An Independent Partnership: G&B Motor Services

The story of two independent Durham bus operators – Gillett Bros and J J Baker

authors: Philip Kirk, Bob Robson & Gordon Wigham
hardback 240mm x 285mm, 144 pages
ISBN 978 0 9565740 8 4

County Durham was one of those areas which had an abundance of small, family-run bus companies. This is the story of two of those companies which came together to run a reliable service for nearly fifty years – and which is still fondly remembered fifty years after that.

Coal mining dominated life in much of the county and this provided the opportunity for entrepreneurs to seize the chance to provide cheap and fast travel between the villages and the nearest towns, as well as giving secure employment opportunities well away from the grim alternative underground.

This book is the story not just of the buses and coaches – although there are lots of those – but also the people working behind the scenes whose decisions had long-lasting consequences, and the drivers and conductors who were the friendly face of the service.

Read about races between stationary buses, making one good bus out of two (or even three), the annual Big Meeting Day, over-lively driving and traffic court battles. This immersive history follows every step from the have-a-go competitive early days of the 1920s, through the more respectable decades, with sometimes dizzying amounts of investment, to, finally, the passing away of family members and the sale of the companies.

So, catch an AEC Regal to Durham or a Tilling-Stevens to ‘Bishop’ or even a Panorama coach to Blackpool or Whitley Bay – with The G&B!

Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to The Bus Archive.