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A brief history |
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A brief history |
In the years following the First World War the
char-a-banc outing became popular with the public - for many this was their
first taste of travel and the new found freedom it brought to the masses.
Many enterprising men set up in business to provide for this newly developing
market - amongst them one Frederick Cecil Hoare who commenced trading on the
Isle of Portland in 1924. Searching for a novel name to distinguish the
business from the local competition ("you gotta have an angle!") he
happened upon a four-penny tin of chocolate toffees - the once famous
"Blue Bird Toffees" of our childhood. And so it was that the name
BLUEBIRD COACHES was to become synonymous
with Portland and Weymouth all those years later.
Starting
with a small Fiat char-a-banc, business
was brisk and soon demanded that a Crossley and later a Ford were added to the
fleet. Compared to the hi-tech, luxury coaches of today the vehicles of
that period were very basic, but tours to such exotic destinations as Cheddar
Caves and the New Forest were readily undertaken with a spirit of
adventure! By the late 1920's the first
"all-weather" covered coach appeared - an unbelievable luxury in its
day. In 1931 Bluebird joined two other Portland
operators, Fancy and Tolman in the "Portland Express" syndicate,
running a bus service in opposition to Southern National. The competition
was fierce and lasted until 1936 when Southern National bought the service
out. Fancy and Tolman retired from the coach business, while Hoare kept
one Bedford coach that had not been included in the take-over, and immediately
purchased a Dennis Lancet coach using
his portion of the sale
proceeds.
The following year another Bedford coach was acquired in order to cope with the
growing private hire, tours and Naval leave services.
Unfortunately for Southern National, they had not taken the precaution of acquiring Hoares' Express Service license at the time of the syndicate take-over. They now found themselves in direct competition with him again for the Naval leave services operating from Portland Dockyard. Having already removed the "Portland Express" undertaking at great expense they were now back to square one! When the matter was referred to the Traffic Commissioners there was a different interpretation of the terms of the license between the Western Area and South Eastern Area commissioners. Both parties appealed against the decisions of both commissioners - the result going in favour of Bluebird, who were allowed to continue with their service.
The
outbreak of war in September 1939 could well
have brought operations to an end, but shortly after local press adverts stated
that Bluebird Coaches were still available for private hire and Naval leave
services. In 1940 the opportunity to acquire the coaches and
premises of Monarch Coaches of Chickerell brought Bluebird to
Weymouth. Within weeks of moving into their new depot the two best coaches
of the fleet had been requisitioned by the Army, following the fall of
Dunkirk. Contract work transporting workmen on various Government
contracts kept the remainder of the coach fleet busy until the end of the
war.
In 1946
a small excursion programme was offered
for sale to holiday-makers at the entrance to Westham Coach Park, and as
restrictions eased, further vehicles were added to the fleet as Bluebird became
the leading coach
operator in the town. In 1951 the first
"full-fronted" coach was purchased (up to that time all coaches had
been of the "half-cab" design or with protruding bonnets) this new innovation being a Leyland
Royal Tiger with a Plaxton 41 seat body. It was the first of its type in the
area, turned heads whenever it drove past, and proved extremely popular with the
travelling public. Above all else, this was the foundation which lead to a
reputation for up-to-date highly specified vehicles, presented to a high
standard in their distinctive livery - a reputation which is jealously guarded
and maintained by the present third generation of the Hoare family.
Bluebird
have always kept abreast of the latest
trends in the coaching business,
changing to suit the requirements and
expectations of the travelling public. Today the day trip to Cheddar or
Evening Mystery Tour do not hold the attraction that they did 50 years ago,
although there is still a demand for these day trips. Extended Tours and
Continental Travel now form a large part of the company's operations, and
although Westham Coach Park is now buried deep under the Weymouth by-pass, the
business is still very much alive and at the forefront of coach travel in Dorset
today, 82 years after its formation.
