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FLIGHT's Coaches

Meanwhle back at Flights, here's an unlikely one, a Flights Coach on hire to Birmingham City Transport. Yes, seen at British Camp, Malvern, it was actually on the annual staff outing in 1961 of the BCT Head office in Congreve Street. They didn't go too far in those days as the outing didn't set off until an hour at work had been done first! This smart AEC/Harrington Cavalier was one of two on the outing. It was also the one used to ferry the Aston Villa team about when new. Happily it still survives today in preservation.
 
Flights old depot Berners Lane

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477 AOP pictured below and now preserved is the right hand coach in this shot of the old depot.

477 AOP at Flight's garage.jpg
 
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last I saw 477 AOP had passed to a company called Goodwins in Manchester who were still taking it to preserved vehicle rallies and the like.

I've got quiet a hefty collection of pics of Flights coaches over the years, I'll get them all scanned and uploaded to a hosting site at some stage and post a link on here for anyone that may be interested
 
Dave Bath said:
I remember the coach firms being mentioned and used Flights service between Heathrow and Birmingham (Handsworth and Aston) when visiting the UK during the last 8 years.
Nobody has mentioned Smiths Imperial Coaches, an old picture of them attached, whose name I remember but not where they were based or any history. Can anybody enlighten me?
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Smiths were based on Stratford road, did one trip for them to Southsea (Bedford VAL), never again. Turned out to be a midnight return on a bank holiday, roof light blew in on the way there and had to fix back in when i got there, sitting on the roof.
 
Re: coaches

j hogarth said:
As far as i,m aware, Claribels of today are descendant of the old company, in their days they had double deckers among the fleet as well as coaches, to jog your memory , Claribels were situated right opposite Thompsons pork butchers, just behind a petrol station/ tyre company where i used to work. Talking of long distant coach travel, in 1963 me and my intended went to Brixham in Devon with Stockland coaches, took us 9 hours , and that was through the night , must have been foggy or something :?
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I used to do the Friday 11pm South Devon trips. Used to start local feeder pickups at 9pm and arrive at Stockland Green in time for the 11pm departures. Most of the journey down the A38 (before the M5 was built). First stop at 1am outside Gloucester, second at 5am near Wellington and arrive Torquay app 7am and then onto Paignton. Sweepout, fuel and then begin return at 9am. Arrive Bridgewater lunchtime, pickup Bridgewater based relief driver who drove rest of the way. First Stockland driver back then got the job of taking the relief drivers back to Bridgewater in one of the bosses cars (Ford Corsair). During the season often had 4 or 5 coaches on South Devon. How times change.
 
hi all just looking though this thread with interest. the photo of the coach with the garland on it was driven by someone in the next street to me. he used to live in berners street where they were based and still has his old uniform and cap. as far as i know he also still attends the reunions. wales.:)
 
tonyoz777 said:
i worked for flights for a time in the early 80's and am a bit of an anorak with buses and stuff

they were started by Frank Flight in the early 1920's on Victoria Road where they ran a garage and taxi business. Over the years they expanded and had a car dealership as well as travel agents and coaches.

In the early 70's they sold out to Bowens.

Ken Flight then started up again on Soho Road as Forward Coaches - part of the deal with Bowens was that they couldn't trade with the family name within (I think) 30 miles of Birmingham for "x" number of years. The funny thing was that once they got outside the 30 mile radius, the drivers would remove the board on the side of the coach that said Forward, and underneath it read Flights !! Apparently Mr Bowen was not too happy about this but there was nothing he could do.

They built up the Flightlink airport coach services and sold it off in the late 90's to National Express. They then bought a big coach tour company called Excelsior from Bournemouth which made them I think the 3rd largest private coach firm in the country. Unfortunately, it seems it got a bit too big and all went a bit pear shaped in about 2001. The name is still about and I think Frank Flights grandson Geoff has something to do with it but they are part of a big group now.

They have provided the Aston Villa Team coach for years and I remember seeing pictures in the office of the '57 team going up Colmore Row showing off the Cup in a convertible open top coach !!
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Excelsior / Flights did get in to trouble and the London and other stage services where taken over by N / Express with some of there coaches which have a Reg number XEL. Maltland kept the holiday side which is still operating.
 
Geoff Flight is one of the directors of Rotala PLC, trading as Central Connect buses, who have bought out Zacs, Pete's Travel, North Birmingham Busways, Ludlow's of Halesowen and Birmingham Coach Co (Diamond bus) of Oldbury. The Birmingham base is the old Flights depot in Long Acre (the former site of Saltley Loco shed). The fleet livery is white with a blue line around the skirt, except Diamond which are still red. There are still a few Flights coaches there, and a few based at Gatwick Airport.
 
I've finally managed to post some of my collection of pics of Flights Coaches through the years on Flickr.

Brewin Books are also publishing a book early next year "Flights Coaches - a pictorial history" written by Andrew Roberts.

Any road up, you can find my pics at https://www.flickr.com/photos/flights_coaches/sets/


Hope you enjoy, and please feel free to add any comments or memories you may have.

