I’m new, so I hope I’m posting this in the right place. I’m also biting my nails in case I’ve broken any rules. If I have, it’s unintentional!
H J Atlas was Hussain Jafari’s company. It was one of a group of companies he bought when he left Bristol University, where he was doing business studies. I believe, but don’t know for certain, that his dad funded all of it. Certainly, there were suddenly a lot of Rolls Royces, Mercedes, Jaguars and so on around. As I remember it, he had a chipboard factory and a paint factory as well.
He hired me to get his yellow DAFs doing middle east work. I think I was working for Groupex (remember - UK-Greece?) at the time. My main qualification for the job was that Jafari was going out with my sister-in-law. I had no previous experience of transport operations, and was only in my early 20s.
Up until this time his trucks had done little work, often being used by drivers to take their wives shopping or their kids on a day out. The golden rule was never turn up in the depot! The company only had flatbed trailers at the time.
I don’t pretend I was brilliant at the job, and I did make lots of mistakes. However, before long those yellow DAFs were doing the run regularly to Iran, Iraq and beyond. One of the first things I did was hire Tyrone Jarvis as transport manager. He wasn’t universally liked, but was energetic - and experienced in middle east work. I learned a lot from him.
There were issues with the business side of the company, which I don’t want to drag up here. Save to say that I don’t think it’s fair to blame the drivers for the demise of the company as some have suggested. If I say that shortly after I resigned the police raided the offices. I think that’s enough.
I found Jafari a likeable fellow, if somewhat detached from business realities. He used to have a charming “bodyguard” called Jallali, if I remember correctly.
I once said to Jafari that I’d feel a lot more confident about running the fleet if I had an HGV1 licence - perhaps the drivers would respect me more. He said he didn’t believe I could pass the test, and we had a bet together. If I passed, he would pay for the lessons and test. If I failed, I would foot the bill. I’m glad to say I passed and, true to his word, he paid up. It led me to many happy years driving trucks all over the place, including the middle east.
I remember the drivers others have named. Many of those who drove for H J Atlas were, in my view, fine men.
