First two photos from Frank Gough whilst the last one, taken in Salzburg, is courtesy of Jazzandy and shows George Fardell on top of the container. Perhaps thats why George moved to Promotor, thought he would be safer with us.
Promotor, prompted by the type of work handled by the firm, were never afraid to look âoutside the boxâ for a solution to a particular problem. When we were handling the freight for the fashion shows, if there was a holdup like French fishermen blocking Calais, we would load the most important items on a lorry and fly it out to Beauvais or wherever.
However, I was surprised when Frank Gough told me he was involved in a Ford film shoot in Morocco whereby he loaded his car transporter outfit including the cars on one of those big Russian transport planes at Stanstead and was flown down there together with two other guys, Andy Carrol and Aldo. Their jobs were to look after the cars whilst on location. The job was for a Mondeo TV ad and photo stillâs for advertising purposes.
Please click on a photo to enlarge.
Hereâs a couple more Frank Gough photos. The first one, taken at the Motor Show in Munchen, has Frank in the middle. The other two guys werenât Promotor drivers but possibly were subbies as I kinda recognise them and were delivering the stand equipment to the show.
The second photo is unfortunately not very clear. It was obviously a big move for us as we had hired in a lot of equipment. Maybe an appraisal at different venues.
John Cox. EU aid to Poznan 87. Promotor did a lot of work to Poland in the 70âs but by the end of the 80âs it was dying off.
Last two photos supplied by Frank Gough. Both were taken at our Longfield Road premises in Tunbridge Wells. About the worst place to run a transport operation from. Very little parking and we upset the neighbours on a regular basis.
Our friends mobile home arrived in Portugal safely. The driver first had to go to Portimao to clear customs. Itâs a long time ago since I had to do that.
The Tom Collins Jazz Band. Baghdad International Trade Fair about 87. In the first two photos Andy McLean aka Jazzandy is guesting on drums. The concert was held on the 600 Services stand and was sponsored by different companies every day.
The dreaded queue at Habur and once you got into Iraq you found Saddam keeping an eye on you wherever you went. There were many pictures of him in different garbs and poses. There were some of him in a suit and tie which were rumoured to have been taken in an old establishment in London, all polished oak and thick Wilton. Perhaps it was the House of Lords.
sandway:
Promotor, prompted by the type of work handled by the firm, were never afraid to look âoutside the boxâ for a solution to a particular problem. When we were handling the freight for the fashion shows, if there was a holdup like French fishermen blocking Calais, we would load the most important items on a lorry and fly it out to Beauvais or wherever.However, I was surprised when Frank Gough told me he was involved in a Ford film shoot in Morocco whereby he loaded his car transporter outfit including the cars on one of those big Russian transport planes at Stanstead and was flown down there together with two other guys, Andy Carrol and Aldo. Their jobs were to look after the cars whilst on location. The job was for a Mondeo TV ad and photo stillâs for advertising purposes.
Please click on a photo to enlarge.
Hello Brian, you might remember that I posted this photo on this thread a couple of years ago as I wondered if this was a photo of Bobby Keen. I donât think that I got an answer at the time as there seemed to be more concern about this blokeâs âreversed right legâ. I did think for a while that this bloke looks like he has got tattoos but I am now wondering if that could be axle grease smeared along his arm. You must admit that there is a bit of a likeness or maybe somebody else might recognise this guy.
Slightly off topic, that big Russian transport plane that was mentioned was actually an ex R.A.F. Belfast made by Shorts. Frank was very lucky to get a flight on a Belfast as there were only ten aircraft made and they were all made for the R.A.F. Incidentally there were over twice as many Concords made than there were Belfastâs. In the 70âs, due to massive defence cuts the entire Belfast fleet was grounded and sold to Heavy Lift at Southend Airport. Apparently, there is only one Belfast left now which is being restored here in Queensland.
I only did one trip on a Belfast 50 years ago from Anglesey to Germany and I seem to remember that it could be converted into a double deck troop transporter. As far as I can remember there were about twenty seats upstairs at the front of the aircraft and all the seats were facing backwards. Maybe Frank can remember where he sat on his flight. Anyway, just in case Frank or anybody else is interested there is a You Tube clip here which shows a few shots of Heavy Lift G-BFYU at 2 mins 21 secs. And with the help of reverse pitch the pilot does a nice three point turn on the runway at 5 mins 55 secs.
