Orient appear to have had quite an empire!
Question for the older Middle East drivers, when I got this visa on 9/9/77 I was told that it was the first transit visa given to a UK driver to transit Iraq from Turkey through to Kuwait for seven years, many delivered to Iraq but didn’t transit through. Is there anyone that can confirm or contradict this, did anyone transit Iraq in the seven years previous, not that I’ll be loosing any sleep over it but it has always stuck at the back of my mind.
Just had a look at one of my old passports,I have an Iraqi visa from April 75 when I went via Iraq to Kuwait but it seems like an entry visa,maybe I used it to transit.On the next page I have an Iraqi transit visa also from April issued by the embassy in Kuwait.Bit strange,maybe I went down on the one but had to get another to come back.
Was looking through pics and realised that Curtis Hillage of Coventry appears to have been an operator of interesting mixed vehicles on the M/E trail.
They ran a LHD Bedford TM with a Spicer 'box, a LHD Leyland Marathon with a 9-sp Fuller and a Seddon Atkinson 400 on Middle-East work for a start and there are pictures of all three of them in Londra Camp Istanbul below. They also ran an ex-BRS Barrieros Dodge, though maybe not on M/E. There’s a touch of the Ancient Brits Head East again here, except they wouldn’t have been ancient at the time! Can anyone add some background colour and interest to the subject?
Meanwhile, here are some pics with a bit of info:
Leyland Marathon had LHD and a Fuller 9-sp shown here on a Baghdad trip
Bedford TM was LHD with a Spicer 'box
The Seddon-Atkinson 400 was RHD
This should bring back a few memories, a bit before my time though.
Looks like one of Orients in the background.
I think that Er-Sen were based in Istanbul so I suppose that they went to The Mocamp to use the truck wash.
mushroomman:
I think that Er-Sen were based in Istanbul so I suppose that they went to The Mocamp to use the truck wash.0
Yes Er-Sen was a big company that did international. I’m just trying to remember that company in Adana that ran a big fleet of Kenworth K100Es …
Possibly SASSA?
Jazzandy:
Possibly SASSA?
That’s the kiddy! 
Not having been someone who drove abroad unless you count the Isle of Wight, how does it pay compared to uk haulage? Both from a drivers perspective and also the operator? Reason I ask is there seems to be a high number of operators that don’t last long, I worked for one (albeit only a fortnight) but probably not a good example as they were dire at everything hence only staying two weeks.
> Kempston:
> Not having been someone who drove abroad unless you count the Isle of Wight, how does it pay compared to uk haulage? Both from a drivers perspective and also the operator? Reason I ask is there seems to be a high number of operators that don’t last long, I worked for one (albeit only a fortnight) but probably not a good example as they were dire at everything hence only staying two weeks.
Going back to ME days it depended on who you got the work from, as a subbie Davis Turner’s rates were almost half what I could get direct (Lucky I had some good contacts & Clients), Astran were better but you could be well overloaded if you left a trailer there as they would load it to the roof.
As for drivers, it depended on the outfit, some paid trip money which could work out well - or really badly if you had lots of hold ups.
I paid weekly, a basic wage equivalent to the average UK wage + tax free expenses that worked out at about 4x average UK wage.
Plus hotel and food once every 5 days, although on average hotel claims were rarely more than twice a trip:- a night in the Harum Istanbul on the way out & another on the way home.
That way the drivers weren’t tempted to be silly, but also knew they were looked after if there were any hold ups or delays, which could add 2 or 3 weeks+ to a round trip.
whisperingsmith:
> Kempston:
> Not having been someone who drove abroad unless you count the Isle of Wight, how does it pay compared to uk haulage? Both from a drivers perspective and also the operator? Reason I ask is there seems to be a high number of operators that don’t last long, I worked for one (albeit only a fortnight) but probably not a good example as they were dire at everything hence only staying two weeks.Going back to ME days it depended on who you got the work from, as a subbie Davis Turner’s rates were almost half what I could get direct (Lucky I had some good contacts & Clients), Astran were better but you could be well overloaded if you left a trailer there as they would load it to the roof.
As for drivers, it depended on the outfit, some paid trip money which could work out well - or really badly if you had lots of hold ups.
I paid weekly, a basic wage equivalent to the average UK wage + tax free expenses that worked out at about 4x average UK wage.
Plus hotel and food once every 5 days, although on average hotel claims were rarely more than twice a trip:- a night in the Harum Istanbul on the way out & another on the way home.
That way the drivers weren’t tempted to be silly, but also knew they were looked after if there were any hold ups or delays, which could add 2 or 3 weeks+ to a round trip.
Thanks for the info, interesting stuff.
My trips were from 76 to 78 I was paid weekly, £60 a week wages and £90 tax free expense’s, no hotels, long hard days 7 days a week only resting at borders and unloading, I got a bonus if I got a return load, after each trip I would have a week of (unpaid) and possibly a bit of UK work before the next trip.
I was one of the rarer breed of salaried drivers. I got exactly the same rate doing long-haul as I got doing domestic runs or container work. It was entirely a life-style choice, as I preferred the challenge of the Arabian Gulf or North Africa to the home-by-teatime routine of shunting fridges up and down the M2 or doing local dock traction work.