Found this on transportphotos.com. What a great site that is!
Danne
Dirty Dan:
Found this on transportphotos.com. What a great site that is!Danne
Thanks for finding that Danne. I have very few late photos.
SUPERCUBE:
Promotor got that Tigar tyre job around 1972 when a guy walked into the office (shawfield park) and asked Peter if he ever sent motors down to yugo and if so did we want any reloads, he was from a tyre firm in Coulsdon next to the railway bridge, I thought Peter was gonna kiss him, we was struggling for reloads at the time so it couldnât have come at a better time, the first couple of reloads went to the depot then they started going further afield, I bought one load back from Pirot cleared at Dover, got back to yard and was sent on to s.Ireland, another lot of customs at Fishguard. I must admit it was an easy job then cos we was always guaranteed a backload from there.
I like that one SUPERCUBE but if I was gonna be kissed Iâd rather be kissed by Liz.
Have found a photo in my collection taken in Tunis in May 1990. We were out there for an all British Trade Fair organised by Dave Stagg, director of Promotor International. I think this was a new tilt on its first trip.
I have just noticed the guy sitting on the wall in the red shirt is Dave âLittle Daveâ Lloyd of Promotor and the guy holding his arm up is George Stavaros from Larnaka, Cyprus. It was Georgeâs company that built the stands for us at this exhibition.
sandway:
I have just noticed the guy sitting on the wall in the red shirt is Dave âLittle Daveâ Lloyd of Promotor and the guy holding his arm up is George Stavaros from Larnaka, Cyprus. It was Georgeâs company that built the stands for us at this exhibition.
Hi Sandway. Have you seen âEurope and beyond. early daysâ on Facebook. They would love your photos.
Vodka Cola Cowboy:
sandway:
I have just noticed the guy sitting on the wall in the red shirt is Dave âLittle Daveâ Lloyd of Promotor and the guy holding his arm up is George Stavaros from Larnaka, Cyprus. It was Georgeâs company that built the stands for us at this exhibition.Hi Sandway. Have you seen âEurope and beyond. early daysâ on Facebook. They would love your photos.
Iâve finished reading your book, Mick. A bloody good read! Cheers, Robert
robert1952:
Vodka Cola Cowboy:
sandway:
I have just noticed the guy sitting on the wall in the red shirt is Dave âLittle Daveâ Lloyd of Promotor and the guy holding his arm up is George Stavaros from Larnaka, Cyprus. It was Georgeâs company that built the stands for us at this exhibition.Hi Sandway. Have you seen âEurope and beyond. early daysâ on Facebook. They would love your photos.
Iâve finished reading your book, Mick. A bloody good read! Cheers, Robert
Thanks Robert. Glad that you enjoyed it. I am getting some positive feedback at the moment. Hope that we can meet up, with Andy soon.
mushroomman:
Well done Mick, Kragujevac is another place that I have never heard of for nearly thirty years and the car parts did go to Reading.
The only time that I can think of when I met you and Pam was in The Dolphin Bar in the passenger terminal in Dover Eastern Docks in 1980. I was with Ken Singleton and Lee Marland, you came over to say hello and Pam went off to buy a newspaper or something.
After having another look at that photo I am wondering if they were Baily Bridge sections. Dow Freight did a couple of similar looking loads, we used to load them in Stockport from a firm called Thomas Storie or Storie Brothers, bridge builders. I remember once running down to Ankara with a Whittles driver from Preston who was delivering some bridge sections down to Basra when the Iraq/Iran war was on and he had also loaded in Stockport.
Another place where we used to backload out of Yugo was in a little town somewhere near Celje or Kranji with large rolls of newsprint for The Sporting Times in London. I remember meeting up with an English O.H.S. driver with a Seddon who gave me directions of how to find the place as he had been there before.Regards Steve.
Didnât we first meet in Austria, when you were riding shotgun for Ken. I thought that it was you who took that photo in Czech, of Pam, Ken and me.
I remember the Dolphin. There were a few casual meetings in there. I actually delivered part of the crane that was used to build the place.
mushroomman:
I bet that there were a few drivers Ian who back loaded from Tiger Tyres at Pirot, not too far from that tunnel where the policeman in the white uniform was always on duty, day and night.
I will tell you a good tale about Ken Singleton M.M.
