Welcome to the

PAUL LACEY

TRANSPORT

BOOKS

W

ebsite

2022 update

My researches into the local bus and

coach operators of the

‘

Thames Valley

’

area started in 196

8

, after the usual

apprenticeship as a bus

-

spotter. It all

really began because I was curious

ab

out the pas

t

, but there were no such

company

histories to read for this area

–

so I

had t

o write them

myself

!

Fortunately, in those days it was fairly

easy to find former operators and

employees who could give first

-

hand

accounts of the pioneering days, n

ot that

mos

t

bus books gave much credence to

such aspects then

–

but how things have

changed! Now, transport histories of all

types take account of the wider aspects

of the human endeavour that brought it

to fruition, along with the social and

local histor

y aspects,

a

nd I am proud to

be amongst those who have brought

these changes about. On the other hand,

such history now has recognition as a

valuable facet of history overall, so more

people can access and enjoy the results.

And that is indeed another spu

r to my

cont

inued efforts to record this history,

to en

sure that those who made their

contribution, or produced those

marvellously evocative ‘

snaps’ from the

sideboard

, are not forgotten.

I try to strike a balance in my writing,

with the setting up of com

panies, the

wider aspects affecting the industry in

the

period under review, along with all

the details you would expect on vehicles,

services and premises. In order to make

the reading less cumbersome, I also

select specialist subjects for treatment as

se

p

arate appen

dices, or use maps,

etc

.

To have delved so

deeply into these

histories has taken a great deal of time

and persistence

, but it has certainly been

most interesting to have gained so much

insight into what made it all tick, along

with many

hours of ent

ertaining

conversations. Some of my fellow

researchers have also been in touch for

many years, and their support has often

been vital when fatigue has set in and

queries seem

ed

without a solution.

I have received many letters from

readers who

have express

ed their

enjoyment on reading the results o

f

these labours, which is always pleasing

rec

ognition. I certainly hope that

as

you

read my books you can feel it is the

nearest you will get to ‘being there’

without a time

-

machine

–

then I will

have

reached that

goal!

Happy Reading

-

Paul

Celebrating over 50 years of

L

ocal

T

ransport

H

istory Research