AFTER THE TAKEOVER

By Andrew Shouler

Yorks set up a new company Wesley’s Tours (Northampton) Ltd and this company ran all the tours until Yorks themselves were taken over by Bowens Travel from the West Midlands.

The Wesley premises continued to be used as a base for all the tours. This was a more convenient arrangement, being located on a well known main road, than the Yorks depot in Short Lane, Cogenhoe, which is off a minor road leading to Grendon.

In Wesley’s days, tourists could drive their cars to the depot yard and leave them safe and secure whilst enjoying a coach holiday and on return drive them back home. Such convenient arrangements continued in York’s days.

York’s provided four new vehicles in a smart light and dark blue livery (not too jarring from Wesley's much loved and known cream and blue relief) They bore Wesley fleet numbers but sported the unique York’s feature of displaying names of Royal Navy warships.

For the record they were :-

20 - LRP20V - Ford R114 - Plaxton - C53F - HMS Fife

21 - LRP21V - Ford R114 - Plaxton - C53F - HMS Sovereign

22 - LRP22V - Ford R114 - Plaxton - C53F - HMS Sceptre

23 - LRP23V - Ford R114 - Plaxton - C53F - HMS Invincible

No 20 was used on the stage carriage services; note the out of sequence fleet numbers.. Wesley's last original vehicle was number 184 a Ford Plaxton Supreme reg number BBD 484S.

Eventually most of the former Wesley fleet was repainted into the new livery and given warship names.

A caveat on the sale was that the depot shound remain in use for a period of six years. This was honoured by Yorks who eventually obtained Planning Permission from Milton Keynes Borough Council for eleven residential properties to be built on the site.

The land was duly sold in November 1985 and nothing remains to show its former busy life - just bland, stone faced buildings.

To end on an important note - both brothers, in spite of their hard working lives, lived to a great age.

Robert George Wesley (Bob) born in 1907 died at Overstone in 2001.

William (Bill or Will) Wesley born in 1917 died at Daventry in 2004.

Andrew Shouler. August 2006