We are delighted to hear from Tony Raindle who drive for Epsom Coaches between 1978 and 1985. Keeping it in the family, Tony’s brother Phillip also worked for the firm part time. Tony’s remarkable memory together with his diaries enables a fascinating insight into his time with Epsom Coaches.
Thank you Tony.
Memories of Epsom Coaches by Tony Raindle
‘I wonder what it would be like to earn a living doing this?’ It was a sunny August day in 1974 and I was looking at a coach parked beside Loch Ness with young people staring towards the water in the hope of seeing the elusive Nessie. The coach in question was an old Duple Brittania that had been purchased earlier in the year by the Dell Mixed Unit, a mixture of Venture Scouts and Ranger Guides aged from 15-21 years old. Our base was located behind Stoneleigh broadway. The coach had been bought for our days out and annual ‘projects’ as we like to call them. The current one involved a few days in the Lake District before moving up to Scotland. This could be fun I thought.
Three years passed before I could get behind the wheel of the coach. My licence allowed me to drive a ‘heavy motor vehicle’ and so at 20 years old and after much discussion with various authorities, the police thought I needed a heavy goods vehicle licence, some thought I needed to be 21 but our insurance company were happy that as it was not for hire or reward I was fine to drive and they would cover me.
When I wrote to Roy Richmond at Epsom Coaches on Monday 2nd February 1978 I felt confident in stating that I had experience of handling a large vehicle and detailed how I had negotiated some tricky situations in a coach with a crash gearbox and no power steering. I attended an interview and test drive with Mr Ken Lifford on Thursday 2nd March and I was absolutely delighted when a letter arrived offering me the opportunity to join the company and train me for a PSV licence. My start date was to be Monday 5th June, just about two weeks before my 21st birthday. On Thursday 9th March to give me some first hand experience I had a ‘taster’ day, Tony Hallett who normally worked out of the Bookham Garage picked me up at Blenheim Road and we had a day of transfers between London and Gatwick Airport. I remember Tony’s cheerful disposition and thinking that if all the guys were like him it would be a great place to work. It was to be a year or so later that Tony’s normal disposition was temporarily suppressed after a serious road traffic incident whilst undertaking an HRR day service down to the coast. Through no fault of Tony’s whatsoever it was a grim reminder of the dangers of being out on the road.
I called in to Epsom Coaches on a number of occasions before officially starting, I dropped my PSV licence application in and get my medical booked. I was issued with a smart blazer and a tie and raring to go.
Monday 5th June 1978. My first day out was with Mick Harley in one of the 53 seater Bedfords, transfers from the Strand Palace Hotel, Lime Street, Finchley out to Heathrow and then back into London. I was able to drive the coach when empty so gained my first experience of London driving and the journey between London and the yard which became extremely familiar over the next few years. The general rule was to leave Epsom and clear the A3 before the traffic built up, find a parking spot in Wandsworth and for about £2.00 have a full English breakfast and still have time to reach the appropriate hotel for the morning sightseeing tour.
The following day I went out with John Reeves on the Brighton and Worthing service pickups and then in the afternoon with Mervyn Steemson on the Manor House Girls School contract. Both John and Mervyn were very helpful and over the next few months I really felt that I had inherited many ‘big brothers’. I went out with Peter Tribe on several occasions and was surprised how well we got on, our upbringing and outlook being so different and yet being similar. I was young at 21 and in many ways naive and suddenly working with guys nearly twice my age with a good deal of life experience. My eyes were certainly opened but the important point was that I felt accepted and that all the guys accepted each other even with the wide variety of characters. Recently I became aware of the number of my ‘big brothers’ that are no longer with us and whilst I had not seen many for decades I felt an incredible sense of loss.
Over the next couple of days I spent time with Ken Lifford working a little on the theory side of the test and more practical driving, I was introduced to the company Ford Granada which I became very familiar with and found myself using it on the ‘few people’ contracts and staff runs. Friday was a good day when I was able to drive one of the 55 seater Leyland Leopards between London and Heathrow. With the ease of the semi-automatic gearbox, the powerful engine with its ‘growling’ exhaust note, it was a treat to drive. After a weekend off, something I look back on with envy as I was soon to be part of the thirteen day fortnight working regime, I had a good week out with some of the ‘lads’, working with Angelo Suarez for the first time who was great when I could fully get used to his accent. Together with Mick Harley again I found the Commonwealth Institute, the Morden Wildts contract, Ewell ‘Willy’ Wildts, Manor House Girls and the Vactric contracts. Venturing further afield we reached Luton Airport enabling me to increase my airport knowledge. Throughout the week driving whilst ’empty’ to get in as much practise as possible.
