ROY HAAKER, KNOWN TO MANY OF BH OVERSEAS` PERSONNEL IN NORTHAMPTON, AND IN NEWHOUSE, FIRST KNOWN TO US AS BHB PARTS MANAGER, ALTHOUGH HE DIDNT HIT THE DIZZY HEIGHTS OF LEADERSHIP UNTIL THE LAST KNOCKINGS OF THE PARENT, IN THE LATE 1980`S.
THE TITLE REFERS TO THE FACT THAT BLACKWOOD HODGE (BELGIUM) S.A. WAS SET UP IN 1953 AS JUST THAT, THE FIRST EUROPEAN DEALERSHIP, CELEBRATED LATER IN THIS ARTICLE.
Roy has dug up some brochure(s) from the glory days of BHB, some pages in French, some English, and included as well, are some pages from what appears to be a China-aimed brochure, in Chinese naturally, but no info as to when it was published, from the style, mid 1980`s we would guess.
Due to the way it has been scanned, unfortunately, most of the double pages are shown singly, but you will get the drift. Not the most enthralling of documents, but interesting enough, and yet another uncovered piece for the B.H. jigsaw.
We start with Roy`s business card, showing his last position there as MD of BHB SA….
….followed by the brochure pages….
Some faces here that we know, as most are UK images,Tim Blewitt for one, dont recognise the others, although from the back, the guy at the VDU looks like Richard Jordan from HML.
Could be Uggy and ????? in the Test House, but who is taking the lead at the apprentices teach-in, and the engineers doing "Spidermen" impressions ?????
More Spidermen, a masked painter who could be Brian Heasman, and a Chassis Shop view…the guy in the "white" smock….could it be Mick Swann, or Ken George, and the other two ???
Definitely Ken George in the main shot here, but his companion ?? and unless the welder himself is looking in, dont think we will ever identify him !!
Reward for achievement in 1995… BHB did still exist then, although not for much longer !!
And lastly, Roys team from that period, with him second left, and Nadia Wauters fourth right, both standing. We dont have the rest of the names, but if you out there, let us know who you are !!
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