That fellow of M20 Trucks was very busy with his photographs…
I haven’t had a lot of time recently to dig out my own photos - but I promise I will. I have some rather fine ones.
Sandway’s photo above shows a left-■■■■■■ but I don’t think it’s the one I drove. My first artic’ at Promotor was left hand drive Scania - wonderful after the dreadful non-sleeper Ford pantechnicon I had to drive. I seem to recall it was LLP? or some such - formerly Billy Proudlove’s? I thought Promotor only had the one left-■■■■■■?
I did a Yugo in this old Scania in May 1980 and arrived just after Tito died and everything closed for a week… I remember that trip arriving at Spielfeld and filling at the Shell and the pump attendant was very excited and telling me how wonderful our British soldiers were as they’d killed all the terrorists. I had no idea what he was talking about but he was greatly enthused making machine guns noises and spraying pretend bullets… I see this was May 5 1980, Tito died the day before on 4th May.
Morning Efes. Glad to see you back on here again. I was getting to feel quite lonely. Bout time we heard from Nottsnortherner as well. He would know if there had been two left hookers in the Promotor fleet. I thought there had only been one, JWC 477V. I remember Trevor Thayre driving it for a while. As for your photos. Yea, bring em on. But only one at a time please. My old heart can’t put up with too much excitement in one go.
One of the very early Promotor drivers who looks in now and again to this thread is Dave Clark. Come on Dave. Lets hear a bit about the early days. I’m sure you have stories to tell. You don’t need photos. It would be nice to hear from you.
Outside the British Pavilion at the 1986 (I think) Baghdad International Trade Fair. In those days Great Britain was proud to announce ‘Member State of the European Community’.
I’m posing in short shorts by the forklift. Sadly I can’t remember the name of our driver even though he stayed in Baghdad with me for about six or seven weeks. He came from east Sussex I believe.
Promotor organised the ‘British Industry Group’ participation at the Tehran International Trade Fair in 1983, the first since the revolution. We organised everything, from building the stands to making travel arrangements to shipping the exhibits and providing customs clearance plus 101 other little things that needed doing, like visas etc. It was a huge job that was all done in a ridiculously short space of time. Dave Stagg was in London one day for a meeting with someone we knew at the ‘British Overseas Trade Board’ or BOTB as it was known. I think Dave was in a transitional period at that time from transport manager to a director’s role. At that meeting he was told diplomatic ties had been re-established with Iran but the BOTB, being a government department, didn’t have enough time to organise a British participation at that years Tehran Fair. Dave jumped in with both feet of course extolling Promotors virtues as an event organiser, we had done a few small events. I must say our contact at the BOTB knew our capabilities quite well having worked with us in eastern Europe. But there we only provided freight and custom clearance services, Tehran was a different ball game completely. One problem we had was that the BOTB would support the exhibiting companies financially but the money had to be channeled through an official or semi-official organisation. Promotor being, supposedly, a profit making company would not be considered but we got around that by getting the ‘Middle East Association’ involved.
I was also in a transitional role at that time being both a driver but also acting as site rep/manager at the exhibitions. Luck had it that I was in the office that morning and took the call from ‘Staggie’. Now anyone who knew Staggie knew he was a big lump of lard and when he got excited his whole body would wobble. I’m glad I couldn’t see him as he made that call. He was so excited I had a job to understand what he was on about. Finally though it all fell into place and I took down his instructions. We had to advertise the event immediately as we only had a few weeks to organise everything. Luckily for us we had a list of British companies we had worked for recently in Iraq and a few other Middle East countries. We didn’t have time to produce a brochure so did a two page letter. On page one we explained we were organising a British Group participation at the Tehran International Trade Fair and page two was an enrolment form. The completed form had to be returned to us with a deposit. Early next day we started to fax this letter to companies on our contact list plus anyone else we thought may be interested.
Over the years I had some exciting times with Promotor but the next few weeks were to prove the most frenetic and mind-blowing of them all. Within minutes of the faxes being sent the phones started ringing and it didn’t stop. Dave, Peter the boss and myself were taking the calls with the girls in the office also involved. It was fantastic. We didn’t need to do a sales pitch. Everyone wanted to go. On the first day we had something like thirty companies signed up (faxed their forms back) and cheques in the post. Over the next week we had over a hundred British companies signed up. But by then we had filled all our allocated space in the exhibition hall in Tehran. However, we were very lucky that we had appointed an Iranian stand fitting company who had good contacts and they were able to obtain more space for us albeit in a broken down decrepit small old pavilion that had not been used for many years. In the end we filled this area and could have filled it again, such was the demand. We weren’t quite finished though as we offered a display board on a couple of metres of wall and somewhere for a salesman to stand which some companies were more than happy to rent just to get to and be seen at the exhibition. I think in the end we had over 150 British companies signed up.
