David Slater (Spoddendale)'s photos

Tuesday 26 October 1971 – A picture taken at the counter in the Yelloway Travel Bureau and Booking Office at Weir Street, Rochdale. Behind the counter are, right, Irene Noble (talking with an unknown member of the public) and, left, Amelia McGee who is issuing a ticket for Mary Davenport, an employee in the General Office. The office had been refurbished and updated a few years earlier. The wall in the background used to have three long rows of 'cup hooks' to hold timetable books supplied by all the major bus companies throughout Britain - each would have a string looped through the top left corner to hang the book. During my schooldays I would envy the sight of them and from time to time would ask for the out of date issues to learn about these far flung companies I was otherwise unaware of.

January 1972 – This was a posed shot which I took in the Chart Room and features (from left to right) Vincent Reeves, Robert Wilkinson, Alan Kershaw (standing) and Eddie Nuttall. It is vaguely possible that all the men could have really been on the phones on this side of the room on a busy summer day but not in the month of January! (…and also, without any disrespect, Eddie was very rarely seen on this side of the office as he never tried to venture away from his own desk. He would usually let someone else’s phone ring for an eternity before walking across the room to answer it!). The office had about 14 telephones. Three of those visible on Vincent’s desk, which monitored bookings on the Fylde Coast Services X79/X89, can be seen. He is holding the internal phone (one of just ten on the whole company system). The other black phone is to the main switchboard. The more modern phone (grey in colour) in the bottom right corner is one of the four ex-directory direct lines into the Chart Room for exclusive use by booking agents (this was ‘Rochdale 49311’). Vincent’s fourth phone, out of shot and also linked to the switchboard, was used very little when the switchboard operator was working but outside those hours was plugged into the direct line to the Oldham office. There were also four similar phones on the desk where Alan and Eddie are posed. That direct line was ‘Rochdale 49312’ and used for bookings on the London and Cambridge/Clacton services. The fourth phone on that desk was connected to Blackpool office ‘out of hours’. A payment was made to the ‘GPO’ for those direct links to the offices at Oldham and Blackpool which then saw no individual call charges levied irrespective of frequency of use. The windows in front of these desks overlooked the workshop area, that in the background overlooked the River Roch. The curvature of the room matched the path of the river.

Wednesday 9 February 1972 – The Chart Room team. From left to right: Myself (David Slater then a tender 21 years of age!), Robert Wilkinson, Harold Lord, Eddie Nuttall, Vincent Reeves and Alan Kershaw. After the closure of Yelloway Robert subsequently worked for Ellen Smith (Tours) Limited in their Rochdale Bus Station and Newgate offices. The window in the background is the same as that in the previous photograph.

Summer 1971 or 1972 - Arthur Whelhan dealing with bookings for a number of potential passengers in the Yelloway booking office located on the forecourt of the old Central Railway Station in Manchester. The site later became the G-MEX Centre and now Manchester Central Conference Centre. Yelloway used this location as its Manchester coach station for about three years (1970-1973) after the East Street Coach Station of LMS Coachways was closed for redevelopment. In addition to the booking office there was a waiting room, an inspectors office and general storage rooms built in former war time air raid shelters which bordered Lower Mosley Street (to the right of the picture). One of the windows of the Midland Hotel can be seen through the window behind. This site was supervised by an Inspector (Bill Grundy) and usually two booking clerks (Bill Clarkson and Arthur Whelhan).

Monday 20 April 1981 – This Yelloway board was fixed between the upper windows of Keith Aspinall’s newsagents shop in Milnrow, one of the many small businesses which acted as booking agents for Yelloway services. Keith had once worked at Yelloway although had left before I joined the company. The board includes the words ‘The scenic route to Leicester, Northampton, Dunstable, London’ which dates it to before the early 1960s which saw introduction of the joint services with Premier Travel to Cambridge and Clacton which then covered Leicester and Northampton. The North Wales service is also shown as a Creams service although Yelloway had closed the Creams subsidiary in the early 1970s.

June 1973 – A photograph of my old black and white television set upon which can be seen the closing shot of the Yelloway television commercial. The coach was WDK 646K (new in April 1972). The pictures for the advert were taken on the unopened section of the M62 at its junction with the M621 near Cleckheaton.

June 1973 – A photograph of my old black and white television set upon which can be seen one of the interior shots of the coach used in the Yelloway television commercial. The coach was WDK 646K (new in April 1972). The passengers in the lower right corner are three of the ‘models’ supplied by the advertising agency (Grandma at the front with a younger couple behind her. There was also a girl who was sat alongside the Grandma but out of shot. The rest of the passengers are mainly Yelloway employees although Gerry Henstock’s family were with us that day - his mother/mother-in-law is sat on the second seat on the right - behind Lorraine Blake (nee Probert) who worked in the booking and enquiry office. Gerry’s children were also with us that day. I am in the fifth seat back on the right of the photo - having been moved by the photographer from a more prominent seat near the front!

