Hutchinson Bros.
By Pete Hutchinson
In 1948, Les and Geoff Hutchinson (my Father) set up a partnership called Hutchinson Bros in the beautiful village of Husthwaite. They had previously worked with their Father Harold at his Garage (set up in the 1920s) and then served in the Royal Air Force and the Army respectively during World War Two. The business had two strands – coach hire and then car sales, maintenance and petrol supplies. Geoff purchased his Father’s Bedford 20 seater coach and Les bought a similar vehicle from a dealer in Bradford. Acquiring the Coxwold 237 telephone line was an early break and the local M.P. intervened on their behalf as ex-servicemen.
There was a strong community in Husthwaite and the surrounding villages and initial coach hire came from many sources: The Methodist and Anglican Churches – (the Reverend Harry Broughton of Coxwold was nicknamed the “Transport Vicar.”); The Salvation Army; the Red Cross; the political parties; the British Legion; the Scout and Guiding groups; a plethora of sports teams - such as Crayke F.C. and Sutton Ladies Cricket and many pubs as well. Villages organised Summer “outings” to the coast for children. At Christmas, Geoff’s wife Dorothy – who took over all the accounts and administration – set up trips to the Pantomimes at York and Leeds and there was also a Circus at Leeds. The Futurist (The Black and White Minstrel Show) and the Floral Hall at Scarborough did summer concerts and also the old Open Air Theatre at Peasholm Park played Rodgers and Hammerstein Musicals. Bingo at Clifton, York ran for many years.
Maintaining their Father’s Thirsk and Easingwold Stage Services, the Brothers added on the Helmsley to York Stage Service which collected passengers at all the villages en route from Helmsley to Husthwaite. Public service was a strong ethic throughout and this harmonised nicely with the foundation of the welfare state and new work opportunities such as “The Welfare Bus” – picking up young Mothers and their babies for the clinic at Coxwold to receive free milk and cod liver oil. Claypenny Hospital at Easingwold was another regular contract.
Of course, it was the expansion of education that gave the biggest drive. Already working for the old Easingwold Grammar School, it was a smooth transition for the firm when the “big school” opened with lots of young children to transport - universal secondary education was here at last. Ampleforth College students were added too when the old Thirsk to Malton Branch line closed. A new Ryedale School became another great source of education work. The “Swimming Bus” was a regular round all the villages and with the school runs it meant that lots of young people travelled on a “Hutchy Bus.”
Full employment created works contracts: the Frozen Chicken Factory; the Glider makers; the car parts production in York and even the construction workers for the defence of our New World from Nuclear attack and the Civil Defence College at The Hawkhills. The most exciting coach hire took place in the summer as sub-contractors to the West Yorkshire Road Car Company and Wallace Arnold. Here the expanded coach fleet – eventually twelve coaches in all and with 57 seats each by the 1970s – ferried people to a holiday at all the coastal resorts. Bedford and Ford coaches and in the 1960s, Commer coaches with Duple or Plaxton coachwork mainly, were the mainstay vehicles. However, the odd Leyland and A.E.C graced the fleet - even Bristol and Daimler chassis too. It was a 1950s Daimler that was the best worker of them all while one beautiful Burlingham Seagull bodied Leyland coach passed into preservation in the 1970s.
The private-hire season started at Easter Bank Holiday and climaxed at Blackpool “Lights” in October. Beaches, amusements, ice cream and fish and chips proved a popular cocktail of fun and delight. The Lake District was another popular destination. Continental Travel may have featured on the coach sign-writing – but London was usually the furthest distance. Dorothy fondly remembers a very early Excursion to see the Elizabethan Coronation Flowers on Display.
Although the passenger base tended to be mainly the opposite ends of the age spectrum, there genuinely were lots of varied people on the coaches and involved with the garage which was a hive of activity. There was great camaraderie and community singing was common on the village outings. Retired people acted as “Attendants” on the school buses and the drivers were young and not so young. Quite a lot were teachers working part-time (Les called them School bosses) and some were great amateur entertainers and very popular and famed for their good looks. There was only one lady driver at the time. A lot of un-sung heroes in the villages generated coach loads. Life may have been hard and work very physical for many, but everyone would always help one-another and engage in life in all its variety. These were the true backbone of Yorkshire folk. The Brothers were very proud to serve the community and sought to further that as much as they could – for example, supporting many outings and events like Husthwaite Show. They were most proud of all with their safety record.
