At Market Lavington Museum, we have just received this lovely photograph. As yet, we have not found out anything about it but, maybe, our readers can help.
Here, we see a group of ladies by a motor coach. The coach has stopped on the High Street in Market Lavington, just opposite the Market Place. We can see the porch of the Green Dragon pub (now reduced in size) and the archway into Woodland Yard (now demolished to allow larger vehicles to pass through).
Above the front window of the coach, we can read ‘One of Cards’ and ‘Private’.
The group of people is entirely female, so we wonder if this might have been a ladies group outing – maybe the Women’s Institute. There are a few people in the coach, so perhaps it did a pick up in Easterton first.
From the ladies’ attire, we are guessing a date of, maybe, late 1950s or early 1960s and a cold season outing.
We recognise Sybil Perry, standing in the centre of the group. No doubt some of our readers can supply more names and, possibly, a date.
At the museum, we will scan through the albums of Women’s Institute photographs in case the picture appears there with a helpful caption.
Meanwhile, it’s over to you!
Market Lavington Museum 
March 25, 2023 at 9:34 am |
Cards were coach operators based at Devizes. Their coaches were lettered “One of Cards” on the front and rear. I recall often seeing these passing through West Lavington when I lived there In the 1950’s. One job they had was a contract with the RAF to transport personnel from the RAF radio and radar training establishments at Compton Basset and Yatesbury on 36 hour leave passes to London at weekends. Washing machine entrepreneur John Bloom of Rolls Razor fame trained there in the 50’s. He decided with a friend who ran a coach company in Stoke Newington, London that they could underprice Cards. When Cards took Bloom to court, the judge upheld Bloom with a declaration that became Bloom’s motto: “It’s no sin to make a profit.” The coach is a Bedford OB. They were manufactured from 1939 to 1951 and had 26 – 29 seats. If only the whole registration number was visible I could put a date on when the coach was new and if it still exists. There are known to be 180 OB’s still in existence with 70 in roadworthy condition. At one stage between 1954 and 1959 Sybil Perry taught me at West Lavington Elementary School where she was seconded part time from Market Lavington whilst our teacher Mrs Simms was off due to if I recall correctly to maternity leave.
March 25, 2023 at 9:40 am |
Thank you so much for your detailed response. We failed to find information on Cards coaches with our internet research.
March 25, 2023 at 10:59 am |
I’ve had a trawl through the Bedford OB coach records and there’s a remote possibility this is HDA727 bought by Hughes Coaches of Wroughton, Wiltshire in April 1950 and later sold to Cards of Devizes. The records show it as new to Hughes so the Wolverhampton DA registration is somewhat odd as one would expect the number to be a Wiltshire one. The DVLA has no record of the vehicle so it was probably broken up a the end of its useful life.
March 25, 2023 at 4:33 pm |
On the right of Sybil Perry (as one looks at the photo) is Mary Baker her mother. Is Peggy Gye on the far right at the back?)
March 25, 2023 at 5:13 pm |
Thank you. We didn’t know Sybil’s mother, but had wondered if it was Peggy under the driver’s window.
March 26, 2023 at 9:01 pm |
We are told that the lady in black on the far left is Grace Welch.