Hotels and flights were a bit of a problem but we managed to get a good allocation of rooms at the Azardi, formally the Hyatt, the Estaglal, formally the Hilton both up in the north of the city near to fairground and the Interconti down in the city centre. We were helped by many of the companies having agents in Iran and they were able to find some accommodation elsewhere but not always close to the fair. Flights weren’t a problem as many airlines were flying in there but I don’t think BA had returned at that time. Certainly our embassy hadn’t fully reopened.
We didn’t have masses of freight to go. Only three lorries were required but we did have a lot of airfreight. Because of the short lead in time most companies took graphics, literature and small exhibits only. We didn’t have anything big to ship. No generators or JCB’s. I took the first load down, second was a subbie driven by ‘bestbooties’ who pulled one of our trailers about a week later and the name of the third one is lost in the mist of time but it was another subbie not one of our own.
I’ve added a few photos. First two are borrowed and are great. Unfortunately most of my contribution are shots of the countryside in eastern Turkey taken as I drove along.
I never had a shot at Tehran… Shame… They used to say “At Ankara the boys turn right for Baghdad and the men go straight on for Tehran”. I always turned right…
Once I’d visited Baghdad - (prior to Promotor I went with Chris Taylor of Star Transport) I ended up being a Baghdad “expert” (ie competent). It seemed had more than my fair share of them. I went on my first (Promotor) Baghdad to the Fair and it was with Bugsy and I had to run around and do everything for him. Nice fellow but very lazy… He almost had us both arrested in Romania as he picked up two girls and we were followed by the Securitate for about two hours. The secret policemen were really mad at us that they had to follow us for hours and had a two hour drive back home in the night…
On the way home from Baghdad we met a Top Deck Travel bus at the Londra but the lovely girls were soon shepherded off to bed in the bus as the hundreds of lorry drivers that inhabit the Londra got drunk and over-friendly. Next day Graham & I saw the bus arrive at Kavalla and park up a mile down the road. Bugsy’s sore leg that had made it so difficult to walk anywhere or doing any manual work was suddenly restored to full health and we hurried off down the road to renew our acquaintanceship. Oh happy day! I have the photos somewhere…
The next Baghdad I had to travel with Wellie Ward, I suppose he meant well but I had to keep stopping to tell him to “get off my arse”. This would work for a short while and then we’d start again and he’d disappear. Disappear right behind me so close I couldn’t see him.
Generally I preferred to go on my own and choose my own company.
The Afro-Camion was a left-■■■■■■, I know, cos I took it to Israel. Although by then it had been repainted and signwritten back into Promotor colours. I have no pics of it but I think it was LGP666P’ This was 1981 and I think that truck was very much on borrowed time by then.
You,re right about “Wellie” Dave, I think I,m right in saying thats how he blew up the Transcon, coming down the “blanc” or somewhere there he got delayed and in trying to catch up with the bloke he was running with he left it in gear and just let it go down the hill in an effort to catch up. I think it was the only Transcon that registered 4000 on the rev counter before it threw a rod through the side!
Good tales Nottsnortherner and Efes. I mentioned a few posts back that Ronnie Harts wife had tried to get a Promotor thread going. That was back in Jan 08. She was known as nightowl33. I thought she posted as littleowl33 but was mistaken. I see you posted on there Efes. Its a pity there wasn’t enough interest then to keep the thread going. littleowl33’s last visit to the thread was on the 12th April 08. I have taken the photos posted then and will put them on here. Unfortunately there are very few. Although ‘Rocket Ron’ and I worked together on Promotor we rarely met and never ran together but he seemed a vey genuine guy.
The only story concerning him that I’ve heard was when he was on his way to Baghdad. He was parked in the TIR parking at Kiziltepe and in the late evening he needed a crap. He didn’t want to use the Turkish bog provided, who would or indeed ever did, so it had to be a spreadaxle job. Just as he was finishing the security man came round the back of the trailer and caught him and thats when the sh-t really hit the fan.