The week after my 21st birthday weekend I spent a lot of time using the Granada, making tea and coffee for the office staff, which I became very accomplished at but getting itchy feet waiting for my test day so that I may get out the road and do the job I had been waiting so long for. Whilst I was occupied with my own progress I became vaguely aware of other younger drivers appearing on the scene, one of which was to become the main man Steve Whiteway. I am unsure if Steve arrived before or after myself but he certainly went on to far greater things within the company and the industry in general.
The following week saw me taking coach springs to Staples Corner (North Circular) in the Transit 12 seater minibus, driving up to London to collect park permits for display when using the Royal Parks (one permit per visit unless you could get away with more!). Out with Phylis visiting the travel agents with a nice stop at the Stepping Stones for lunch and the epic adventure to Bristol in Ron Miles’ workshop Landrover to collect some springs for one of the coaches. I travelled down the M4 and then back across country. How many people know where the fuel filler is on an ancient Landrover? Under the middle seat in the front is the answer. Pity nobody mentioned it before I left! Life is for learning.
Tuesday 11th July saw me having a discreet look at the driving test area, the examiners took a dim view if anyone was spotted apparently ‘learning’ the route. We took the Transit so that we wouldn’t stand out as much. Friday was a good day as I took one of the oldest Bedfords in the fleet up to Kingsforth Coaches in Sheffield for resale. I made my way across to Kendal by train and found a bed and breakfast establishment for the night. The next day I made my way to Kendal Truck Ltd. and picked up one of the 33 seater Bristols that had broken down on tour and had a new clutch fitted. I made my way back down to Surrey via Skipton, Keithley, Huddersfield (maybe I was searching for a suitable area for Steve Whiteway to retire to) although I didn’t know it at the time. It was yet more awakening to the beautiful areas of the country to tour in at a later stage.
After a well deserved weekend off I was raring to go on Monday. Actually it gave me an inclination of how if one really enjoys their work, money is the bonus. Subsequently, I met with some frostiness for apparently enjoying work too much. At the time I had no financial commitments which many of the guys had so may appear to have been ‘doing it for fun’. Two days of test preparation and finally on Wednesday 19th July I went over to Caterham, took my PSV test and passed. I was very pleased indeed. I used one of the 41 seater coaches for the test which I think we borrowed from Ken Le Lacheur. One of the most difficult exercises was the requirement to change up through the gearbox and back down into first gear without a crunch as if one was stopping a vehicle without brakes. I can feel the relief now as the gear slipped quietly into first and we came to a halt. A phrase that still is very much in my mind is the answer to the question ‘What is the most important consideration of a PSV driver? The answer as we all know is ‘The comfort and safety of my passengers’.
The following day after a 6.00am standby which became the normal after a day off, I undertook my first ‘proper’ job. Sutton Wildts which I had practised some weeks earlier followed by Vactric in the afternoon. Time to really get used to the log books used for recording driving hours, breaks etc., 15 minute increments drawn up and down and across at regular intervals as the day progressed and not made up at the end of a two week period! I was proud to wear my badge (still in my possession but disappointed to have the number changed when the Traffic Areas were changed). It was a legal requirement to have it on display when working and I enhanced the look by availing myself for a couple of pounds of a leather holder acquired for me by Cyril Pawsey. As the following days and weeks came along the variety of work increased, including the Steels Lane contract at Cobham, West Park Sports and Social Club outings, Changewares contract but of greater interest to me were the gradual increase in Private Hire trips. Ashtead Towns Womens Guild on a country tour eventually ending at Loseley House, trips to Goodwood races with the Dorking Carpenters and Joiners and later with the Conservative Club. One of the benefits of private hire work was the benefit of what the tax man refers to as ‘ancillary income’, yes a gratuity for a job well done. My excitement on completing my first HRR day tour was another event to learn by. As the primarily elderly people alighted I gratefully received what felt like a coin wrapped in a pound note. Only when I later counted my gratuity did I discover the ‘note’ was the ticket for the day out wrapped around a 10p piece! Even today the extra show of appreciation means a great deal and in all honesty has accounted for a substantial amount of income over the years.
My first extended tour was with a small group of Japanese who were all Children’s Books Authors. A delightful group to take, we embarked upon an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ tour starting from the Horseguards Hotel in London we visited everything we could find associated with Alice and Lewis Carroll. Visiting Hatfield, Oxford, Daresbury, Llandudno and finishing in Liverpool. We were only away for five days but in that time I felt I had made some new friends. They used to call me ‘unchan’ which I found out later meant ‘cute little driver’.
