bestbooties:
electriclips:
Promotor was the only company that I knew who could leave half a load on H4 and still get a clean signature.Johnny Hunt got a clean signature for a full load of cocoa butter from the ice cream factory in Baghdad after he’s rolled the drag of his F12 roadtrain at the bottom of the hill approaching Damascus and left the drag and it’s load there.This was when he was driving for Jeff.
He collected the drag and topped it on his way home.
Topped it…? 
harry:
bestbooties:
electriclips:
Promotor was the only company that I knew who could leave half a load on H4 and still get a clean signature.Johnny Hunt got a clean signature for a full load of cocoa butter from the ice cream factory in Baghdad after he’s rolled the drag of his F12 roadtrain at the bottom of the hill approaching Damascus and left the drag and it’s load there.This was when he was driving for Jeff.
He collected the drag and topped it on his way home.Topped it…?
Loaded it onto his truck!
One of my memories of Kenny Searle on this page.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=13629&p=601029&hilit=Kenny+Searle#p601029
David Miller:
davemackie.I will have some of that for sure. As I said I was with Altrex. Please keep me posted.
Thanks and regards,
David
David I have tried to send you a PM but it seems you do not exsist, contact me directly. mackie@gmx.com
Dave.
bestbooties:
harry:
bestbooties:
electriclips:
Promotor was the only company that I knew who could leave half a load on H4 and still get a clean signature.Johnny Hunt got a clean signature for a full load of cocoa butter from the ice cream factory in Baghdad after he’s rolled the drag of his F12 roadtrain at the bottom of the hill approaching Damascus and left the drag and it’s load there.This was when he was driving for Jeff.
He collected the drag and topped it on his way home.Topped it…?
Loaded it onto his truck!
I see ,I thought he collected a return load somewhere & loaded it on top.
The transport game has so many twists & turns - you can be a hero one minute & villain the next,just how your luck goes.
Thanks for the welcome to the forum.
I was on the road from about 1969 until 1975 not all on the Middle East as I also had a spell on Greece driving ATM 3L for European Traction (a Scania 110). Jacknifed it with an empty Rentco boxvan on a rain sodden road near Larissa and got the damage repaired by some expats fitting air conditioning to a cotton spinning factory at Noussa where I was backloading.
Ran with Snowy, Johnny Williams, Gordon, Jock Bell, Kemal Hussein, Tony Baker, Fred Melham, John Lewis, and many more. Stacks of tales I’m afraid and loads of photos. Can someone explain how I upload them to the forum please?
truckerash:
Jazzandy:
Hi all, Seems a shame that Astran (Asian Transport originally before they went bust), get so much publicity you’d think they were the main British Middle East haulier. Not so, they were not even the first. That honour probably goes to meat haulier Union Transport who ran fridges out to Tehran. Astran however were a very well run organisation and had a crew of very professional drivers. But don’t forget the expat drivers on ICC (Iran Container Company) and Pars International Containers. I drove for both these companies plus UK Europe Express, Freightlanes, and was one of the first drivers on OHS where I came off the road and became transport manager. Then I was with FG Hammond International as sales manager and then started Orient Transport Services in 1985 from which I retired six years ago.
Also don’t forget Oryx which grew out of JTT?, Promotor and countless others.
I’d love to hear from any of my old mates on these companies. Happy days on the road with no responsibilities, then I got married!!Hi Jazzandy and welcome to Trucknet;
You don’t know me, but I was helping Nick Garlick with his book about the Middle East which he started many many years ago but never finished. He visited you and we copied your photos. You have some fantastic images!
