Classic Buses Profiles

Samuel Ledgard, Leeds (by Shane Conway)

Last updated 2 January 2025

Email   Events diary   Past events list   Classified adverts   Classic U.K. Buses   Classic Irish Buses   Classic Manx Buses

Like many early pioneers in the transport business, Samuel Ledgard started out in a different industry and gradually built up a small transport fleet. Born in 1874 in Leeds, he originally operated a hotel and brewery, and it was the latter that prompted the need for a vehicle to transport the beer and provide outside catering, and initially it was a horse drawn cart. In the early years of the 20th century he progressed to a steam lorry (in 1906), replacing this with a petrol powered truck six years later. This machine operated as a freight vehicle during the week, then, by using a de-mountable body, it became a passenger carrying unit for weekend excursions. Over the following decade, he progressed into a garage business, as well as quarrying and farming.

The first Ledgard bus service was a route from Leeds to Horsforth, from 1924 onwards. From then on the business and fleet grew, both by expanding his routes and by acquiring other operators in the area, two of which continued to trade as Ledgard subsidiary companies. By 1937 Ledgards had a fleet of almost 80 buses operating from five depots in West Yorkshire (at Bradford, Ilkley, Leeds, Otley and Yeadon). February 1939 saw the opening of a new bus station in Otley, operated by a company jointly owned by Ledgards and West Yorkshire Road Car. The war years saw some cutbacks in services due to fuel restrictions, and some vehicles requisitioned for war duties. The late 40s saw twenty new vehicles added, of Foden and Leyland manufacture. Three Leyland Titans arrived in 1952, shortly before the death of Samuel Ledgard in April of that year.

Therafter, all fleet renewal was to utilize secondhand buses and coaches, apart from a batch of six single deckers in 1955 and six AEC Regents and a Daimler CVG6 in the autumn of 1957. The first of the Regents carried the registration 1949 U, being a reversal of the mark of Samuel's first lorry some 45 years earlier. This was to happen again, as will be seen later. The purchase of ten ex Leeds Corporation Daimlers in 1960 caused a bit of a surprise among the local population, and some angst in City Hall, causing the city fathers to then promptly ban future sales of their vehicles to local buyers! The biggest supplier of buses to Ledgards was London Transport, with 24 Daimler double deckers being bought in the mid 1950s, followed by a combined total of 42 AEC Regents and Leyland PD2s from the RT, RTL and RLH classes in the mid 1960s.

For summer seasonal work in the mid 1960s, new Bedford coaches were leased from dealer stock. This brought a total of six SB and four VAM models into the fleet, as well as two Leyland Leopards. The latter six were the only Ledgard vehicles to ever carry post 1963 registration numbers with the year letter at the end of the plate. Two of the SBs were registered 846 and 847 HUA, these being reversals of two Leyland Titans of 1939, similar to the situation with the original lorry and the first of the batch of 1957 AEC deckers.

Fifteen years after the death of the company's founder, the entire business was acquired by West Yorkshire Road Car, at midnight on Saturday October 14th 1967. A total of 98 buses and coaches were transferred to the larger fleet, of which just fourteen were used by them. The other 84 were quickly moved on to dealers and breakers, while the last of the other fourteen had been withdrawn by 1970, thus ending the Ledgard era for ever. It is of note, that out of the 420 buses and coaches owned by Ledgards, just 22 were mid engined, and no rear engined vehicles ever entered the fleet.

I acknowledge my thanks to Barry Rennison of the Samuel Ledgard Society for his assistance with this page, and for providing much of the fleet information, whihch was originally compiled by Mike Lockyer. The photographs used are from the Simon Lang collection. The fleetlists below cover the main fleet first, followed by sub-sections on Cream Bus and B and B Tours.

FLEET LIST

1912 to 1919 (total 14)

1924 (total 5)

1925 (total 5)

1926 (total 4)

1927 (total 12)

1928 (total 8)

1929 (total 8)

1930 (total 13)

1931 (total 11)

1932 (total 6)

1934 (total 8)

1935 (total 1)

1936 (total 6)

1937 (total 4)

1938 (total 3)

1939 (total 3)

1940 (total 3)

1943 (total 11)

1944 (total 6)

1945 (total 10)

1946 (total 3)

JUM 378 was the last of a batch of Leyland PD1s bought new in 1946, the company's first post-war specification buses. All six lasted in service until the 1960s.