Regards Steve.
Morning mushroomman. Once again another excellent article and one that proves I should check the facts before opening my mouth. The story I was told concerned fashion shows and that attending these very important events, mainly in France and Italy, could set a company up for years to come. To some of the more affluent companies money was no object, they had to attend waterever the cost. Hence us hiring aircraft to ship the lorries over. It didnât happen many times and only when there was a French blockade of Calais or similar. As I wasnât directly involved with these shows, being in the Middle East or North Africa at the time, I picked up the news from others at Promotor. I was told the lorries were loaded aboard large Russian transport planes and took that at face value, not something I normally do and it didnât enter my head to query it.
We must not get confused here. The fashion show jobs were at their busiest about 88 to early 90âs although we had always been involved and I think thats when those photos were taken but Frank Goughâs trip to Morocco was after I left Promotor so had to be about 95 to 97. He definitely flew on a Russian transport plane as he told me so himself. I donât think the car transporter he was driving would have fitted inside the ex Raf Short Belfast but I stand to be corrected.
I have to say Steve the picture you posted, which I remember well, is not of our Bobby Keen. I said originally it reminded me a lot of our Efes but he confirmed it wasnât he. I am wondering if its a âJohny Foreignerâ. The open door on the lorry is maybe the drivers door but of course equally could be the passenger side. Do you know were the photo was taken?
mushroomman:
sandway:
Promotor, prompted by the type of work handled by the firm, were never afraid to look âoutside the boxâ for a solution to a particular problem. When we were handling the freight for the fashion shows, if there was a holdup like French fishermen blocking Calais, we would load the most important items on a lorry and fly it out to Beauvais or wherever.However, I was surprised when Frank Gough told me he was involved in a Ford film shoot in Morocco whereby he loaded his car transporter outfit including the cars on one of those big Russian transport planes at Stanstead and was flown down there together with two other guys, Andy Carrol and Aldo. Their jobs were to look after the cars whilst on location. The job was for a Mondeo TV ad and photo stillâs for advertising purposes.
Please click on a photo to enlarge.
Hello Brian, you might remember that I posted this photo on this thread a couple of years ago as I wondered if this was a photo of Bobby Keen. I donât think that I got an answer at the time as there seemed to be more concern about this blokeâs âreversed right legâ. I did think for a while that this bloke looks like he has got tattoos but I am now wondering if that could be axle grease smeared along his arm. You must admit that there is a bit of a likeness or maybe somebody else might recognise this guy.
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1
Slightly off topic, that big Russian transport plane that was mentioned was actually an ex R.A.F. Belfast made by Shorts. Frank was very lucky to get a flight on a Belfast as there were only ten aircraft made and they were all made for the R.A.F. Incidentally there were over twice as many Concords made than there were Belfastâs. In the 70âs, due to massive defence cuts the entire Belfast fleet was grounded and sold to Heavy Lift at Southend Airport. Apparently, there is only one Belfast left now which is being restored here in Queensland.
I only did one trip on a Belfast 50 years ago from Anglesey to Germany and I seem to remember that it could be converted into a double deck troop transporter. As far as I can remember there were about twenty seats upstairs at the front of the aircraft and all the seats were facing backwards. Maybe Frank can remember where he sat on his flight. Anyway, just in case Frank or anybody else is interested there is a You Tube clip here which shows a few shots of Heavy Lift G-BFYU at 2 mins 21 secs. And with the help of reverse pitch the pilot does a nice three point turn on the runway at 5 mins 55 secs.Regards Steve.
youtube.com/watch?v=5O_tmcmRMHc
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Thatâs a DOW MAN behind him IIRC Steve.
David
sandway:
Morning mushroomman. Once again another excellent article and one that proves I should check the facts before opening my mouth. The story I was told concerned fashion shows and that attending these very important events, mainly in France and Italy, could set a company up for years to come. To some of the more affluent companies money was no object, they had to attend waterever the cost. Hence us hiring aircraft to ship the lorries over. It didnât happen many times and only when there was a French blockade of Calais or similar. As I wasnât directly involved with these shows, being in the Middle East or North Africa at the time, I picked up the news from others at Promotor. I was told the lorries were loaded aboard large Russian transport planes and took that at face value, not something I normally do and it didnât enter my head to query it.We must not get confused here. The fashion show jobs were at their busiest about 88 to early 90âs although we had always been involved and I think thats when those photos were taken but Frank Goughâs trip to Morocco was after I left Promotor so had to be about 95 to 97. He definitely flew on a Russian transport plane as he told me so himself. I donât think the car transporter he was driving would have fitted inside the ex Raf Short Belfast but I stand to be corrected.
