I was heavily involved in Trade Fairs and Exhibitions in the late 70’s and early 80’s with most of my involvement being in Baghdad, but Mosul and Basra were also included. In the early days I would drive out to the Baghdad Fair (later I flew). After tipping I would work there during the build-up, stay during the fifteen days of the show, working in our onsite office. Afterwards I would help dismantle and repack the exhibits then reload and return home. These trip normally lasted about eleven weeks. It was hard work which I shared with Chic Steadman and sometimes our boss Peter Calderwood and any other drivers that could stay on for a few extra days. We would employ Egyptian labourers to do a lot of the hard graft but at the end of the day it was us who did the bulk of the work. In those days we all stayed in the second or third rate hotels that were at the lower end of Sadoun Street. Down towards the Opera House.
In October 1981, after slogging away during the build-up, both Chic and I were looking forward to a well earned rest whilst the trade fair was in progress. However, it was not to be. We had completed all our tasks which included, unloading the trailers, doing custom clearance, unpacking the exhibits on the stands, removing the empties to the store, delivering stand furniture and a hundred and one other jobs that always cropped up. But on the evening before the exhibition was due to open on the 1st of November Peter told us we had to return to Turkey to collect some Coles Cranes that had been shipped out to Mersin and Iskenduren.
I can’t remember exactly who we had in Baghdad at that time but Promotor drivers, John Preece, Paul Linscott and Ramsey Patterson were definitely there as well as Chic and myself. The idea was that we would run back to Turkey in a couple of the lorries. Chic and I would go to Iskenduren where there were a couple of cranes, whilst the others would go to Mersin to collect the remainder. A further complication was that another crane had got as far as Cizre before breaking down and that driver was holed up in an hotel there. We had to get him mobile on the way back and bring him down to Baghdad with us.
We had to rely on hotels during this trip as we couldn’t all sleep in the lorries. The first night we got to Zakho after an early morning departure from Baghdad. There is, or was, an old colonial type hotel on the left as you get to Zakho. We all piled in there looking for a decent meal and a nights rest. I think the staff thought an invasion was occurring. They certainly seemed pleased to see us. Not sure about the kitchen staff though. They no doubt had to go out and kill another donkey. Next day we pushed on through the border and up to Cizre. Here we found the broken down crane and the driver. We gave him the news that he had to wait until we returned, when we would get him mobile again and that he would then run down to Baghdad with us. He was not a happy bunny but we needed him to stay with the crane and guard it.
We pushed on across southern Turkey. I can’t remember where we dossed down but Gaziantep comes to mind. We stopped in a roadside cay shop where I took some photos. It shows five of us posing but there were possibly six. The next day found Chic and I in a third rate hotel near the port in Iskenduren. The others went on to Mersin but for some reason John Preece, who was driving his own lorry continued home. Possibly we had flown someone else out from the UK. Ramsey Patterson’s lorry was parked up safely as he was driving a crane back to Baghdad before returning for it later. We all of course had re-entry visas for Iraq sourced before we left.
More to follow later.