1948 (total 6)

1949 (total 7)

MUA 864 was one of six Plaxton bodied Foden coaches bought in 1949 and 1950, all of which lasted until the late 1960s. The batch of registrations in this series also included three Leyland Titans in 1949, which were equally long lived.

1950 (total 2)

1951 (total 1)

The only bus bought by Ledgards in 1951 was this Foden, following on from the earlier batch of six. Although initially passing to a transport museum, it later went for scrap.

1952 (total 3)

1953 (total 14)

HGF 948 was one of fourteen ex London Daimlers bought in 1953, followed by another nine a year later. It received this single deck body which had previously been on CUB 1, a 1935 Maudslay SF40.

1954 (total 13)

1955 (total 6)

1956 (total 6)

1957 (total 20)

GUY 3 was seven years old when it joined the fleet in 1957, having been new as a demonstrater with Guy Motors in Wolverhampton. It achieved ten years service with Ledgard and passed to West Yorkshire as a non-runner before going for scrap in 1968.

The last new bus bought by Ledgards was this Roe bodied AEC Regent V in 1957, one of a batch of six buses. Although in Ledgard livery, it has West Yorkshire fleetnames on the side and is seen with two Bristol Lodekkas.

KUP 949 was one of two second-hand Leyland Tigers bought in 1957. This Burlingham bodied coach is now preserved, after a short spell of ownership with West Yorkshire

NWW 805 was one of the only two Atkinson buses ever owned, later ending up with Berresford of Cheddleton, managed to survive their 1969 depot fire and ended its days as a static caravan.

1959 (total 11)

,

1960 (total 20)

1961 (total 19)

1962 (total 3)

1963 (total 33)

DCN 836 was one of eight Picktree bodied Guy Arabs bought in 1963 from Northern General, seven of which were taken over by West Yorkshire but not used by them. A further example arrived in 1966 for parts.

MXX 137 was part of a batch of over 40 ex London Leyland and AEC deckers acquired in the mid 1960s. Eleven years old when acquired, it passed to West Yorkshire in 1967 and had gone for scrap by 1970.

N.B. In the list below, the ex London RT buses have two body numbers shown; that in brackets is the manufacturer's number, preceeded by the internal four digit system used by London Transport.

1964 (total 19)

N.B. In the list below, the ex London RT and RLH buses have two body numbers shown; that in brackets is the manufacturer's number, preceeded by the internal four digit system used by London Transport.

1965 (total 10)

N.B. In the list below, the ex London RT, RTL and RLH buses have two body numbers shown; that in brackets is the manufacturer's number, preceeded by the internal four digit system used by London Transport. For buses with Saunders bodywork, only the L.T. number is given, as that maker didn't use their own serial numbers.

1966 (total 13)

BCK 427 was one of a pair of ex Ribble Leyland Titans bought in 1966, joining four others which had arrived five years earlier. All six passed to West Yorkshire, none were used and all quickly went to the scrapyards.

PDV 732 was one of two ex Devon General AEC Regents acquired in 1966, seen here with Titan PNW 91 and an ex London RT or RTL. Devon General used this Daimler style front on their Regents.

N.B. In the list below, the ex London RT and RTL buses have two body numbers shown; that in brackets is the manufacturer's number, preceeded by the internal four digit system used by London Transport. For buses with Metro Cammell bodywork, only the L.T. number is given, as that maker didn't use their own serial numbers.

1967 (total 7)

The first of four leased Bedford VAMs for the 1967 season, JUB 301E is seen here with its second owner, Jackson of Cavan as KID 786. It featured when newly acquired on a Jackson publicity leaflet for their tours activities.

Cream Bus Ltd subsidiary (Samuel Ledgard (Ilkley) Ltd. from 1952 onwards)

Opening fleet 1925 (total 9)

1927 (total 5)

1934 (total 1)

1935 (total 5)

1937 (total 1)

1939 (total 3)

1946 (total 1)

B. and B. Tours Ltd subsidiary (Samuel Ledgard (Bradford) Ltd. from 1952 onwards) Bus Fleet List 1935-1963

Opening fleet 1935 (total 14)

1936 (total 2)

1937 (total 1)

1938 (total 1)

1946 (total 2)

1948 (total 2)

Total buses = 420 with 2 known survivors (KUP 949 and LYR 915).

POSTSCRIPT -- THE 21st CENTURY REPLICA

Although all of the former ex London Transport RLH class were exported to America, an example of the second batch (MXX registration series) was repainted into Ledgard livery.

Email   Events diary   Past events list   Classified adverts   Classic U.K. Buses   Classic Irish Buses   Classic Manx Buses

SB