Kingston upon Hull Corporation Transport
1946
AEC Regent II
Weymann H31/29R

I think any bus would look good in the K.H.C.T. livery but a Weymann flared skirt bodied Regent II looks just about perfect. 
This bus was one of a batch of 16 Regent IIs delivered in 1946, they were the first non utility bodied buses delivered to Hull after the war. They were followed the following year 1947 by a batch of 24 Regent IIIs then between 1948 and 1950 there were 56 more Regent IIIs delivered. These buses were desperately needed after the war due to the bombing that Hull received. K.H.C.T. certainly liked there AECs apart from 10 ex Newcastle Corporation Daimler CVG6s photo here all there double deckers were AEC until the arrival of the rear engined Leyland Atlanteans in 1960 which by the way were the first front entrance double deckers in the fleet.

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The KHCT ‘streamline’ livery reached its peak on the Coronation trolleybuses. I spent many happy hours travelling to Brunswick Ave school, on these trolleybuses, what a shame none were preserved.

Keith Easton

United Services
1950
Daimler CVD6
Duple L56RD

I fondly remember visiting Bingley’s (one of the United Servces partners) in the mid-60s and asking Mrs Bingley ("Ma" Bingley as she was fondly known to us), whether LTO 10 was operating that day, as I wanted to photograph it. No sooner said, than she shouted for her daughter (?) who was the operations manager, and said – "Put t’Daimler on’t teatime dupe, ‘cos there’s a lad here wants to take a snap of it!" As promised, LTO 10 arrived into Wakefield bus station at about 5.30pm, and I got a (not very good) shot of it. Wonderful times which can never be repeated.

Photograph and copy contributed by Paul Haywood

The above bus was originally owned by A Skill of Nottingham and was delivered in 1950. Skills were supposed to take delivery of another CVD6 with Duple body as above but it went to W Gash & Sons instead as there DD7 (LNN 353) view at this link scroll down a bit and you will find two shots.

Spencer

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My friend Paul has revived many happy memories of our days in the Wallace Arnold traffic office. "Ma" Bingley was Phyllis and was the "P" in "W. R. & P. Bingley – she was as Paul reports a "no nonsense" lady who quite simply got things done. That she was also a competent conjurer is beyond argument. All desperate calls from WA Hunslet for heavy assistance when summer peak demands got out of hand were calmly answered with "Ow many der yer want ??" No matter how many extra coaches we needed the necessary vehicles would appear at all hours as if by magic – fresh from pit contracts or schools or wherever – all manned by chaps who knew their place and "did as Phyllis said" without question and the impossibly large seaside passengers would all be gone without a hiccup. Slightly off the Daimler topic I admit, but Phyllis deserves an accolade as one of the real legends of the Industry.

Chris Youhill

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Great story, Paul/Chris. Keep ’em coming! The human side is just as interesting as the bus side.

Chris Hebbron

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10/10/12 – 09:00

The above photograph is featured on the ‘sct61’ website, along with another photo of LTO 10 in the caption of which it is asserted that Skills ordered three of these vehicles and that it was two, rather than one, which were diverted to Gash of Newark. LNN 353 (Gash DD7) was apparently intended to become Skills No.30 (LTO 30) and LRR 403 Skills No.20 (LTO 20). I haven’t been able to retrieve the Gash fleet number of LRR 403.

David Call

Blue Line (Samuel Morgan) Ltd.
1943
Guy Arab II
Roe H31/25R

Yet another Independent bus operator from the Doncaster area, the Samuel Morgan part of the name is from a take over in 1930, Samuel Morgan operated under the name of Gwen Motors.
The above bus was not new to Blue Line it was originally owned by Sunderland District and was number 176 in there fleet until 1961 when purchased by Blue Line. Of course with a build date of 1943 it would of had a utility body, not sure who built the original body but it was rebodied by Roe in 1953, if you know leave a comment. 
Blue Line also owned Reliance who they took over in 1949 and carried on running it under its own name they also had an ex Sunderland District Guy Arab II registration FPT 207.

I can remember the 2 old guys known as 205 & 207. One had a conventional 4 speed Westlinghouse crash gearbox the other a so called Chinese gearbox where 1st gear was where 3rd should be and 2nd where 4th should have been this could cause all sorts of gear grating if you forgot which bus you were driving.

David A Oglesby

I know the feeling only too well David – the two Guy Arabs that we had at Samuel Ledgard (JUA 762/3) had the "back to front" gearboxes and often caught out the less interested among the driving staff.  They were fitted with dark maroon knobs on the gear levers – a somewhat optimistic method of alerting drivers, especially in the dark !!

Chris Youhill

I think I read somewhere on the net that the above bus came to a sorry end, on its side in a field, having got too close to the ditch at the side of the road, no one injured.

Spencer

London Transport also had a a sizeable number of austerity Guys with both reverse and conventional gearbox ‘gates’. If my memory serves me right, they got over the problem by sawing 2-3 inches off the non-standard gear levers. No problem in the dark, but whether the drivers got backache from bending to the left with every gear change is not recorded!

Chris Hebbron

19/10/11 – 16:15

Regarding Spencer’s note above, here //www.flickr.com/photos/8755708@N07/4423130081/in/photostream/ is a set of pictures showing the accident and recovery operations. It was the end of it’s life but reading that the others like it were withdrawn in 1968 and noting that the Honda Cub moped carries a 1967 registration, it probably only hastened it’s demise by a short time. There are some nice pictures in the series contained in the link.

Richard Leaman

21/10/11 – 06:45

I was once a member of the now defunct Spenborough Bus Enthusiasts Club in Cleckheaton and we organised a trip in a similar Roe bodied Guy Arab of Yorkshire Woollen District to view the Blue Line Arab. Somewhere along the way in Doncaster a wrong turning was taken and a low railway bridge was encountered which entailed a long reverse manoeuvre. I recall the drivers name was David Rothery last heard of at East Yorkshire Motor Services. I wonder if anybody else can remember the trip. It was in the early 60s.

Philip Carlton

13/04/20 – 07:51

FPT 207 and probably 205 were built with Picktree utility bodies.

Duncan Robinson

15/04/20 – 06:33

Wouldn’t the body builder have been Pickering of Wishaw, near Glasgow rather than Picktree, who I think only worked post-war on buses for Northern General and associated companies? Looking at one of the entries under the Picktree bodywork entry, it’s stated that the firm was founded on 6th Sept 1947, lasting as a coach builder till c.1954, but continuing until later in the car business. Pickering was one of the designated body-builders of WWII, although not one of the major participants. Their bodies were not renowned for being a long-lasting product, even if many utilities could be suspect in durability!

Michael Hampton