Good stuff Efes. I am away on a trip a present and my mifi unit has let me down so keep up the good work. John has to be out there somewhere.
sandway:
Good stuff Efes. I am away on a trip a present and my mifi unit has let me down so keep up the good work. John has to be out there somewhere.
He had a son I think… Anyone know the son’s name and approx age?
Hi Efes, in answer to your location request for the “Spanish depot” I am pretty sure it was a campsite just outside Canet de mar near Barcelona. I dont know of another storage site but there was an un-used area at the campsite where Stagg and his wife were living temporarily. Stagg had a “D” series flatbed and car trailer which he used to go around Spain collecting the broken down cars under the AA 5 STAR recovery scheme bringing them back to the campsite where they were stored waiting collection toreturn to the UK. One of my early long(timewise) trips I can remember was a 3 weeker which involved the Carriemore car trailer loaded with taxi spec Ford Cortinas bound for a trades fair in Brno and then going empty to Canet to reload with broken cars to take home. Some of the other Promotor drivers were down there as well having unloaded new machinery at the then new Ford assembly plant at Valencia. We all had to wait a couple of days for Stagg to return before we could load up. 3 or 4 drivers, Spanish camp site, sun,sand,beer and barbie and days to kill !!!How boring could it get! Oh and a few bikini clad girlies on holiday at the campsite too, I almost forgot that! PS, Roger Oakley took over from Stagg eventually and moved his wife down there with him too. Rumours were rife that a little bit of malarky took place at that time but I cant(wont) say more than that as sadly, Roger isn,t with us anymore to confirm or deny.
Efes:
sandway:
Good stuff Efes. I am away on a trip a present and my mifi unit has let me down so keep up the good work. John has to be out there somewhere.He had a son I think… Anyone know the son’s name and approx age?
John had two sons. One was named Bryn (spelling) and when I met him in about 81 or 82 I think he was aged about 18. He worked as a groundsman at Wrotham Golf Club, opposite side of the road to the Astran depot. The other son I met but can’t remember much about him but I believe he was the one who moved to Tasmania where I thought John ended up.
Efes:
sandway:
Good stuff Efes. I am away on a trip a present and my mifi unit has let me down so keep up the good work. John has to be out there somewhere.He had a son I think… Anyone know the son’s name and approx age?
John had two sons. One was named Bryn (spelling) and when I met him in about 81 or 82 I think he was aged about 18. He worked as a groundsman at Wrotham Golf Club, opposite side of the road to the Astran depot. The other son I met but can’t remember much about him but I believe he was the one who moved to Tasmania where I thought John ended up.
sandway:
Efes:
sandway:
Good stuff Efes. I am away on a trip a present and my mifi unit has let me down so keep up the good work. John has to be out there somewhere.He had a son I think… Anyone know the son’s name and approx age?
John had two sons. One was named Bryn (spelling) and when I met him in about 81 or 82 I think he was aged about 18. He worked as a groundsman at Wrotham Golf Club, opposite side of the road to the Astran depot. The other son I met but can’t remember much about him but I believe he was the one who moved to Tasmania where I thought John ended up.
sandway:
Efes:
sandway:
Good stuff Efes. I am away on a trip a present and my mifi unit has let me down so keep up the good work. John has to be out there somewhere.He had a son I think… Anyone know the son’s name and approx age?
John had two sons. One was named Bryn (spelling) and when I met him in about 81 or 82 I think he was aged about 18. He worked as a groundsman at Wrotham Golf Club, opposite side of the road to the Astran depot. The other son I met but can’t remember much about him but I believe he was the one who moved to Tasmania where I thought John ended up.
I have been in contact with Bryn and - very sad to say - John crossed the line in 2006 of a heart attack. I’m going to meet up with Bryn for a beer and to see the photos he says he has and a trip down memory lane.
What a terrible shame as John was one of those great characters one meets so rarely in life. Trips with John were always an immense amounts of fun.
He will be sadly missed - but not forgotten - as these pages testify.
Hello Efes. You have done sterling work in your endeavours to trace John. Its sad that all your hard work was in vain and that John was another one to leave the party early. That reminds me of the time John and I were locked up for the night near Cluses. We had left a group of drivers in a local drinking hole early as he was ■■■■■■ off with one of them, intending to walk back to where our lorries were parked at Cluses customs depot forgetting it was 7 or 8km away. On the way we were picked up by the local gendarmerie… Yes, I’ve told the story before on here so won’t go on, suffice to say, I can’t think of a better cell mate than John. Miss you lots old fellow but I would like everyone to know it was all your fault as you got me drunk.
I hope Bryn is able to supply some old photos of John before he worked for Promotor Efes. Please remember me to him. I doubt he will remember but I stayed the night at their house then at five next morning Bryn, John and myself went up to the golf course at Wrotham where Bryn was working and John and I knocked a few balls around.
As you have no doubt ascertained I am back on line, albeit perhaps only temporary. I have been in the high Pyrenees but the first snow of the winter arrived a couple of nights ago and I don’t like the cold so have moved to lower levels. At least here I can get a wifi signal. I have added a few photos but at home I know I have one or two more of John but thats gonna be three or four weeks before I can look for them.
Whilst carrying out some research into the infamous job Promotor did to Riyadh a few posts earlier I found out from his son that Bill Sallis took some of the photos. Around that time, mid 70’s, he worked for Knight International and ended up doing some internals for them. He took photos of one job he was on that I thought are worth showing on this thread. I got those photos courtesy of Neil Trickett.
Knights had three caravans to move and managed to get two of them in the trailer but rather than delivering them and then coming back for the third they decided to weld a ball hitch on the back of the trailer and get the job done in one go. Unfortunately the ball hitch broke soon after setting off and the mobile welder had to be called in to reattach it. Bill did finally get to his destination wherever that was.
