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Thursday 30th April

Suffolk Independent Bus Companies In The Post War Years

Geoff Mills - summarised by Steve Worsley

For our final meeting of the 2008 - 2009 season, around forty members and guests gathered to welcome Geoff Mills to the Bridge Ward Social Club. Long-term bus enthusiast and part-time driver Geoff obtained a Box Brownie camera in 1953, and one of his earliest pictures, of Albert Aldis' Dennis Ace at Felixstowe, started the evening's entertainment. Geoff explained that, whilst his home town of Colchester hosted a variety of bus operators, the rest of the county was dominated by large company fleets. As a result, he soon turned his attentions northwards to our county, where a large number of independent bus operators could be found. The meeting concentrated on the smaller, lesser-known operators that have not survived to the present day. These included Constable of Felixstowe, Paul Burton of Bury St Edmunds, Morley of West Row, Naylor of Halesworth, the Ipswich Coach Company, and Sayers of Ipswich, to give but a small sample. With fifty-plus years of photographs to choose from, the subject matter was, as might be expected, extremely varied. Photographs ranged from Naylor's Maudsley Marathon and Fosdike of Bramfield's Foden, through Ipswich Coach Company's "Gay Hostess" double decker (try giving anything the name "Gay Hostess", let alone a bus, in the 21st Century!) to more modern delights such as Ipswich Town FC's Volvo B58 with Irizar coachwork and Riches of Stradbroke's Quest 80VM

A preponderance of Bedfords highlighted the dominance of the marque in the county, explained by the terrain which allowed the lower-powered vehicle to remain master of its work. That the type is unsuited to motorway work was of little consequence in a couty with no mileage of such roads. Bedford OBs, SBs, and Y-series models predominated, with a sprinkling of J2, VAS and VAL types, amongst others. If these chassis were, perhaps, of low interest to most enthusiats, there was variety of coachwork in addition to the normal choice of Duple or Plaxton - how about Reeve and Kenning (photograph obtained after a marathon grass-cutting session to render the vehicle visible!), Arlingtons, or Belle Coachworks of Lowestoft? Whilst the vehicle of choice of the Suffolk independent has long been a coach, with its ability to be used on all duties, saloons and even double deckers have featured over the years. The latter included such gems as Honeywood of Stanstead's former Hants & Dorset Leyland TD4 used on the Bury - Glemsford service on market days and pictured on Angel Hill in Bury, or Fosdike's former City of Oxford AEC Regent V.

Bus enthusiasts were not as common back in the 50s and 60s, and busmen, especially in the "more friendly" county of Suffolk, had time to stop and chat. Geoff soon got on friendly terms with many of the independent bus operators, and eventually passed his PSV test, allowing him to take on driving work at the weekends. This personal contact allowed Geoff to provide insights into the companies which few others have the knowledge to impart. Coupled with his experiences from a driver's perspective, this made for much interest for his audience. We learnt, for instance, that the Volvo B58, whilst a good coach, had the flaw of a large turning circle. Another vehicle required the brake fluid to be topped up on arrival, otherwise its braking power would be diminished on the return journey. Fords in general were not favoured by Geoff, poor brakes and gearboxes did not lead to fondness on his part.

As Geoff's photographs showed, the county has been home to a wide variety of buses and coaches over the last half-century. The promise of more examples, from the betterknown fleets such as Beestons of Hadleigh, Mulleys of Ixworth, Chambers of Bures, Norfolks of Nayland, and Partridge of Hadleigh, will hopefully provide the opportunity for a revisit from Geoff in the future. For the new season, commencing in September, recently recruited Meetings Officer David Sparkes is presently finalising the programme. He has a tough act to follow, as our President, Chris Hurricks, put together an excellent programme for 2008 - 2009. Take a bow, Chris!