Thursday 27th April 2006 ~ Eastern Counties Buses

Malcolm Gee ~ summarised by Steve Worsley

Appeared in Journal 497

Long-time Felixstowe resident and ITS member Malcolm Gee came to notice around eighteen months ago when a collection of his photographs of Eastern Counties buses was produced by Nostalgia Road Publications, a new name in bus publishing. As Malcolm explained in his introduction, he was not looking to write a book, rather he had circulated likely publishers with details of his photographs in case anyone was looking for illustrations for any forthcoming book on Eastern Counties. At the time none were, but his publisher did reply wanting to see samples of the pictures, and the book was the outcome. As it happened, by the time the book was in the production stage, one of the other publishing houses did reply, they by then having a book in the offing. Thus some of Malcolm's pictures also appear in the Ian Allan 'Glory Days' book.

Malcolm's presentation neatly divided itself into two parts, either side of the break. This served to emphasise the changes to Eastern Counties over the years, from 'Tilling Group' operator with red and cream Bristol/ECW vehicles, predominantly purchased new as illustrated before the break, to First Group ownership with a bewildering variety of vehicles, often owned for only a short period, which formed the focus of the second half of the talk.

Prior to the break we were treated to views from the era of the half cab bus, with Bristol K, L, LS, MW, SC4LK, LD, FS, FL, and FLF types in abundance. A few oddities, such as the sole Albion/ECW and Bedford SBs and VAMs also featured. Route destinations long since abandoned were illustrated, with many routes numbered in the 200 series, long a feature of the Ipswich area but now just a memory.

Following the break, photographs taken over the past 20 years were given an airing, with the standard Bristol VRT and Leyland Olympian types leavened by rarities such as the former Bickers Bedfords, the short-lived Dennis Dominators, and the loaned Volvo B7TL/Wright Gemini double deckers briefly used in Norwich. A large variety of minibuses illustrated this phase of the post-deregulation bus industry in the area.

One criticism Malcolm received about his book was that it portrayed the company in the Ipswich region whilst western parts of the company's territory were poorly covered. This can be put down to the geographical location of the photographer, but to an Ipswich audience a predominance of photographs taken in Ipswich, Felixstowe, Woodbridge, and environs was no drawback, and was much appreciated by the meeting. Some locations shown, such as the Old Cattle Market bus station, have changed much over the intervening years, whilst shots out in the countryside around Falkenham revealed the rural nature of Eastern Counties' operating territory and the reasons for its decline. Despite a large number of illustrations from the immediate area, other parts of 'Counties territory such as March, Kings Lynn, Cambridge, Peterborough, Gorleston, Great Yarmouth, and Lowestoft were covered to give some idea of the width and breadth of locales covered by the company's buses.

A fitting way to end the season, and a rewarding one for the 30 members and guests who comfortably filled room 3 at Castle Hill Community Centre. As the season has drawn to a close, it is fitting to thank Joyce and Roger Harrison as usual for their sterling work as the 'Meet and Greet' team. Due to holidays this year Joyce and Roger were unable to attend the last two meetings, and their shoes were ably filled by raffle ticket-seller extraordinaire John Yelverton and tea-maker without equal Tim Gibbs. Thanks guys!

For those who have yet to acquire a copy of Malcolm's book, a visit to the Ipswich Transport Museum, who hold stocks in their gift shop, will soon put the matter right.

Front Cover. 'The Easterling' Norwich-Lowestoft-Liverpool Street Railtour on 29th April 2006 with preserved 61264 leaving Saxmundham. Photo by Richard Mortimer.

Rear Cover Top. Newly repainted 39717 (SMK 717F) in "Great Yarmouth" livery outside Caister Road depot on the 17th May 2006. Photo by Graham Bessey.

Rear Cover Bottom. Scania YR02 ZYL in Dogs Head Street on a 110 working to Claydon on the 6th May 2006. Photo by Ivan Watts