Been a few old Promotor drivers mentioned recently. I know there are a number out there who watch but don’t contribute. Thats fine with me but would be nice to hear from you with some of your stories, however mundane. I was in touch with Sue Evans, Johns wife. John worked for Pro’s from 72 to 78 leaving just before I joined the company. It seems he drove one of the red Brighton Van Hire Transcons for a while and also Roy Cloaks Transcon. I thought John was known as Johny but maybe Nottsnortherner can answer that one. John and Sue are going to Devon this month to see two of our old drivers. George Fardell and Sue Ashdown.
Roger Graber has been mentioned by Efes. Shame he’s immobile at present. What he needs is a Staggie yelling at him!
I am attaching some more photos of Promotor subbie Micky Martin of MartinFreight taken on a trip to Tehran in 74. As there are so many of them I will put them on in two lots. I’m sure some of you who did this run years ago will recognise some of the places shown
More of Micky’s photos. He was saying the Scania 110 was the best motor he ever had. Bought it new and came home with full middle east spec. Did something like 360,000 miles in it.
sandway:
Whilst carrying out some research into the infamous job Promotor did to Riyadh a few posts earlier I found out from his son that Bill Sallis took some of the photos and that he drove for Bowkers . Around that time, mid 70’s, he also worked for Knight International and ended up doing some internals for them. He took photos of one job he was on that I thought are worth showing on this thread. I got those photos courtesy of Neil Trickett.
I’ve done some work on Bowker’s history lately, and also worked there for almost 20 years, and I never came across any mention of Mr Sallis, so I’ve learned something there. I’d love to see any more photos he might have, of Bowker motors in the M/E as it wasn’t a market they stayed in for very long
240 Gardner:
sandway:
Whilst carrying out some research into the infamous job Promotor did to Riyadh a few posts earlier I found out from his son that Bill Sallis took some of the photos and that he drove for Bowkers . Around that time, mid 70’s, he also worked for Knight International and ended up doing some internals for them. He took photos of one job he was on that I thought are worth showing on this thread. I got those photos courtesy of Neil Trickett.I’ve done some work on Bowker’s history lately, and also worked there for almost 20 years, and I never came across any mention of Mr Sallis, so I’ve learned something there. I’d love to see any more photos he might have, of Bowker motors in the M/E as it wasn’t a market they stayed in for very long
Oh dear! Its the ‘little grey cells’ letting me down again. I’ve been back through all the correspondence I had on various Facebook sites and find that I muddled up a couple of companies/lorries. Bill Sallis was a driver for Knights of Old or Knight International as shown in the photo. Unfortunately there was also a Bowker lorry there and I got muddled up. Yes, comes with age so my wife keeps telling me. Sorry for the confusion.
Yes, I know you knew the driver was George Fardell all along. The photo I have attached this morning has been on Trucknet many times and I thought was one of Bubbleman’s own. But it isn’t only on here that I’ve seen it. Its been shown by many people on many sites, mainly Facebook, and is well known.
However, what I find interesting is that the first photo, shown in an earlier post, which was given to me by Paul Willis, shows George climbing out of his lorry and hasn’t been seen before as far as I know. This could well be because its not the finished article. Its not staged or posed and because of that it adds more realism to the shot. There must be many photos like that that people are perhaps under the misconception that they aren’t interesting enough to show. But they are so don’t keep them hidden in your shoe box. Lets see them especially if they are to do with Promotor.
Friday night out for a beer with John Preece’s son, Bryn, who was wearing his father’s style all year round short trousers (but without his father’s flip-flops). Bryn was accompanied by his charming wife, Alison. My goodness, he looks like John and sounds like John! A real chip off the old block. It was a very pleasant evening indeed as Bryn had been on several trips with his father to Yugo and elsewhere and so we swapped stories of the old days…
Bryn has given me a pack of photos to put online and I hope that over the coming week or two I’ll find a moment to post these for him.
Watch this spot!
Back in the harness again after another gruelling trip. Well, not as bad as the ones we did to Yugo or Romo in the depths of winter many years ago. Some of those I hated with a vengeance. Mind you after a few days off I was always looking forward to the phone call telling me where I was off to next. It could have been the usual or it may have been a trip to Lisbon, Athens or Rome. That was one of the great things about Promotor. You never knew what the next job would entail.
Hi Efes, glad to hear you met up with Bryn and his wife. I’m looking forward to seeing the photos of John. If you don’t have time to copy and post them I would be happy to do it for you. I’m retired remember!
I know I’m not going to be thanked by some old Promotor drivers but I am attaching some photos of Ray Scutts old lorries. He worked for the company for a spell in the mid 70’s so is part of the Promotor history. At one time, after leaving Astran, he started up on his own with two or three F88’s. I don’t think the venture lasted long and a couple of the photos show the lorries with different names on the headboards. It seems Ray has a very good photo album. I’m sure he has a lot of unseen photos hidden away.
The last photo is interesting. The guy on the right is, I think, Chris Bosman of Bosman Transport out of Farleigh near Maidstone.
I have a series of images which I photographed as my scanner is unavailable at the moment. I’ll re-do these properly when I have a moment.
Brian Holmes on left and John Preece on the right. Looks to be a serious time either in Baghdad or Tehran. Brian? Over to you.
John Preece and his wife Annika (as featured on on John’s truck in an earlier photo on this site) at work in the Joiner’s Arms in West Malling. John had a stamp in his passport from the Joiners Arms and I remember the Waterguard at Dover asking where we’d been as he examined our passports. He observed that John had been to the Joiners Arms!
