Look-back...........
WEMS Coaches of Weston-super-Mare.
Keith Scudamore kindly sent Classic Buses Website, this photograph of a Maudslay Marathon III operated by WEMS Coaches of Weston-super-Mare.
surprisingly, the United States Air Force who bought ten for use in the UK to move crews and officers about. Sadly no examples of the design survive today.
His father, Percy Scudamore, was the first driver and it attracted much attention. As a boy, Keith often went on trips if there was a spare seat. The coach is parked at Marine Parade, Weston-super-Mare outside the WEMS Garage, formerly Burnells. Keith thinks the livery was a soft grey with maroon stripe, and looked great!
Incidentally, perhaps Whitson’s greatest claim to fame was that they built the bodywork on the famous Green Goddess fire engines.
This observation coach body style was built by James Whitson & Co. of West Drayton, from the late 1940s onwards. The WEMS example (DFR 395) was one of the first, and was used by the company until 1960. Some, such as this one, were built for front-engined coaches, and a later version was made for underfloor-engined chassis such as the Regal IV, the Leyland Royal Tiger and - most commonly - Fodens. The total number built was probably only about 25, of which the largest customer was A very special thank you goes to: Keith Scudamore and Classic Buses Website for their kind co-operation and collaboration with this editorial.
www.classicbuses.co.uk
Percy Scudamore worked for Flossie Burnell, who owned Burnells Coaches of Westonsuper-Mare from 1945 to 1950. Keith remembers that in those days all the coaches lined the prom with the drivers touting for customers to take them on afternoon trips – the highlight often being an afternoon mystery tour taking in Cheddar, Axbridge, and Mrs.Tilley’s for afternoon tea (2 boiled eggs for the driver). When Flossie died the company was taken over by WEMS. WEMS Coaches were eventually taken over by Bakers Coaches of Weston-super-Mare in 1981. They subsequently acquired Dolphin Travel and became ‘Bakers Dolphin’; still operating today. Our thanks to Keith for a fine photograph and the interesting background information.