We are grateful to Lee Floyd for bringing to our attention the sterling efforts of a group of dedicated volunteers from Lincolnshire Vintage Vehicle Museum, Lincoln, who are undertaking an ambitious restoration of the 1935 Midland Red (Birmingham & Midland Motor Omnibus Company) SOS DON bus originally operated by Trent Motor Traction Company.
This bus marks the start of what we now call the “leisure industry” which coincided with paid annual leave. By 1936 this was carrying passengers from the East Midlands to Skegness, the nearest seaside tourist destination. Shortly after, in the summer of 1938, thousands of working-class Britons got their very first tastes of sun, sea and sand, thanks to a new law that meant that for the first time ever, they could take a paid annual holiday. In the early part of the twentieth century, bus and coach transport became the means whereby these working class men and women could travel cheaply further and faster. In 1936 in Skegness, the very first UK Holiday Camp was founded by Billy Butlin. As part of the Trent Motor Traction Company fleet plying their way from Derbyshire, through the pit villages and industrial heartlands of the East Midlands, for over 20 years this bus helped carry the earliest generation of British holidaymakers into the modern world.
When complete, this bus will be a running, fully operational exhibit, in period-accurate livery and available to travel the actual routes and destinations served nearly a century ago. Most of the restoration work has been completed to a high standard by ex- engineers and operational volunteers at the museum workshops and is the successful culmination of many years work. For this reason the Trust is delighted to recognise the work with a Restoration award.