As far as Astran is concerned and as far as I am aware; Michael Woodman (founder and owner) and Bob Paul (his friend and transport director) were the first Englishmen to make a commercial journey overland to Kabul in 1964. If you (or anyone else) know different, then please let me know, I’d be very interested to learn more. Asian Transport was Woodman’s company which then “rebranded” into Astran in the early 70’s. The “troubles” never happened until mid-late 1970’s when the administrators took over until a new owner was found. Astran continued to trade throughout. I think the company gets so much publicity because they have always had such a high profile and reputation.BTW: Do you remember David Miller and Kenny Sealre from Oryx? David recently had a heart attack but is slowly recovering and Kenny has dissappeared from the planet! I for one hope he is OK and would like to make contact with him again. If you know him, or have any idea where he might be, please let me know.
PS: Ive sent you a PM.
Regards ASH.
ASH.
Hi Ash - I was in touch with Nick Garlick about 4/5 years back and sent him about 25/30 photo’s for him to sort thru for his new book and he (NG) visited Ken Ward when Ken was living at Pontfract, I wonder why he seemed to loose interest in the book, his hobby seemed to be hanging around truck stops and service area’s meeting drivers and chatting etc: oh well !!
whatever, regards FH
Sometimes things just come to me in the night (not very regularly any more you understand) which may help in our search for Ken Searle.
I remember that there was another coloured feller called Aussy who,I think, drove for Simons. Kens wife and family were very close friends with the wife and family of the said Aussy and they both lived in the Farnborough / Aldershot so find one we might find the other. Anybody got any thoughts on that?
Also another name from the past who I would love to hook-up with - Kemal Hassan. Is he even still with us?
David
Andrew Wilson Young, Mike Walker, Ricky Ellis and myself all loaded in holland for Qata I loaded Wednesday,Mike and Ricky loaded Thursday and Andrew loaded Friday…Andrew caught me up at the Hotel National Belgrade and I’m two days in front… Mike and Ricky caught me up in Adana Turkey and we set off together… Half way down the Tap Line by the Mirrors Cafe with still 1000km to go here comes Andrew on his way home… What a man.
Hi electriclips, for Andrew catch Mike…maybe, to pass him and get so far ahead…doubtful, I can only asume that you and Ricky Ellis must have been delaying Mike because it was always a close call between those two…
ATVB…RDF
Reddesertfox:
Andrew Wilson Young, Mike Walker, Ricky Ellis and myself all loaded in holland for Qata I loaded Wednesday,Mike and Ricky loaded Thursday and Andrew loaded Friday…Andrew caught me up at the Hotel National Belgrade and I’m two days in front… Mike and Ricky caught me up in Adana Turkey and we set off together… Half way down the Tap Line by the Mirrors Cafe with still 1000km to go here comes Andrew on his way home… What a man.Hi electriclips, for Andrew catch Mike…maybe, to pass him and get so far ahead…doubtful, I can only asume that you and Ricky Ellis must have been delaying Mike because it was always a close call between those two…
ATVB…RDF
Hi RDF
I think Andrew must of had one of his bouts of insomnia, mind you Mike did brake a leaf spring and had it repaired in Adana… Toyota pickup turns up with a selection of leaf springs and the oxy/acetalyne bottles… Job done £25
does anyone know the whereabouts of John Galland, Robin Petit, John and Peter Barnet, Joe the Malt or Black John?
electriclips:
Reddesertfox:
does anyone know the whereabouts of John Galland, Robin Petit, John and Peter Barnet, Joe the Malt or Black John?
When Jeff moved a lot of motors up to Stoke,I only saw John Galland a couple of times,he had a bad limp,this would be about 1979,he didn’t last long and I haven’t seen him since.
Robin Pettit,(The poisoned dwarf) was still at the Stoke depot as odd job man as he was on bail having to report to the local nick every day,when I left.
Black John I haven’t seen since he came back from the trip when he rolled the drag of the ex Radclives F12 road train just before Damascus and it was brought up to Stoke.
We had a Greek driver named Hercules take the Volvo truck out on a milk run and he was gone about 2 months.Never saw him again and the F12 roadtrain was sold after that.
After so many years and seeing how many names from those times we have lost,you never know how many are still alive and kicking,or even twitching!