Epsom used to undertake a lot of work for the nearby mental hospitals and I found the days out were often ‘sad’ affairs. A trip to the seaside was always fraught as the majority of the patients were out of their comfort zone and wanted to return to the coach after only a few minutes of arrival. On the other hand working with other drivers on a multi vehicle job was usually fun. Peter Fraser, Charlie Kingsley and myself took three coaches from the Leatherhead Working Men’s club to Eastbourne for the day and the ‘downtime’ gave me a chance to get to know some of my colleagues better. I took an Italian family by the name Bitossi away in the minibus for a few days stopping in and visiting Oxford, Stratford, Warwick, Chester, York and Cambridge. The last stop in Cambridge at the Garden House Hotel, the only time I have stayed at a five star hotel with work. The family invited me to dinner on their last night.
As the weeks passed the London sightseeing increased, usually a morning or afternoon tour with guide. Ohshu Express was a popular tour company taking Japanese tourists but I preferred the tours with English speaking guides so that I could learn more easily about London. On Saturday 2nd September I was allocated my own coach, one of the older Bedfords OOU 535M. It was good to have a vehicle to keep neat and tidy as if it was my own. It ran nicely and cruised well at 45mph but lacked power on the hills. It did me well for quite a while with my next regular coach being OOU 535M before I inherited Mervyn Steemson’s 50 seater Leyland Leopard OGT329P when he was allocated a new vehicle.
As the autumn progressed the work was again varied from taking Chessington Brownies out, the Metropolitan Police football team to matches, a tour of North Wales and the Lake District with a group from Alabama and the variety of the regular contracts all kept me on my toes. The winter work saw more evening work in London, theatre trips involving negotiating the tightly packed roads around Bayswater to access hotels. The Americans often loved the involvement of bouncing a car out of the way to enable us to drive through. The evening waiting time was usually passed at the coach park at the back of Waterloo station, a sometimes considerable number of drivers trying to keep warm in one coach. In the days before Webasto heaters it was not easily done. However, the evenings’ entertainment after we’d eaten our customary fish or pie and chips was the man who had always acquired something and knew that coach drivers were often good customers. I had to buy the special watch that played Waltzing Matilda as the alarm tune but best of all was the ‘genuine’ suede/fur lined overcoat. It cost me £25.00 but kept me warm and lasted for decades.
My winter work was cut short at the end of November when I slipped on a patch of ice at the back of the garage and split my hand open. A trip to Epsom hospital by ambulance for stitches and I was off for the rest of the year. Health and Safety? An ambulance had been called, Peter Cooper was more than happy to drive me home in my old Cadillac that I owned at the time, the ice was chipped away and I think I was paid whilst off work. As they say now ‘happy days’ and life went on. So after just six months of life with Epsom Coaches and having learned a great deal about so many things, I was ready for more in 1979.
Throughout 1979 and 1980 the work was varied but the emphasis for my workload was on contract work and I was having difficulty in achieving my desire to undertake more tours. I did enjoy the L’Oreal Hair colour competition tour surrounded by pretty girls for a week, the five coach First Baptist Choir from Houston tour with ‘two Peter’s, two Tony’s and Mervyn’, surrounded by ten pint hats for a week. The Carshalton High School Trip to Ironbridge and the girls from Rosslyn House in Weybridge to the Bath area and the Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra to Edinburgh. All of these just served to increase my wanderlust for touring. I was single and had no commitments so I gave notice to leave at the end of 1980 so that I could pursue my ‘dream’. Over the next decade I worked for different companies and undertook touring work primarily in Europe but always felt an affinity for Epsom. As I only worked the summer season generally from Easter to the end of October I was able to help out on a part-time basis for Epsom up until the mid 1980’s when I moved away to Dorset. If I was in the Epsom area with a coach I would always call in and use the wash and catch up with whoever was around. On one occasion Chris Richmond was keen to hear my views on the Volvo I was driving as serious consideration was being given to adding them to the fleet.
From carrying Mr Bill Tinker and his ’41 club’ on day trips to visiting Buckingham Palace for a Garden Party with the Lest We Forget Association, the introduction of two way radios and Telma retarders, so many memories packed into a few years. The guys themselves deserve a separate section and warrant special detailed stories of which there are many. Nearly four decades on and I am still proud to say I started my coaching career with ‘probably the best coach company’ – certainly in Surrey.
Thank you for the memories.