Thanks also to Bob Johnson for allowing me to use 2 of his pics from his Old Birmingham Garages website
 
The book I mentioned above has finally come out - "Flights Coaches - People to Places in Style". It's published by Brewin Books and has some excellent pics not only of coaches, but also their depots on Victoria Road in Aston, Berners St in Lozells, and Soho Road in Handsworth.
 
Hi. Am I getting mixed-up as I thought that Stocklands Coaches operated from Marsh Hill in Erdington. We went on a family holiday with them in 1957 to Blankenburg in Belgium. Down to Dover via Hyde Park Corner at midnight (all the adult passengers were saying `there THEY are !` and me as a young lad hadn`t got a clue what they were looking at !) To us, Belgium was so exotic and different. What happy memories of other day trips on the `Chara`, crate of beer, singsong on the way home and a stop at a Pub too ! My uncle was a Coach Driver in the 1940`s and 1950`s for Hastilows Tudor Rose Coaches in Park Rd, Sutton Coldfield. Does anyone have memories of Hastilows ? I think they did Removals too.
 
doug1944 I don't know what post you are refering to but Stockland Coaches were based at Marsh hill,Stockland Green,Erdington
 
doug1944 said:
My uncle was a Coach Driver in the 1940`s and 1950`s for Hastilows Tudor Rose Coaches in Park Rd, Sutton Coldfield. Does anyone have memories of Hastilows ? I think they did Removals too.
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Somewhat before your uncle's time with them, A T Hastilow and Son's depot in the early 20s with (L to R) a Guy 'ON' small chara, a Daimler 'Y' type chara, and a Dennis '6-ton subsidy' lorry. The latter two probably started life as army lorries in WW1Hastilow's, Park Rd., Sutton.jpg
 
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Alfred Thomas Hastilow (1877, Wednesbury - 1957, Sutton) was in 1911 a shopkeeper of Dining Rooms at 8, Parade, Sutton Coldfield with wife Elizabeth (nee Ford, c1872 Horsley Heath, Staffs - ?); son Alfred Edward (15 Jan 1901 Sutton - Dec 1991); Father in Law William Henry Ford (c1831 Dudley - ?); and Sister in Law Eliza Ann Ford (c1882 Tipton - ?). Alfred and Elizabeth married 3rd Feb 1900 at Holy Trinity Church, Sutton.
Wife and Sister in Law were "assisting with the business".

It is possible that Alfred Hastilow was in the army during WW1, and as did many other ex soldiers took the opportunity to buy army surplus lorries and start a haulage business on his demobilisation.
Hastilow's 'Tudor Rose' coaches were taken over by Harper Bros, of Cannock and Heath Hayes in the 1970s (?) and that firm was subsequently absorbed by the Midland Red later in the 70s.
 
On the right of the photo is a typical Bedford OB of the era. Taking centre stage is a Dennis Lancet but what is the coach to the far left? Is the "RO" visible on the front part of the word Rowe who built a small number of buses and coaches in the 1950's?
 
It said "ROSE" as for Tudor Rose Coaches. I'm not sure what it was, possibly a small Guy.
There were only five Rowe coaches, built 1953-8, but over 100 lorries by the same maker, Rowe Motors Ltd, Doublebois, Cornwall.

Simon's picture shown here:

Hastilows, Sutton.jpg
 
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Hi 6918. If I remember correctly, I was told that the coach on the left was an older Dennis Lancet half cab which was modified and up dated to a full front by Hastilow`s workshop staff. The front panel was hand cut to show `Tudor Rose`, which was Hastilows coach division. Hastilows also contracted other coach companies at busy times. I have a photo of a Marshalls Bedford OB on a Hastilows Gretna Green trip.
 
Very interesting and impressive that a small operator would go to the effort of designing a front panel with their name incorporated. Full front rebuilds of half cabs was a trend of the time and very effective in modernising the whole coach to keep up with new underfloors entering service.
 
Here are a few photo's of Flights coaches. Frank Flight set up his own
Taxi firm and service Garage in 1913.






Image1.jpg Image2.jpg Image3.jpg

The first photo was taken in Victoria Rd next to Franks House.


The second photo was taken in Berners St in 1961.



The third photo was taken in 1957 and were off to the FA cup at Wembley
and returned with Aston Villa and the cup.


Regards Stars
 
Here is a bit of information on Flights Coaches.

Frank Flight started his buisness in 1913, which was a taxi service and garage next to his house in Victoria Rd, Aston.
There is a good piece about Flights in the Golden years of Birmingham. Well worth a read.


Regards Stars
 
hi stars pic one is new to me...great shot...would you be able to confirm it was taken in berners st..
lyn
 
stars said:
Here are a few photo's of Flights coaches. Frank Flight set up his own
Taxi firm and service Garage in 1913.


View attachment 72717
The photo was taken in 1957 and were off to the FA cup at Wembley
and returned with Aston Villa and the cup.
Regards Stars
Click to expand...

The first coach was the team coach, TOB 377, which survives in preservation today.
TOB377.jpg
 
Frank Flight was a friend of my father's so once again old memories are stirred up by this forum. Lovely stuff. Regards, David.
 
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