Never meet Mr Bob Paul. But like others I always had the greatest respect for him and his achievements.
An inspiration to many
Condolences to his family & friends RIP.
To Wheel Nut
Thanks mate I knew I had spelt the word Raki wrong just as I posted it ,stupid of me as I have a bottle here at home ,nice of u to show to folks what Raki was
Roger
Yesterday, Friday 23rd July 2010, we saw Bob Paul for the final time at the Cremotorium! Very 
The turn out was lovely with so many old and new employees there to pay their last respects to such a great man. The service was so nice too. Dominic (Bob’s son) did a wonderful speach, praising his dad and giving us all a wonderful insight into his life. You held it all together perfectly. Good on you Dom!
Then it was a convoy back to Bob’s house near Hastings for a “bit of a party” 
Drinks - including Bob’s favourite Bollinger 
were flowing and a scrumtious buffett was laid on too. The weather was superb which made everything just right.
I am sure some of the others who attended will comment here, but on a personal note: I only knew Bob Paul for a little over 2 years but he has made such an impact on my life in that short time, that I shall remember him for the rest of my life!
Everyone gathered in Bob’s garden. Tony Soameson is speaking.
Bob’s lounge had never been so full!
First of all…" GOD BLESS YA GUVNOR"…may you find happiness wherever you are, for you sure brought a lot of that into my life.
I first met Bob when i had my first interview on top of the little post office in Chislehurst. Pete cannon was there and during the interview we went to a little pub up the road, for a cold beer in the midday sun.
Jeff Ruggins turned up a bit later, and we had a great time. ( i feel sure the poem at the beginning of the post was from jeff )
When i went for my second interview, there was a Bussing parked opposite and i went over to see it better, it was fascinating, and i dont know who was driving it, or who it belonged to.
My first job for the company was to take AMY to norfolk, where there was a mechanic, and i had to wait for some minor repairs, then go and pick up the drag and then drive back. I loaded in Millwall docks for Teheran, with another truck, and jeff was to take me on my first trip, well as far as the Londra anyway…then i was on my own, i think some of my tales have been documented.
Thank you BOB PAUL for giving me the opportunity to travel far and wide, for giving me the inspiration to continue in international transport…you sir are a legend, you started it all, and others followed, but one thing is for sure, ASIAN TRANSPORT…AKA…ASTRAN will never be forgotten, and neither will you. R.I.P.
Regards
Bob White
Charlton
I was in work this week when a colleague told me that Bob Paul had died…i only get on the computer at weekends so had to wait until today to add my condolences. I wish i had known sooner then i would have commented sooner, and i would have loved to have gone to the funeral. I would love to go to a reunion as and when they are posted, so if anyone is organising one, please let me know in advance. my trips to the middle east are very memorable, but sadly having been through 3 wives, they have taken the trouble to lose my photographic memories, ( well some of you may understand this )
My time with Asian Transport was enjoyable, but Jeff Ruggins ( R.I.P. ) took me on my first one outside of europe. My god that man was a driver and a half, and driving day and night was new to me, every time i saw the brake lights, i thought it was time for bed, but no! it was only a coffee break. I think we made Istanbul in about 3 days. My first encounter with the customs at Kapicule, was a nightmare…Targe Kochman was our agent, and the parking was an absolute nightmare, just one big mud puddle, so forget the white socks and sandals, which i never had on anyway, more like Doc martens, but you needed them, the whole process took about 3 hours, and thanks to jeff, managed to get through it all, and never to be forgotten. We duly arrived in the Londra, and i was amazed at how many international trucks were there, Hungarians, Russians, Bulgarians, Romanians, and many more. After a shower, and a change, it was time to go to the bar, or you could get a haircut, wash your clothes, but instead had a good meal, and then some serious drinking, various villains came and went including Jimmy the taxi…the night wore on, and with so many nationalities, you would think there would be trouble…but there was not…we all chatted to each other via various languages whether it be french, german english, or sometimes all three, but we managed to communicate, and the Londra was a stepping stone between the west and the east.
