Local historian Neil Lamond has come up trumps again with the publication of his second book about the history of the Amersham and District Motor Bus Company (A&D).

I reviewed Neil’s first book “the Pride of Bucks” in the Nostalgia page earlier this year, on June 15, and commented: “This book will appeal not only those interested in the history of motor bus transport, but also those readers whose interest is in the social history of the area around south Buckinghamshire.”

This same sentiment certainly also applies to Neil’s second book. Its 152 pages trace the history of A&D from 1933 until its demise in 1992.

The book is copiously illustrated with photographs, mostly of buses of course! But like Neil’s first, the real value of this his second book is the description of the bus services in the context of the social history of the area, at a time when this was changing beyond all recognition.

This is well-illustrated for example in the early chapters of the book. In 1933 road passenger transport in an area of about 30 miles radius around London was nationalised following the passing of the London Passenger Transport Bill through Parliament.

A&D was caught up in this nationalisation and the assets were transferred to London Transport on November 24, 1933. These included 43 buses and 5 coaches operating out of two garages, Amersham and High Wycombe.

Following the nationalisation London Transport concentrated over the next few years on the rationalisation of its fleet and initially A&D’s route structure remained unchanged.

In 1935 a new state-of-the-art bus garage was built in Amersham, with a floor area of 19,500 sq ft. which could hold up to 60 vehicles and nearly 200 staff.

WWII had a major impact on A&D, as it did for bus companies throughout the country. With war imminent the number of routes was reduced to allow Green Line coaches to be withdrawn and converted for use as public ambulances. 

Their seating was removed and replaced with racking to accommodate 10 stretchers. This was because it was anticipated that there would be a need to move people injured by bombing from London to hospitals in the country around the city.

On the weekend of September 1-3 1939, with Britain and France declaring war on Germany on September 3, the A41 was closed going into London. 

This was to allow London-based buses to use it as a ‘one-way street’ out to the country to evacuate children from the city. But the declaration of war was followed by the ‘phoney war’ which lasted until May 1940. 

Some of the coaches were then restored to passenger duties and some routes re-instated. However this proved to be only a temporary state of affairs and when the bombing attacks on London began in earnest the coaches were converted back for ambulance duties.

Another way in which the war affected buses were the ‘blackout’ precautions. Blackout regulations were imposed on 1 September 1939, just before the declaration of war.

These required that all windows and doors should be covered at night with suitable material such as heavy curtains, cardboard or paint, to prevent the escape of any glimmer of light that might aid enemy aircraft.

External lights such as street lights were switched off, or dimmed and shielded to deflect light downward. Essential lights such as traffic lights and vehicle headlights were fitted with slotted covers to deflect their beams downwards to the ground.

Each bus had its headlamps and interior lamps shielded with black masks. To aid their visibility to other vehicles and pedestrians white tips were painted on the front mudguards and large white spots on the rear of every vehicle. 

The amount of light emitting from the windows of the vehicles was also restricted, in a number of different ways. A diamond-shaped ‘peep-hole’ was made in some window coverings to allow passengers to peer out and identify their stop.

Bomb-blast precautions were adopted at the garages, as well as at other public buildings, with all window glass being taped and wire mesh fixed over all glass roof lights.

The Government had also initiated a secret plan codenamed “Yellow Move” in which buses in general, and the Amersham garages of A&D in particular, would have a major part to play.

In the event of an invasion by Germany 1,600 buses were to be used to evacuate Government personnel over a two-day period, the plan involving bringing them all through the operational area of the Amersham garages.

As the above account taken from the book demonstrates, Neil Lamond has meticulously and comprehensively researched all aspects of the history of the A&D company in this new book “The Pride of Bucks – The Next Destination” and set that in the context of what was happening in the area and country at the time.

It is therefore a “good read” not only for bus and transport enthusiasts but also for anyone interested in the social history of the mid-to-late twentieth century.

The book costs £16.99 and can be purchased from JPS Stationers in Chesham, Amersham Museum, London Transport Museum, and Ebay.

Or direct from the author post free - Neil Lamond, 6 Letchfield, Ley Hill, Chesham, Bucks, HP5 3QU. Call 01494 774996.