Ironically I was pulling a Pro-Motor Anglo - Yugo Express trailer. We were heading for Yugo, via Austria.
Pam and I had crossed over to Zeebrugge during the night and I had parked on the harbour wall to sleep.
When I woke up in the morning I was ill. I had flu.
It took me 3 days to get to Munich. (Express alright).
I would wake up and feel alright. So, I would set out but within a couple of hours I would be ill again and have to park up.
I made it to the Munich services and pulled onto there because I was ill.
Next thing, Ken, who was on his way home, pulled up on the other side and walked over the footbridge, to see us. When he realised that I was ill he went back to his truck and returned with a bottle of scotch. He made me a hot toddy and told me to get into bed and sweat it out.
When I woke up, I was as right as rain. Ken, of course was long gone. But he had certainly cured my flu.
robert1952:
Vodka Cola Cowboy:
sandway:
I have just noticed the guy sitting on the wall in the red shirt is Dave âLittle Daveâ Lloyd of Promotor and the guy holding his arm up is George Stavaros from Larnaka, Cyprus. It was Georgeâs company that built the stands for us at this exhibition.Hi Sandway. Have you seen âEurope and beyond. early daysâ on Facebook. They would love your photos.
Iâve finished reading your book, Mick. A bloody good read! Cheers, Robert
Still waiting for my copy from Amazon. Donât give the plot away!!
Promotor Driver John Preece and Promotor partimer Tim the Aussie travelled down to the Baghdad Fair together in October 1981. John was driving his Scania lorry whilst Tim was driving a 6 wheeled Coles crane. Somewhere in southern Turkey the counterweight fell off the back of the crane. John, who was behind, managed to swerve out of the way but just clipped it with his bumper bending it back but not enough to cause any other damage. John got the crane working and lifted the counterweight back onto it where it was lashed down as best possible. They continued onto Baghdad hot tired and fed up.
Now the British Pavilion wasnât far away from the Swedish one where Scania had a big stand and they were in the process of washing the trucks down. They had hosepipes and a big tub. As soon as John and Tim saw it they immediately dived in much to the amusement of the Swedes. No doubt the water needed renewing once John and Tim had finished.
sandway:
robert1952:
Vodka Cola Cowboy:
sandway:
I have just noticed the guy sitting on the wall in the red shirt is Dave âLittle Daveâ Lloyd of Promotor and the guy holding his arm up is George Stavaros from Larnaka, Cyprus. It was Georgeâs company that built the stands for us at this exhibition.Hi Sandway. Have you seen âEurope and beyond. early daysâ on Facebook. They would love your photos.
Iâve finished reading your book, Mick. A bloody good read! Cheers, Robert
Still waiting for my copy from Amazon. Donât give the plot away!!
Yeah, itâs strange. The publication date was 12.12.16, but Old Pond got it out earlier and published it on 09.11.16. I would have thought that the other suppliers like Amazon would have been able to get hold of it earlier than 12th December. But, apparently not. Shows how much I know.
sandway:
Promotor Driver John Preece and Promotor partimer Tim the Aussie travelled down to the Baghdad Fair together in October 1981. John was driving his Scania lorry whilst Tim was driving a 6 wheeled Coles crane. Somewhere in southern Turkey the counterweight fell off the back of the crane. John, who was behind, managed to swerve out of the way but just clipped it with his bumper bending it back but not enough to cause any other damage. John got the crane working and lifted the counterweight back onto it where it was lashed down as best possible. They continued onto Baghdad hot tired and fed up.Now the British Pavilion wasnât far away from the Swedish one where Scania had a big stand and they were in the process of washing the trucks down. They had hosepipes and a big tub. As soon as John and Tim saw it they immediately dived in much to the amusement of the Swedes. No doubt the water needed renewing once John and Tim had finished.
John was a bloody good bloke. I had some really good laughs with him. Last I heard he had moved to Shoreham Sussex and was driving fuel tankers at Gatwick.
