This is my take on Promotors Dave Stagg. Love him or hate him you just couldnât ignore him. I have tried to get the facts right but please feel free to correct me fellow Promotor drivers if you see a mistake.
Dave Stagg or Staggie as he was known to many associated with Promotor, joined the company in the mid 70âs. I understand it was a chance meeting with Peter (Mr. Promotor) Calderwood at the Aachen border where he was invited to work for the company, initially as an O/D. As has been stated elsewhere, he was based in Spain for a while when Promotor had the AA and insurance companies work repatriating damaged or broken-down cars. When he came back to the UK he soon came on the books and Peter made him up to transport manager. I think it was fair to say that he was always a company man and rarely went out of his way to ingratiate himself with the drivers. I also think it fair to say that by trying to impose his authority it caused many of the early drivers to leave.
I didnât know Staggie at this time, not meeting him until 1977 or 78. He interviewed and offered me a job for which I was always grateful. Although it appeared no driver was favoured over another, it was obvious he was more friendly to some than others. Bill Tooke or Tookie as he was known was one such driver. Staggie, as one would expect, preferred people that he could rely on. He soon sussed out our preferences. Tony Grainger or RF (road foreman) liked working with cars and often did Road Shows, new car launches and clinics. Bill Tooke was happy hammering up and down to Yugo. I preferred longer trips and was not worried about being away for extended periods. It was also known Micky Twemlow didnât mind being away over Christmas and New Year.
Everyone knew Staggie had an explosive temper and his caustic comments upset many. Mind you, when we joined him at his second office, The Rose & Crown at Dunton Green, he was often the life and soul of the party and loved us all. In the late 70âs and early 80âs I often heard him running one of our drivers, George Fardell, down. I know George was a bit unlucky sometimes, such as when he was returning from Poznan in a hired unit and went off the road where the unit ended up on itâs side. Dave let everyone know it was Fardellâs fault, whilst George said there was a problem with the unit. However, as much as Staggie appeared to dislike George, he still invited him home to have a meal and stay the night if it was too late to drive home to Devon. George didnât help himself though, he had this ugly Norwegian troll-like effigy called Staggie fixed to his dashboard in the lorry. Beside it he kept a whip made from a bit of welding rod and a leather thong attached which he used to thrash Staggie hard and often, especially if the real Staggie was nearby. Another thing I remember, although Staggie wouldnât have seen this, only the drivers. I once visited the toilets next to the restaurant in the National and sat down to contemplate and read the scribblings on the back of the door. I saw George had left a message as follows - âPromotor drivers unite. Cast off your chains. Out with Staggieâ. I canât remember the rest but it went on in that vein for a while. In the end George did leave and a lot of us thought he had been hounded out.
Dave Stagg was promoted to Director and Richard Phillips was made transport manager sometime in the mid 80âs. Dave drummed up a lot of business for Promotor including exhibition work in Russia, Conference trucking, exhibition work in Iran and all British trade fairs in Morrocca, Tunisia and South Yemen.
Staggie was married to Martine, a dutch girl, who often called him Staggie and he didnât seem to mind. Their lifestyle, if known to a life insurance company, would have deemed them âunsuitable risksâ. They both smoked heavily, drank plenty, ate badly and took no exercise. Dave also suffered from hypertension. He had such unbelievable highs matched by unbelievable lows we were often left very confused. One thing which was really exciting was taking a car ride with him. His little red â â â â â â had, I am sure, a square steering wheel. Every journey was flat out and every corner was square.
As I said Dave was instrumental in the mid to late 80âs in bringing a lot of exciting and valuable work to Promotor. Unfortunately in the late 80âs and perhaps early 90âs the type of business Promotor was involved in went into decline. The company shrunk alarmingly and Dave left. I think it was at this time Martine, Daveâs wife, went into hospital for an operation and tragically did not survive. Dave started up his own exhibition service company but couldnât make a go of it. He went to work for a company in London concerned with tourism. He was found dead from a heart attack in a London hotel room a year or two later aged just 60.
It was Daveâs grit and determination combined with his natural flair that made Promotor throughout the 80âs the company it was. I was fond of Dave. He took me on, provided me with work I enjoyed doing and put me up in his house on a number of occasions. I have nothing bad to say about Dave but fully understand how others, in the early days, disliked him. However he did mellow with age. Well, ever so slightly.
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⌠mind you, sometimes I cant remember what I did yesterday 