To cross the bospheros, in those days was by ferry, and that in itself was an experience i will never forget, there was all these young boys with trays on their heads selling every kind of food imaginable, it was more like a market place than a queue for the ferry to take us to Asia. I felt so alone when jeff and i had to part, for he was going one way, and me the other. The cross road was close to ankara, i went left towards Urzuram/erzinchan and encountered the worst mountain ever called…Tahir. It was winter, i had snow chains, thanks to jeff advising me to buy them, but wasnt sure how to put them on, you sure did learn the hard way, the road leading to tahir was very dangerous, with rumours of bandits shooting at you, and stories of drivers having bullet holes in their trailers to prove it. Oh ■■■■ was i worried or what…down the ho che min trail, out the other side unscathed, encounterinmg mad kamikaze drivers, driving straight towards you, but remembering what you had been taught by other experienced drivers, not to tackle this mountain in the dark. It was getting dark, but i found a nice restaurant/truckstop/coach stop, and decided to stop there for the night. had a nice turkish meal, washed down with a few beers, and went to bed. the next morning it was time to make tracks, so upwards and onwards i went slipping and sliding on this mountain…there were wrecks of trucks over the sides, and even some that had just happened…poor souls…the emergency services ( primitive still trying to get the body out of the mangled cab.
I cant say it didnt worry me, but i wonder what bob paul had encountered along his first trip !. I carried on nregardless trying not to think about it when i encountered a truck lying in the ditch, it was an english truck that i had noticed with the familiar Long Vehicle signs along the back. on closer inspection it was one of the trucks belonging to Simon International out of wapping in east london…im gonna leave the story there cos im having a beer…the old womans moaning ( again ) that im on the bloody computer` too long…and i have to pack my bags cos were off to our home in Bulgaria for 3 weeks…so see you all in a few weeks and i will finish the story when i come back…
Hi All
Here are some pics from Bob Pauls house a gathering of family ,freinds,Astran staff ,and Drivers mostly old timers ,As Ashley said Bob was a Man who had time for all who worked for him ,his passing was a shock to all,hope you will treasure the pics.
Roger Haywood
Bobs House
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Pics from Bob Pauls house go back one page as there are a few more
Roger
George Hall and Toney Someson dont agree with Terry Tott
Hope you enjoyed all these pics
Roger Haywood
Looks like you gave a great man a great send off. He’s no doubt raising a glass to you all.
R.I.P Bob.
Great pictures Roger, looks like Bob got a fitting send off !
Jerry
As someone who knew Bob for many years, it was very moving to read all the tributes. As Bob just managed to survive to see Ashley’s book, I would just like to repeat my Amazon review for that book, pretty relevant, I think:
"This is a must-have book for anyone interested in the history of road haulage, as it accurately and passionately documents the founding of international road haulage to the Middle East, the longest overland route in the world.
But it is also much more than that. This is not just the story of the first trucks to be bullied through to the Middle East, it is also the last epic exploration by that dying breed, the uniquely British eccentric gentleman adventurers.
One can imagine Bob Paul, Mike Woodman, Peter Cannon, Gordon Pearce and the others, propping up the bar at the Explorers Club in Pall Mall, Victorian smog outside, entertaining a rapt audience with tales of derring do in far Kathmandu, talking of high mountains, searing deserts and restless natives, equipped with nothing more than stout boots, a hip-flask of brandy, and an unshakeable British grit.
Ashley has expertly captured the essential “Boys Own” adventure ethos that has pervaded Astran right through to the present day."
My disclaimer is that I was a contractor for Astran, but I still found this a cracking read and a captivating story. Good Pictures, too !!
Roger, great photos for a Brownie Box camera, the chap in the brown jacket stood in front of the fridge looks suspiciously like Derek (Hoss) Horsley but it can’t be as there’s no wig.
chazzer:
Roger, great photos for a Brownie Box camera, the chap in the brown jacket stood in front of the fridge looks suspiciously like Derek (Hoss) Horsley but it can’t be as there’s no wig.
Spot on mate 
Indeed it is Hoss…
chazzer:
Roger, great photos for a Brownie Box camera, the chap in the brown jacket stood in front of the fridge looks suspiciously like Derek (Hoss) Horsley but it can’t be as there’s no wig.