Hi Ian
The last I heard of black John was around 12-15yrs ago and that he was chauffeuring for the wealthy Arabs in London. Apparently due to his wide ranging contacts he was able to arrange all they required… 
The Poisoned Dwarf - how perfectly that horrible little object lived up to its nickname.
David
Oh wasn’t he just David that little twerp thought he knew everything in his posey little cravat, Ian did you know that big John galland rolled one of the 89s in Pakistan and badly injured his legs there, hi s first and last trip when he came back he spun a main bearing just outside Istanbul in one of he f12s and it took about 2months to get it repaired, didn’t see him again after that, regards Paul.
germangeezer:
Oh wasn’t he just David that little twerp thought he knew everything in his posey little cravat.
quote]I inherited an F12 from that little ■■■■■■■■ on my first trip out I thought it was not going too well,then I got pulled up by the old bill in Germany on the autobahn for the amount of oil I was chucking out of the exhaust.
I stopped on a service area just north of Munich and finished up stripping the engine to find the pistons and rings were very shiny and worn.
There was not much I could do where I was,so by the time I had the engine running again,I had been there for a day or three.I phoned Jeff to tell him I was mobile again,and that the war between Iran and Iraq had just started,(I was going to Baghdad).
Jeff said,“Don’t worry mate,it’ll be all over by the time you get down there!”
I struggled on through Austria,but by the time I got to Graz I thought it was not safe to go out of Europe in this state,so after checking with Jeff,I went into the Volvo agents in Graz.
They did a complete stripdown of the engine,and the workshop foreman asked me what ■■■■ had been driving this motor without an air filter!
Anyway,an engine rebuild with new pistons and liners and a new air filter,I was underway again,completed the trip with no further problems
Next time I saw the Poisoned Dwarf,I asked about the air filter as before he handed it over to me,he had been doing internals in Saudi.
In his schoolmaster’s voice he informed me that when working internal in Saudi,he was running at anything up to 60 tons,and do you know that if you take the air filter out,you can get another 25 horse power!.Also,if you inflate your tyres with helium,you don’t transmitt full weight onto the road.
I wish I had met him in Saudi,he’d still be buried up to his neck on H4!.
Reddesertfox:
Hi Ian
The last I heard of black John was around 12-15yrs ago and that he was chauffeuring for the wealthy Arabs in London. Apparently due to his wide ranging contacts he was able to arrange all they required…
Right up John’s street I would have thought!
Free Willy’s getting a bit nearer completion, got a few days holiday coming up, so should get it finished
Coming on a treat Jerry What great imagination you have. We never saw any “original” photos of the “incident” with the Marathon did we. I don’t think there were any, but your artistic talent has recreated it superbly
Next time I saw the Poisoned Dwarf,I asked about the air filter as before he handed it over to me,he had been doing internals in Saudi.
In his schoolmaster’s voice he informed me that when working internal in Saudi,he was running at anything up to 60 tons,and do you know that if you take the air filter out,you can get another 25 horse power!.Also,if you inflate your tyres with helium,you don’t transmitt full weight onto the road.
Gawd Blimey, bestbooties, I can hear the little ■■■■■ saying it!!
Actually it was the poisoned dwarf and his kind that helped me to get a reputation as a miserable git but the truth was that I so hated their company that I would just park on my own, or with a bunch of F Troop if need be, to avoid those kind of blokes. When you think there were not so many of them really but there were a few prize specimins amongst them and Mr Petit was certainly the Bull Goose a*hole.
In fact it was one of the big draw-backs of the Volos Tartous ferry, which was certainly a lot easier than driving it and great fun in the right company - though the hang-over from that Italian beer they had, Nastro Azzuro or as Pat Seal translated it ‘Blue Nasty’, was a shocker by any standards. However if the PD or any of his kind turned up you were stuck with his wit and wisdom for the next 2 days with no hope of escape. How the little horror never had an accident on one of those ships is a mistery to me!
David
I’ll modify this post in the interests of good taste.
