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Passengers where would we be without them?
A memory stirred is one that started with Dave Sawyer and I dispatching an Overland Flyer early one morning from Kenway Road in Earls Court around March 1978. As you know the Overland Flyers were the quick, long driving trips departing London to get coaches east as quickly as possible which I think were set at around 28 days to begin the real 70 or 80 trips ex Kathmandu back to London.
Anyway. this day Dave and I were down the road at Kenway Road very early in the morning to dispatch the coach and passengers on the road and when the head count revealed we were one down. We tracked it down to be a certain Mr Sukimoto. He was a Japanese man of small stature who spoke very little English and who had also booked onward flights back to Japan from Kathmandu. The coach departure time had passed so the courier, who I believe was Bruce Farady and the rest of his passengers off headed to Sheerness to catch the ferry and they were Mr Sukimotoless. Dave and I headed back to Hogarth Place to finally wake up with a coffee and there was Mr Sukimoto sitting on his large suitcase out the front of No 8. Lots of gesticulating, nodding and language bridging followed. To get Mr Sukimoto back reunited with his trip Dave decided the best option was to drive him down to Victoria Station which he did, then bought his ticket took him to the platform and wrote down where he had to get off and directions to the ferry wharf and also where they were to stay in Zeebrugge the first night just in case the hadn’t connected with other passengers on the ferry. A message was left with Bruce at the ferry ticket office to advise him Mr Sukimoto would be meeting him there.
A phone call that night from Bruce in Zeebrugge confirmed our worst fears that they hadn’t connected with Mr Sukimoto on the ferry or the hotel. Subsequent calls from Bruce told the same message.
We had no further contact from Mr Sukimoto.
We had expected to hear at least a phone call from him to say he had got lost or to rebook his flights or to ask for a refund on his tour and airline ticket but days, weeks then months went passed and nothing. We often asked each other had anyone heard from him in the Hogarth Place office but no word came. So we deduced from his lack of complaints that he was a well and truly 100% satisfied customer so we all agreed at the end of the 1978 that he would be awarded our " Passenger of the Year ".
I am sure now that sufficient time has passed for any statute of limitations to have waned for you drivers and couriers to now come forward with stories of memorable passengers who for one reason or another have distinguished themselves in various exploits, deeds, words or just plain stupidity in situations on the many trips that you commandeered.
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