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Midland Red Employee Newsletter

J

Jessi1711

Brummie babby
Does anyone know if there are any employee records or company newsletters for Midland Red employees available for the 1950’s?

I have what looks like an extract from a monthly news letter approx 1956 that refers to my family’s service with Midland Red totaling 145 years. It also mentions my grand-uncle Sidney George Simper’s 46 years service and his meeting up with two of his brothers in France during WW1. Apparently the story of him meeting up with his brothers and another Midland Red employee was covered in an earlier news letter.

Thanks
Jessie:)
 
Hi Jessie! I've only just read your query.

In Midland Red: A History of the Company and its Vehicles up to 1940 (usually abbreviated to Midland Red Volume 1) by Paul Gray, Malcolm Keeley and John Seale (Glossop: Transport Publishing Company, 1978) (ISBN 0903839199) on page 21 (top right) is a picture of one of the earliest Midland Red buses. The caption reads: "... Sandon Rd in 1912 or 1913. ... The driver is Mr E Simper whose family contributed between them two centuries of service to the transport industry in Birmingham. Mr Simper started his career as a horsekeeper."

I presume this Mr E Simper is one of your illustrious family!

One of the authors (Malcolm Keeley) is closely involved with the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Trust museum at Wythall (website https://www.bammot.org.uk/index.asp). They have lots of Midland Red documents and may be able to provide you with more information.

I'm very interested in the history of Midland Red so please come back to this forum when you find out more.
 
The Midland Red produced a Staff Bulletin Magazine right up, I think, until Nationalisation around 1969. From time to time these turn up for sale in the shops at both Wythall and Aston Manor transport museums and sometimes on ebay. Malcolm Keeley will certainly know if any are kept in the Museum Archives at Wythall. The book Thylacine mentions along with volume II have been out of print for years now and always fetch very high prices on the second hand market if and when they turn up.
 
Mike, I recently bought Midland Red Volumes 1 and 2 from www.transportstore.com for 46 quid (plus 29.50 shipping to Australia!)

I didn't shop around and could probably have found them for less. Lucky the Aussie dollar is fairly strong at the moment! But I couldn't be more pleased with my purchase - these books are absolutely essential for the Midland Red enthusiast. The pictures alone are worth the money.
 
Here is the picture referred to above, Elijah Simper at the wheel of 1912 motorbus O-8206 in Sandon Rd, Bearwood. Visible just behind the bus is the Birmingham / Smethwick boundary post - these were triangular in section and I can just remember a few still being around in the late 50s.

Several families made the Midland Red their career, but probably none more so then the Simpers.

The 1911 Census has Elijah (aged 49) at 27 Lightwoods Rd, Bearwood, with wife Mary Ann (nee Holbrook) and sons Sidney (27), Percy (24), Francis (22) (all three of whom were at the time tramway company 'guards' - so possibly conductors on the company horse buses running from Bearwood depot at the time) and Ernest whose occupation at 14 was described as 'Merchant - Iron', probably a shop assistant at an ironmongers. He too later joined the fledgling Midland Red and rose through its ranks to become Divisional Traffic Superintendent at Digbeth garage.

Elijah's death is recorded as 1st quarter 1937 at Kingswinford.
 
Impeccable research as usual Lloyd! Lovely picture of Elijah Simper driving a Tilling-Stevens TTA1 isn't it? Interesting about the boundary post too. Regarding the bus: (a) what is that lever thing hanging down in front of Elijah's face? (b) what's that plate on the side of the bonnet (can anyone read it)?
 
The bracket is for a sun / rain shield (I'll bet those buses were no fun to drive in the winter!)
and the plate would be by the chassis maker, Tilling-Stevens of Maidstone, Kent
Here's 26 (O 9926) at Queens Park, Harborne with the side shield in place. Another one went across the front.
Sorry no pics of the plate.
 
Tilling 26 is today at Wythall museum - a rare early survivor.
It is Blue and Cream because it was one of the vehicles taken over by Birmingham Corporation in 1914 when they assumed responsibility for services totally within the city, forcing the Midland Red to concentrate on services outside the city, which is how they grew to be the largest bus company in the country outside of London.
The original livery was red lower deck, black upper deck.
 
