Page 134 - Be Reasonable – Do It My Way , Peter E. Daly AM, My Story

CHAPTER 12 – AEGIS INSURANCE CO LTD
so we were instructed to tell Head Office we couldn’t obtain one.
There was probably not enough to occupy all of the executive team and in particular Sandy who did not find himself fully occupied as number two. So, he used to spy on
John Bull and he kept a set of keys to all John’s cupboards. One day he was browsing in John’s office when he heard the secretary coming, so he hid under the desk and was fearful of being discovered. He reached up and grabbed the phone and called the secretary on her phone. She went out to answer it and Sandy fled!
It wasn’t only Sandy that did the spying. Tony Churcher, our one- eyed Accident Manager took it upon himself to follow Sandy around the City to try and find out where he went every day, carrying his heavy briefcase. I don’t think he ever found out. By the way, Tony Churcher used to have lunch every day in the New Library Hotel and return to his office to sleep. He was also a smoker and on more than one occasion set fire to his office.
One of Aegis’ biggest commercial accounts was the General Mining Company. It fell due for renewal at Christmas time. One year it fell due when all the executives were on leave. The next year it was agreed that Sandy approve everyone’s leave but there was a clash. Peter Moss asserted that he had put in for leave first. However, Sandy told him that his leave was written down in pencil but mine was written down in ink, so he had to stay. The fact that I was going away on a trip with Sandy was something to do with it!
My role in the new Aegis was to be head of marketing and operations, which meant that I had all the branches report into me, plus responsibility for things like the medical aid schemes and special relationships like the EP Building Society, and the Hofman and Glazer Groups.
134