Vodka Cola Cowboy:
sandway:
Promotor Driver John Preece and Promotor partimer Tim the Aussie travelled down to the Baghdad Fair together in October 1981. John was driving his Scania lorry whilst Tim was driving a 6 wheeled Coles crane. Somewhere in southern Turkey the counterweight fell off the back of the crane. John, who was behind, managed to swerve out of the way but just clipped it with his bumper bending it back but not enough to cause any other damage. John got the crane working and lifted the counterweight back onto it where it was lashed down as best possible. They continued onto Baghdad hot tired and fed up.Now the British Pavilion wasnât far away from the Swedish one where Scania had a big stand and they were in the process of washing the trucks down. They had hosepipes and a big tub. As soon as John and Tim saw it they immediately dived in much to the amusement of the Swedes. No doubt the water needed renewing once John and Tim had finished.
John was a bloody good bloke. I had some really good laughs with him. Last I heard he had moved to Shoreham Sussex and was driving fuel tankers at Gatwick.
I heard it was Jumbo Jets!!! Yes, a great bloke.
Last couple of pictures of Promotor men in a bath together. Please donât get the wrong idea. It wasnât normally something we did in public. Well, not very often!!!
Sandway, I have just got to ask you this, did your mate Tim the Aussie drive that six wheeled Coles crane all the way from England.
The reason that I ask was because on my first trip to Turkey in June 1980, somewhere between Adana and Mardin on a very long stretch of dirt road we came across a brand new Coles crane which I remember as being an eight wheeler.
Nothing usual about that you might think but this one was lying on itâs side in a ditch. The lads in front of me had already stopped to speak to the driver who I think was Turkish and there was obviously nothing that we could do with a twenty ton crane and so we carried on.
Less than ten miles further along the road we came across another brand new 20 ton, eight wheeler Coles crane which was also lying on itâs side. Both the drivers were unhurt and there was nothing that we could do to help them and I never found out if they had driven from the U.K. or if they had been shipped as far as Mersin or Iskenderun but I do remember somebody saying that they were on their way to the Baghdad State Fair. I shall try and write the full story about this one day but does this ring any old bells for anybody.
Regards Steve.
Morning mushroomman. We were involved with the Coles Cranes to Baghdad Fair 1980 job as we handled a lot of their work to exhibitions at that time. Unfortunately we used Turkish drivers to ferry them down from Mersin who screwed the job up. I know Chick Steadman did a number of jobs to the commie block shows in the late 70âs with much larger cranes than those you saw on their side in southern Turkey in 1980. In 1981 Tim did, I believe, drive the crane down from the Uk but we also shipped out at least another 5 or 6 to Iskenderun and possibly Mersin. I donât know what happened to Tim once he arrived in Baghdad. Possibly we flew him back to the UK but during the fair, which ran from 1st to the 15th November, a group of us returned to southern Turkey to pick up the cranes at the ports and ferry them back to Baghdad. I have some photos of that trip. I have attached just two but the rest will be posted later.
WOW Sandway, I AM GOBSMACKED. 
After all these years I have made enquires on here and I have never had a reply, itâs not everyday that you see two brand new Coles cranes lying on their side within ten miles of each other and thatâs probably why itâs always stuck out in my mind. As I say, it was my first trip to Turkey and by the time that we got that far I thought that it was just another one of those things so I didnât bother to take a photo of them.
Over the years I have looked at articles about Coles cranes to see if there was any mention of them as I thought that somebody must know the story behind it and the only thing that I came across was this photo.
I know that this is only a four wheeler and it is not on a dirt road but the terrain does look like Southern Turkey. Now I am wondering if they were six or eight wheelers but at the back of my mind I still think that they were eight wheelers.
Well I am off to bed now but thanks for sorting that out for me âI knew the truth was out there somewhereâ. 
Regards Steve.
mushroomman:
WOW Sandway, I AM GOBSMACKED.After all these years I have made enquires on here and I have never had a reply, itâs not everyday that you see two brand new Coles cranes lying on their side within ten miles of each other and thatâs probably why itâs always stuck out in my mind. As I say, it was my first trip to Turkey and by the time that we got that far I thought that it was just another one of those things so I didnât bother to take a photo of them.
Over the years I have looked at articles about Coles cranes to see if there was any mention of them as I thought that somebody must know the story behind it and the only thing that I came across was this photo.
I know that this is only a four wheeler and it is not on a dirt road but the terrain does look like Southern Turkey. Now I am wondering if they were six or eight wheelers but at the back of my mind I still think that they were eight wheelers.
Well I am off to bed now but thanks for sorting that out for me âI knew the truth was out there somewhereâ.Regards Steve.
Looks as though that crane has a busted track rod, cause or result of the accident?