2010 sees the Golden Jubilee year of Hedingham & District Omnibuses, one of the industry's most respected and admired 'independent' operators, which continues to maintain a colourful and, in some cases, dominant profile across North Essex and the Suffolk borders.

While enjoying the characteristics of a large bus company, an image helped by its wide operating area and choice of modern vehicles, Hedingham Omnibus, as it is more generally known, is still very much a family concern, being led from the front by Managing Director Robert MacGregor, the son of founder Donald MacGregor.

Today, HO operates in excess of 100 vehicles with over 200 staff employed across five depots and two outstations. Forty-five routes are served throughout its operating area, alongside twenty-five school contracts and a thriving private hire sideline. A mix of 43 saloons, 46 double deck and a dozen coaches are employed in order to provide its services, all dressed in an eyecatching, traditionally applied livery of scarlet and cream, the 'deckers being predominantly red while saloons are reversed with a mostly cream application. Much of the stock is bought from new but a tradition of building the business on second hand acquisitions has enabled a contrasting mix of interesting vehicle types to be present, which belies any leanings towards 'standardisation'.

HISTORY

Although the company known as 'Hedingham' is celebrating fifty years of operation in 2010, the story may be traced much further back - to 1921 in fact, when Aubrey Letch, a haulier of Sible Hedingham in Essex began a single bus operation to Sudbury, just over the border with Suffolk. Another route was added to Braintree and Letch eventually operated his services, as well as private hire contracts, with five coaches and two double deck buses. It was this business which Donald MacGregor bought in 1961, renaming it Hedingham & District Omnibuses. To this day the company continues its long association with the original Letch fleet by numbering all its vehicles consecutively with an 'L' prefix.

Expansion was very much an early aspiration for MacGregor and second hand vehicles were soon being acquired in order to fulfil his plans to provide more services across the region. The original livery of Hedingham Omnibuses was blue and white, red not being adopted until the early 1970s. The takeover or buying out of other operators in the area, many of them long established names and often highly respected in the industry, gave further impetus to the growth and HO quickly became established as the area's leading independent operator.

The roll call of takeovers began in 1965 with the acquisition of Blackwell's Coaches of Earls Colne, the purchase of which included a Halstead to Colchester route. Vine's Luxury Coaches' Colchester to Great Bromley route was then taken over when that firm ceased trading in 1973.

The 1980s and '90s saw the most activity in terms of takeovers, helped no doubt in some part by the major changes being felt across the industry at that time. 1982 saw C&R Coaches (Copeman) of Little Tey being taken over, that firm's original yard continuing as HO's Little Tey outstation to this day, while Jennings Coach Services of Ashen came in 1984.

It was Norfolk & Sons of Nayland, one of East Anglia's, and indeed England's most well known and respected family coach businesses, bought out in 1991 which secured Hedingham's reputation as the area's leading operator. Having its roots in the late 19th Century, Norfolks were a much loved and fondly patronised business and as such, continued operating under its own two tone green colours and almost independently of its larger owner for a number of years after the takeover.

Another well known name in Suffolk, Partridge of Hadleigh succumbed in 1994 while Wents of Boxford near Colchester and Freemans Coaches of Fordham were taken over in 1997, the year in which another well known family concern, Osborne of Tollesbury, completed the list. This latter were also renowned for their red and cream fleet of mostly second hand vehicles and had over the years operated many distinctive double deck types including an AEC Bridgemaster demonstrator. Their former garage at Tollesbury remains in use as another of Heddingham's bases.

MORE GARAGES

In addition to the Little Tey outstation and the former Osborne yard, other operational premises include those at Clacton-on-Sea (a number of routes are operated to and around the town), Sudbury and Kelveden. Interestingly this latter was originally the premises in which Moore Brothers, another well known and long standing local bus and coach operator was based, that concern being taken over by the area's former Tilling operator Eastern National in 1962. Many of Hedingham's school contract buses have been based there over the years. An outstation is maintained at Harwich for that town's services while the company's principal operating depot and workshops remain at Sibble Hedingham in the heart of the Essex Countryside. The head office however was moved to business premises in Colchester a number of years ago in order to provide a more accessible and centralised administration base.

INTERESTING VEHICLES

Over the years Hedingham Omnibus have operated a wide variety of vehicle types, the majority being second hand purchases though new builds have, of necessity, been bought in ever increasing numbers more recently. In the early years Leyland and Bristol types predominated in the double deck service fleet and a number of Bristol FL Lodekkas came from Eastern National in the 1970s.

In the '80s the Bristol theme was continued as Hedingham gained a reputation for buying in a large number of Bristol VR double deck types from various operators and this has continued through to today's use of numerous Olympians, both Leyland and Volvo which are seen on many of the school contracts. Bedford saloons were also bought in large numbers in the 1980s including no fewer than eight Duple bodied YMQs from South Wales transport.

Dennis Darts make up the current saloon allocations while a Dennis Enviro 400 is one the latest new acquisitions for the double deck compliment.

Other interesting saloon types have graced the fleet over the years including ex-East Midland Leyland Royal Tigers in the 1960s and Bristol LS saloons from the 1970s. New in 1973 was a rare Marshal Camair bodied Bedford YRQ, No. L81.

Both Robert MacGregor and his father have gained a reputation for supporting the upkeep of preserved buses. Hedingham own and rally ex-Great Yarmouth 66, Leyland PD2/1 Titan EX 6566, new in 1950. In Hedingham livery and said to be Donald MacGregor's favourite vehicle is L84, a Marshall bodied Leyland Leopard dating from 1974 which was, until relatively recently, still earning its keep on a local school contract in Sible Hedingham. One wonders whether the students it ferried to and from their daily studies actually appreciated what they were travelling on! Two Bristol VR types still remain with Hedingham and it is believed one, possibly L251 which was originally with Maynes of Manchester and has coach seating, will be kept in preservation as a representative of the sixteen once famously operated by the company.

Hedingham Omnibus remain very much a driving force throughout the south-eastern corner of East Anglia and their smartly turned out fleet contribute to the interesting variety of operators in the area. The small selection of photographs included here are a reminder of some of its operations in recent years. Long may it continue to serve - and to provide so much interest for local enthusiasts.

Look out for more on Hedingham Omnibus from Penn Lane Publications in the coming weeks!

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