I first met Hoss in Saudi in 1978. I heard he lost the wig in Greece while staying in a Hotel. apparently he was in his room and heard an accident outside, as he looked out of the Hotel window the wig fell off and landed on the side walk at a guys feet who promptly started stamping on it thinking it was a rat,
RDF further to your story of Hoss and the loss of the ‘‘syrup’’, he once told me the full details as follows:
He was indeed in a hotel up in Thessalonika however he was in the company of a young (?) lady of dubious reputation, having finished their bedroom conversation Hoss went to the bathroom whereupon moments later there were blood curdling screams from his companion.
Apparently she was moving around in the bed and encountered something hairy, thinking it was an aformentioned rat she started the screaming which attracted the attentions of the hotel manager who had called in a couple of passing policemen and burst into the room to find Hoss standing there in his birthday suit trying to calm the lady down. He said the manager and Plod saw the funny side of it after everything had been explained unlike the poor girl, but he never said whether she charged extra for stressfull working conditions.
Hoss always had three wigs with him, one old one for working in, one for important meetings and one for socialising.
chazzer:
RDF further to your story of Hoss and the loss of the ‘‘syrup’’, he once told me the full details as follows:He was indeed in a hotel up in Thessalonika however he was in the company of a young (?) lady of dubious reputation, having finished their bedroom conversation Hoss went to the bathroom whereupon moments later there were blood curdling screams from his companion.
Apparently she was moving around in the bed and encountered something hairy, thinking it was an aformentioned rat she started the screaming which attracted the attentions of the hotel manager who had called in a couple of passing policemen and burst into the room to find Hoss standing there in his birthday suit trying to calm the lady down. He said the manager and Plod saw the funny side of it after everything had been explained unlike the poor girl, but he never said whether she charged extra for stressfull working conditions.
Hoss always had three wigs with him, one old one for working in, one for important meetings and one for socialising.
Chazzer, I believe there were two separate incidents both of which I had heard, albeit I didn’t want to
post the one you put out to spare his blushes…… 
Well I suppose we can say the “rat is out of the bag now”
There was another occasion, whilst Hoss was driving through Yugoslavia. Something entered his Eye and so he stuck his head out of the window to look in the mirror to see what it was. His latest model of Syrup flew off his head and dissapeared back down the road from whenst he had come. He promptly stopped and ran back down the road to find a motorist that had been going the other way standing at the side of his car,trying to get this hairy monster off his windscreen with a stick as he had no idea what it was. Hoss lifted it from the windscreen and placed it on his head and went back to his truck leaving the car driver shaking at the side of the road. Regards Jamie.
A Scot Lost in the Valley’s.
My apologies Red I did’nt mean to steal your thunder with the story of the syrup and the young lady as I had’nt heard the other one but it was related by the man himself in Chris’s bar down by the harbour in Piraeus (the name escapes me as it is over 20 years ago and I never remember coming out sober enough to see the sign over the door) after having crept past the War Office halfway down the hill, but thats another story on its own. Maybe this is hijacking this thread and we ought to go back to the greek one, so sorry to one and all.
chazzer:
My apologies Red I did’nt mean to steal your thunder with the story of the syrup and the young lady as I had’nt heard the other one but it was related by the man himself in Chris’s bar down by the harbour in Piraeus (the name escapes me as it is over 20 years ago and I never remember coming out sober enough to see the sign over the door) after having crept past the War Office halfway down the hill, but thats another story on its own. Maybe this is hijacking this thread and we ought to go back to the greek one, so sorry to one and all.
chazzer:
My apologies Red I did’nt mean to steal your thunder with the story of the syrup and the young lady as I had’nt heard the other one but it was related by the man himself in Chris’s bar down by the harbour in Piraeus (the name escapes me as it is over 20 years ago and I never remember coming out sober enough to see the sign over the door) after having crept past the War Office halfway down the hill, but thats another story on its own. Maybe this is hijacking this thread and we ought to go back to the greek one, so sorry to one and all.
Hey Chazzer………No stealing committed and no apologies required, 
I knew the story of the rat in the bed, but reading it again still made me chuckle…. Hoss is a sound guy and always was…
Keep safe in that cowboy country
All the best RDF
Bad taste if you ask me its mourning page i thought or maybe i was wrong would paul laugh