Not sure where the name ‘Rocket Ron’ came from? I didn’t hear that description until he’d left to start up on his own.
Nottsnortherner:
The Afro-Camion was a left-■■■■■■, I know, cos I took it to Israel. Although by then it had been repainted and signwritten back into Promotor colours. I have no pics of it but I think it was LGP666P’ This was 1981 and I think that truck was very much on borrowed time by then.
Promotor’s ‘Afro-Camion’ left ■■■■■■. Pity we can’t see the number plate. Is that really Stevie Smith driving/posing?. Suppose he was much younger then!
bubbleman:
Hiya,Heres a pic (not taken by me) of GYX764N and LGU666P parked together,Cheers Bubbs,
Great photo bubbleman. Where did you find it and are there any more where that came from. Unfortunately a lot of my photos are not of our lorries so if anyone else has any they will be much appreciated. At least now we know the reg of the Afro-Camion lorry. Nottsnortherner was very close.
The loads are interesting. I have attached a photo that was on here a while back showing two lorries loaded with similar loads. One was driven by big John Mcfall on the right and the other is a hired in Brighton Van Hire unit but don’t know the driver. At a very rough guess I’d say about 75.
sandway:
Rocket Rons company. Packed it in in 2005 I understand. Is the lady in the front of the picture nightowl33 I wonder?
Do we know what happened to Ron?
He was always a very decent fellow indeed.
I once went with him to Flitwick where he lived and he and his wife were generous hosts. His wife was appalled at my old anorak and washed it for me. He did, however, smoke continually. Travelling with him in the cab (only) - why I can’t remember - with Poxy Patterson and someone else (yes 4 of us in the cab) and they all smoked all the time and all the way. It was like a kind of hell for me who didn’t smoke…
bubbleman:
Hiya,Heres a pic (not taken by me) of GYX764N and LGU666P parked together,Cheers Bubbs,
My goodness! That’s the one! LGU666P was my first artic. at Promotor after the truly awful Ford pantechnicon with no sleeper.
The first pantech trip I did to Italy to the Fiat wind tunnel in Turin with two MG cars on board. I had a car trailer hitched on behind which made it very, very long indeed and impossible to park. Reversing was impossible because the trailer was narrower than the pantechnicon van body and it couldn’t be seen.
How good it was to escape that.
I did quite a long stint on the “oriental carpet run” around Germany in a Fiat. I visited every town centre in what was West Germany and was sometimes invited home to dinner by some of the rather nice young women who owned the carpet shops!
I often (nearly always) stopped off in Wiesbaden where an old school chum lived and have a night out on the town and meet his friends.
Hiya again,Sandway…I got the picture of the two Scanias from Ray Scutts,he used to work for Asian Transport and for a short period ran a couple of F88s on for Astrans.I would meet Ray at Wapping when we used to collect the “Sun” newspapers when we both worked for TNT,he from Maidstone depot and myself from Bristol,being a lorry anorak I asked if he’d any photos from those days and he came back with a bunch of photos from the Asian tpt period plus pics of his F88s…there were a few Pro- Motor ones amongst them,the quality of the pics aren’t good as I photocopied them onto ordinary paper as Ray made me promise to return them the next day,maybe he was a perminant employee or just did a few trips I don’t know…Heres a couple more,I don’t know the identity of the young lady stood in front of the “M” reg 110.
Cheers Bubbs,
bubbleman:
Hiya again,Sandway…I got the picture of the two Scanias from Ray Scutts,he used to work for Asian Transport and for a short period ran a couple of F88s on for Astrans.I would meet Ray at Wapping when we used to collect the “Sun” newspapers when we both worked for TNT,he from Maidstone depot and myself from Bristol,being a lorry anorak I asked if he’d any photos from those days and he came back with a bunch of photos from the Asian tpt period plus pics of his F88s…there were a few Pro- Motor ones amongst them,the quality of the pics aren’t good as I photocopied them onto ordinary paper as Ray made me promise to return them the next day,maybe he was a perminant employee or just did a few trips I don’t know…Heres a couple more,I don’t know the identity of the young lady stood in front of the “M” reg 110.
Cheers Bubbs,
I never met Ray Scutts, he was before my time (I joined 1979), but a 3rd party waxed lyrical about him only recently. Well perhaps “lyrical” is not the term. I think he was Promotor’s transport manager for a while? I’m sure Sandway can illuminate us?