I have to say Steve the picture you posted, which I remember well, is not of our Bobby Keen. I said originally it reminded me a lot of our Efes but he confirmed it wasnât he. I am wondering if its a âJohny Foreignerâ. The open door on the lorry is maybe the drivers door but of course equally could be the passenger side. Do you know were the photo was taken?
Hi Brian, it would seem that Frank probably flew on a Russian Antonov cargo plane which once again must of been quite an experience back then. I put the video of the Heavy Lift Belfast G-BFYU on because I thought that it might bring back a few memories for the Show Haul drivers one of whom I thought was Frank. 
David was right, the Dow M.A.N. 16.280 was driven by Irish John Conneely who is stood on the left of the photo wearing the coveralls. I have no idea where that photo was taken but looking at what appears to be an immaculate clean parking area I could only presume that itâs somewhere in West Germany, possibly Bavaria on the way to the Czech border.
Regards Steve.
Shipped over Saturday on the Brittany Ferries Galicia out of Santander. It was nice to see some British lorries on board but I noticed they were all specialised transport. Heavy loads and boat transporters mainly and as for the Bay of Biscay being rough----hah.
sandway:
Shipped over Saturday on the Brittany Ferries Galicia out of Santander. It was nice to see some British lorries on board but I noticed they were all specialised transport. Heavy loads and boat transporters mainly and as for the Bay of Biscay being rough----hah.
Hi Brian i sent you a email yesterday not sure if you got it âŚanyway im back . Wish you a pleasent journey best wishes Steve
flyingflash007:
sandway:
Shipped over Saturday on the Brittany Ferries Galicia out of Santander. It was nice to see some British lorries on board but I noticed they were all specialised transport. Heavy loads and boat transporters mainly and as for the Bay of Biscay being rough----hah.Hi Brian i sent you a email yesterday not sure if you got it âŚanyway im back . Wish you a pleasent journey best wishes Steve
Hello Steve. Just read your private message. What happened to you sounds horrendous. You should post the details on here.
Just a little something from my trip at the weekend, well not so little actually. As we made our way to our berth in Portsmouth we passed by our two Aircraft Carriers. Must admit not quite as impressive as I thought they would be but still difficult to get both in one shot.
Please click on the photo to make these ships look even bigger.
Is the picture of Saddam on the front meant to stop kids throwing stones at you as you drove past!
Looks like a very interesting old Italian lorry. Donât think Iâd have wanted to drive that to Iraq though.
sandway:
Is the picture of Saddam on the front meant to stop kids throwing stones at you as you drove past!Looks like a very interesting old Italian lorry. Donât think Iâd have wanted to drive that to Iraq though.
Morning thanks for the Mail Brian yes i meant back on here âŚyes the accident was rather nasty but at least thanks to the amazing skill of the doctor he rebuilt my foot as aposed to chopping it off ⌠ill write some more later âŚim doing a bit gardening in the moment and want to make use of the good weather âŚwhen it rains ill go into my den and start writing âŚso you was in spain âŚi loved driving there especially in the old days on the small roads stuck behind them old pegaso and spanish dodge 8 wheelersâŚhad kind of magic for me âŚill post soon i promise
Noticed this at the weekend in Santander docks. I assume he went out with a rope(straps) and sheeted load. Donât see that very often nowadays. Of course I shouldnât assume. He may have taken out some machinery uncovered but took along some sheets as he didnât know what his return load would be.
Where does the time go! Just been looking through some old photos and found these. Had this TR almost forty years ago. Iâve just looked it up on DVLA and see its still on the road. Unfortunately I didnât get to use it a great deal as Promotor kept me busy mainly on Yugo and M/E. As I was away most of the time I decided it was a crying shame to leave it sitting in the driveway so sold it on after a couple of years. I remember buying it from the garage at the top of the hill as you came up to the âHeightsâ on Portland, Dorset but I sold it privately, think I got ÂŁ2,100, almost what I paid for it.