Thanks Lloyd. O9926 is certainly looking splendid these days - do you know if it actually runs? I imagine the petrol-electrics require a whole different set of maintenance skills (the electric part anyway).

I've just noticed on the picture of O8206 that you can just see the "bonnet number" (6) on the side of the driver's "cab".

Yes those early drivers must have been hardy - no wonder they wore those heavy overcoats.

According to a genealogy website "coachman" Elijah Simper was born on 31 July 1861 at Badwell Ash, Stow, Suffolk. I'm pretty sure this is our man.

In the picture of O8206 on page 22 (of Midland Red Volume 1) you can almost read the maker's plate on the bonnet. The driver here is "Mr E A Trigg" whose family also had a long connection with Midland Red, I believe.
 
Here's a picture of another of the 1912 TTA1s (O8208). It's from Peter Hardy's BMMO Fleet History Volume 1. Could that be O C Power on the upper deck?!?!?! Any idea where it was taken?

I'm a bit worried about going off the thread topic. Should we start another thread (Early Days of Midland Red)?
 
Thylacine said:
Thanks Lloyd. O9926 is certainly looking splendid these days - do you know if it actually runs? I imagine the petrol-electrics require a whole different set of maintenance skills (the electric part anyway).
Click to expand...

No, there is no engine or transmission. The 26's body was sold and its lower deck ended up as a shed on a smallholding in Nottinghamshire. The museum has acquired a similar (to original) Tilling Stevens chassis and is constructing missing body parts from surviving drawings and photographs.

In the picture of O8206 on page 22 (of Midland Red Volume 1) you can almost read the maker's plate on the bonnet.
Click to expand...

...And it says:

TILLING - STEVENS
Petrol Electric System

According to a genealogy website "coachman" Elijah Simper was born on 31 July 1861 at Badwell Ash, Stow, Suffolk. I'm pretty sure this is our man.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's where I got the information from!
 
Re the last picture, that shows one of the first batch of Tillings, type TTAI, which had the radiator behind the engine. It's brand new, the safety rails are not yet fitted to the chassis between the wheels.
Note the TTA1s had the BET 'wheel & magnet' emblem, the TTA2s and later buses had the word 'MIDLAND'. The lower decks were red, hence "Midland Red", never an 'official' company name until the WMPTE takeover of West Midland area services in 1974 and BMMO became MRO Co Ltd.
Don't know for sure who is upstairs, but the rearmost man looks like chief engineer L.G. Wyndham Shire.

Yes, perhaps further discussion should be on a new thread!
 
Thanks again Lloyd. Do you know of a surviving Tilling-Stevens TTA1 or TTA2 in working order?

Here (https://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/05/a4013605.shtml) are some interesting and touching reminiscences of former Midland Red driver Leslie Harborne (born 1910) who was tested for his PSV licence by Harry Trigg at Digbeth about 1940. He writes: "Application meant signing the Big Book, wherein the names of all the old drivers of the Company's early days were contained. When searching through the Book I was overjoyed to see my father's name there when motorbuses were in their infancy, of the Tilling-Stevens era, a spin-off from the old horse drawn 'bus days".

I wonder if the Big Book survives?!?!?
 
OK folks I'm starting a new thread called Midland Red Early Days. Let's continue this discussion there and leave this thread for issues related to the Simper family.
 
Thylacine, Lloyd,

Thanks for the update on my original post. Elijah was my Great-Grandfather and Percy was my Grandfather.

Lloyd all of the information you posted on the Simpers is correct my Dad was born at 117 Lightwood Rd. Interestingly Percy shows up twice on the 1911 census as you said and again at 2 Wattis Road Smethwick, occupation Omnibus Conductor. Wattis Rd and Lightwood Rd run parallel to each other so he probable jumped over the fence to visit with his Dad (Elijah).

Percy, Sidney George and another brother were all in the RASC and in France together in WW1.

Thylacine, thanks for the web address I have written to the Trust enquiring about any newsletters I will let you know if I hear anything.

Jessie
 
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Jessie you're very welcome. One of the reasons I'm interested in public transport history is for the social history that's involved. Public transport is not just machines (fascinating though they are) but mainly the thousands of people who make it happen and make a difference to our lives. Good luck with your family research!
 
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