Spring 1973 – WDK 646K (new in April 1972) was the star of a Yelloway television commercial and the coach was seen here on the westbound carriageway of an unopened section of the M62 at its junction with the M621 near Cleckheaton. The bridge in the background still exists. Derek Cheetham drove the coach and a number of Yelloway staff, myself included, went along as ‘extras’ to supplement the family of four ‘models’ (father, mother, girl and grandma) supplied through the advertising agency. The photographer considers a shot through the coach window of the ‘grandma’ reclined on one the Chapman reclining seats employed on most of the Yelloway coaches at the time. I borrowed Gerard Duffy’s camera to take this set of pictures (actually on slide film).

Spring 1973 – WDK 646K (new in April 1972) was the star of a Yelloway television commercial and the coach was seen here during filming on the westbound carriageway of an unopened section of the M62 at its junction with the M621 near Cleckheaton. This view shows the coach positioned in the centre lane of the motorway with two cars which would add to the scene. The bridge in the background still exists. Derek Cheetham was the driver and he had to drive at a rather sedate motorway speed of about 15mph for the camera during the filming! A number of Yelloway staff, myself included, went along as ‘extras’. I borrowed Gerard Duffy’s camera to take this set of pictures (actually on slide film).

Spring 1973 – WDK 646K (new in April 1972) was the star of a Yelloway television commercial and the coach was seen here during filming on the westbound carriageway of an unopened section of the M62 at its junction with the M621 near Cleckheaton. The bridge in the background still exists. Derek Cheetham drove the coach and a number of Yelloway staff, myself included, went along as ‘extras’. I borrowed Gerard Duffy’s camera to take this set of pictures (actually on slide film). Gerry Henstock is standing on the right talking to the film crew. The advert was screened on Granada television soon after.

Saturday 10 July 1982 - Drummer Street bus station, Cambridge with various Yelloway coaches loading for the service to the North West of England worked jointly with Premier Travel. Yelloway usually worked the southbound services on Fridays and Sundays and the northbound services Saturdays and Mondays with Premier Travel doing the reverse.

Saturday 25 May 2013 (1933) - M & J Minibus Hire is the business of Mike and Jackie Woodhouse based in Bury St. Edmunds. EU05 FXJ is an Iveco mini-coach which is employed on school contracts and private hire work. www.mjminibus.co.uk (also see album on Facebook: ‘MJ Minibus hire Bury St Edmunds’)

Saturday 25 May 2013 (1933) - M & J Minibus Hire is the business of Mike and Jackie Woodhouse based in Bury St. Edmunds. EU05 FXJ is an Iveco mini-coach which is employed on school contracts and private hire work. www.mjminibus.co.uk (also see album on Facebook: ‘MJ Minibus hire Bury St Edmunds’)

May 1969 - CIÉ (Córas Iompair Éireann) touring coach WT1 (HZD 580) seen at Galway. This was the first of a number of Leyland Royal Tiger Worldmaster ERT2/1 with very attractive CIÉ coach bodywork. WT1 was new in 1962 and the rest followed in 1963. WT1 was rebodied by Van Hool in June 1970 and it became fleet number WVH1.

May 1969 - CIÉ (Córas Iompair Éireann) C140 (EZH 140) and C235 (EZH 235) at Ennis. Both are CIÉ/Metsec bodied Leyland Leopard PSU3/4R. C140, with a 30 foot long 45 seat bus body, was working the 0930 service from Limerick to Galway (due Ennis 1026/1032 and Galway 1210). (I travelled on this bus from Bunratty Castle to Galway). C235, with a 36 foot long 45 seat coach body, was working the 0845 service from Galway to Limerick (due Ennis 1023/1030 and Limerick 1126). (The following day I travelled on C235 as it worked the Galway-Belfast express service). The timetables for all these services are included in this album.

May 1969 - CIÉ (Córas Iompair Éireann) C235 (EZH 235), a CIÉ/Metsec bodied Leyland Leopard PSU3/4R new in 1966, seen at the Middletown Customs when working the 0845 Galway to Belfast express - a service worked jointly with Ulsterbus. (The previous day I had seen C235 at Ennis working the 0845 service from Galway to Limerick). The timetables for all these services are included in this album.

May 1969 - CIÉ (Córas Iompair Éireann) C235 (EZH 235), a CIÉ/Metsec bodied Leyland Leopard PSU3/4R new in 1966, was seen at Cavan during the lunch stop on the 0845 Galway to Belfast express (due in Cavan at1140/1215 and Belfast 1450) which was worked jointly with Ulsterbus. The departure time of the Belfast to Galway service was 0915 (due Cavan 1150/1220) worked by an Ulsterbus coach today although the drivers exchanged vehicles here and returned to their respective starting point. (The previous day I had seen C235 at Ennis working the 0845 service from Galway to Limerick). The timetables for all these services are included in this album.

Satrday 9 March 1991 (approx 1830) - Bus Éireann EVH2 (SI 3002), a 1986 Van Hool T815 Alizee, seen loading at Victoria Coach Station, London for the overnight run to Ireland. Bus Éireann 'Expressway' livery is carried together with the 'Supabus' name which was also used for the marketing of the services between England and Ireland jointly operated by Bus Éireann and National Express. The services also formed part of the Eurolines network (service number 171). On the right edge of the photograph is sister vehicle EVH3 (SI 3003) (in the new Bus Éireann livery).