“The Garage” in the village was quite a hub for all sorts of vehicles too – just as coach life was thriving nationally, a business opportunity came from our love affair with “the car” – (ultimately to hit the coach business badly but not in the Brothers life-time). In the 1950s and 1960s, it was an amazing time for British Car Makers – Morris; Austin; Wolseley; Riley: M.G.; Triumph; Standard; Ford; Vauxhall and others were making affordable cars and many more expensive car makers were equally having a heyday. Husthwaite boasted the odd Bentley, Jaguar and even an Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire. French cars were around too but there was also a striking 1920s red Alfa Romeo.
The Brothers were supplying new and second hand cars to people and offering some driving instruction, credit and insurance services too – another business opportunity created by their clever home-spun book-keeper. Around thirty village people and a similar number from outside, regularly supported the garage and maintained a monthly petrol and servicing account. The garage repaired tractors, lorries and combine harvesters on a sporadic basis. There was an ex-Army 1950s Morris Commercial Recovery Truck – utilising the red and white “trade plate” – 190 PY. Two petrol and one diesel pump were centred at the bottom of the yard and a huge 3000-gallon whale of a storage tank was sunk underneath the main concrete with three air pipes sticking out like giant snorkels. There were some off sales of cigarettes and in the summer there would be passing trade for petrol.
The big car break was two-fold. First of all, the business acquired M.O.T. Testing Station Authority from the outset of the test (1962) and this was a great source of work from outside as well as inside the village. Cars were actually road tested then with a Tapley Brake Meter placed on the car floor during an emergency brake test somewhere around the lower cemetery roadside. The small workshop had a very deep hand dug shaft to house an amazing hydraulic car lift powered by a very loud and cissing compressor. Both Les and Geoff kept their MOT Test Engineer Status and facilities were upgraded with a “rolling road” in the 1970s and modern four poster electric lift.
The other great moment was acquiring an Agency to sell Hillman Cars (which included other Rootes Group names like Singer, Commer and Humber.) The Hillman Minx and Hunters were solid and dependable but the innovative rear-engine mounted Imp - although a good seller, bit back on unreliability. The large bus garage was given a very small “showroom” at the front with the proud “Hillman” sign hanging aloft. This was also “The Office” and where you would find Les every day – as Geoff later mentioned – “Work was his Hobby.”
There was a lot of give and take amongst the community and besides the regular patronage of both sides of the business from so many villagers, the noise and smoke and the on-street coach parking was kindly tolerated. Indeed, gratitude is owed to so many of the great family names in Husthwaite for their loyal support and steadfastness. It was always a family affair too with wives, brothers, sisters, siblings and cousins all joining in or assisting with the work. Harold and his wife Jesse kept a watchful eye over the brothers – the former still driving a minibus now and again and often urging a make do and mend and saving approach amongst what he saw as the waste and extravagance of modern consumerism.
The brothers enjoyed the fruits of their labour overall, having endured a fairly tough time in their youth during the thirties and forties. As likely lads they were bonded like impact adhesive. There was mainly good humour and many proud memories. It was a way of life – enriched with many great Husthwaite characters adding to the playlist. What a setting too – an absolute privilege to live and work in such an idyllic and great little village. When Les died quite young and with the changes taking place in passenger transport – strict and potentially business ending regulation on the one hand from the Traffic Commissioners and privatisation of services from the Government on the other hand, so it became hard to carry on. The business was sold as a going concern in 1986 and a number of Headteachers praised the record of the firm on Geoff’s retirement. It had occupied a neat niche in the history of transport at the local level and hopefully enhanced the life of many others in its transitory and short space of time.
Pete Hutchinson June 2016