Did you work with Gordon Crowther or Roger Sinclair in that era?Very interesting, did not realise that Eastern Automobiles were involved overseas, always assumed they were just an Essex based vehicle dealership. I knew Peter was involved in WW2, and as you say he was a larger than life character. He always had time to speak to members of staff, from management right down to a humble apprentice as I was in 1974. Most of the ET service vans had PYE 2 way radios fitted and Peter had one in his Bristol car. If there was an issue, regarding spare parts he would often call asking if he could help collecting parts from other depots.
Service vans were red and yellow with black lettering and a white outline. I have a photo of one somewhere, will try to find it and upload it. Earlier vans were in Ferguson grey, but they were before my time.
As for Des, well lets say, everyone knew Des. I never knew anyone who could drive as fast as Des. I remember as an apprentice 'helping' him change a clutch on a MF 165. When we got to the farm, the tractor was still being used with a slipping clutch and the flywheel was nearly red hot. We split the tractor, put the worn clutch and flywheel in the back of the van, and headed back to the depot (about 10 miles). When we got back, the flywheel was still too hot to touch.