate with some truck driving work, Lionel moved inland to Mt Magnet and bought his own International T Line. His first job was carting fuel and general freight from Geraldton to Mt Magnet. This was well before the days of ice packs in sleeper bunks so on hot nights in the bush, Lionel would roll out his swag on the roof of his truck hoping to catch whatever breeze he could.  He later sold the International and bought a Leader.

In 1990, after 10 years as an owner-driver, Lionel was offered a job driving a new F16 Volvo for Mike Burrows at MF & LF Burrows. He carted petrol and diesel from the Geraldton Shell Terminal out to the gold mines, roadhouses and stations across the Murchison region. Although Lionel loved the power and comfort of the new Volvo, in his book, Kenworth was the ultimate truck.

All of Lionel’s dreams came true in 2006 when he took charge of his first new Kenworth – a K100B named ‘Miss Amelia’. He eventually travelled 1.3 million kilometres in this rig. Lionel gained a solid reputation as a very safe, reliable driver with an accident-free record despite driving a triple road train millions of kilometers across some of the roughest roads on the planet. His knowledge of trucks and his ability to get a broken-down truck mobile again saved the company plenty of time and money over the years. Lionel was regarded as the man to have in a crisis or in a difficult situation out on the road.

Having worked for Burrows Petroleum for a decade, Lionel stayed on when the Burrows family bought the Geraldton Fuel Company in 2000 and then, in 2016, when the company became Refuel Australia. He is the longest serving employee of the Burrows family, having given 22 years of dedicated service. After many years as a driver, Lionel became the Transport Manager for Refuel Australia. He is kept busy overseeing the operations of a fleet of 40 trucks. However, in his new role, Lionel does admit to missing truck driving, along with the peace and quiet when out on the road.

For someone who wasn’t home much over the years, Lionel was a dedicated family man who, with his wife Berna, managed to raise a family of seven children. Their  four sons have inherited Lionel’s work ethic and all work in the transport industry.