They tell us technologies grand. Just wish I could get my head round some of it. We have ‘Ultra Fast Broadband’ here, 320 meg on offer. Fibre to the house. Only 4% of the country have this. Non of your green boxes down the road and old copper cable to your house. New system was put in late last year. I’m paying for 52 meg but getting nearer 80. Fantastic. Well it would be except my internet connection is up and down like the proverbial ‘whores knickers’. Been getting worse recently. Openreach said its a problem on the line. Meant to have been looked at Saturday. Now its today. Oh well, at least I’m on line at the moment. Best get typing before I lose it again.
First I would like to thank bubbleman for the photos he posted recently. More please if you have any. Qualities ok so no probs there. I’m not looking to do anything else with them like publish a book. Thats not my scene. I’m just very interested in the Promotor early years, i.e. 70 to 78 and hope others are also. As for the last two photos bubbleman. I don’t know who the girl is in front of the lorry but we did have, before my time, a girl by the name of Sue Ashdown driving for us. Now that girl in the photo don’t look like my idea of a lorry driver but stranger things have happened. Peter, our boss, was certainly into the ladies and I remember one he helped move from Poland to the UK. Is this the lady? She was married and she and her husband settled in Bromley where the husband set up a photographic shop.
bubbleman, you mention you got the photos from the famous or is it infamous Ray Scutts. I never met him but I seemed to be continually following him around. Let me explain. In the mid 60’s I was working in the building trade. I was self employed and looking to get on in life. I heard that a businessman was looking for someone to build eight houses in the next village and I made contact with him and was invited to his office in Chislehurst. There, I was ushered into his plush office by his secretary where my eyes were immediately drawn to a large picture behind his desk of a lorry and drag with ‘Asian Transport’ written across it. His name was Robert Gooda and he told me it was his company. Now of course we know he injected some much needed finance into Asian Transport in the early days but to say he owned the company was a bit of a fib. Anyway, I got the job of building his houses but more importantly I got the bug. I had seen the vision. The picture on the wall had told me where my future lay and Ray Scutts was one of the early Asian Transport drivers.
I got into the transport game in 69 working in the UK but by 76 I was working for Alan Butcher who ran a small company ‘Invicta Transport’ out of Hart Street in Maidstone doing european work. He shared premises with his brother Paul who did removals. It didn’t take long before Ray Scutts name was mentioned. I believe Alan handled quite a bit of M/E work in the early 70’s and Ray drove for him. Anyway, so I was told by one of the other drivers, Paul had done a year in Canterbury nick for an offence related to the transport industry and that he took the rap covering up for somebody else. I can believe that as Paul was one of the nicest blokes I met in our game. Sadly I couldn’t say the same about Alan who I worked for.
A few years on and I joined Promotor only to find Mr Scutts had been there before me. I must admit I was quite close to both Peter and Liz Calderwood and to Dave Stagg but Ray Scutts name was never mentioned once by them!! Nottsnortherner, a few months back you mentioned "the great Ray Scutts middle east fiasco’. Pray tell us more or if you feel more comfortable, PM me. Efes, perhaps you can do the same.
sandway:
A couple of your early trusty steeds Efes. I didn’t realise you had done the Oriental Carpet runs round Germany. Thought Paul Linscott had that job.
Those are they!
The Fiat was fine but I hated the Ford - trying to sleep across the two bucket seats with a gear stick in the middle and makeshift curtains of coats… I think I have a permanent crick in my neck from those days. Bloody awful. It was noisy to drive too. One morning at Weiskirchen the police waited outside my pantech for me to get up - for an hour or so - it being illegal to sleep in a lorry without a bed. I waited and waited for them to go… I didn’t want to move in case they knocked me up.
I did the carpet run around Germany in the Fiat for quite a while and although it was low in the excitement we had in Eastern Europe and the Middle East it was great for a social life and for visiting every major town in Germany. The Fiat was comfortable too…
Mr Scutts? George was the one telling the stories about him… Best ask Notts. He’ll know.
I asked if he’d any photos from those days and he came back with a bunch of photos from the Asian tpt period plus pics of his F88s…there were a few Pro- Motor ones amongst them,the quality of the pics aren’t good as I photocopied them onto ordinary paper as Ray made me promise to return them the next day,maybe he was a perminant employee or just did a few trips I don’t know…Heres a couple more,I don’t know the identity of the young lady stood in front of the “M” reg 110.
