Stanley Hall's fleet of coaches, c1948
(L to r): ?, Pat Hall (Colegrave), ?, Walt Turnock, Maureen Callow, Ben Kerridge, Stanley Hall Ben drove the buses and was the mechanic for Stanley Hall's coach business based in the Kings Arms. His son Cecil recalls in 2012: "Pat Colegrave (née Hall) will no doubt have mentioned the 'Ally run' her father (Stanley) ran. The lovable old Tilly (Utility) buses with their slatted wooden seats - ideal for dirty overalls, which father, Sid Berry, Jock Callow, Bill Melcher & Vic Beesley drove, taking & fetching workers for their shifts from the villages to Alcan in Banbury at 6am, 2pm and 10pm.
Later in the 50s, with the Bedford & Dennis coaches, father would organise trips to Silverstone, Wembley, a Blackpool w/e for football with Matthews & Morty, followed by the illuminations and your typical northern landlady! Trips to Weston-super-Mare, Bognor, Cheddar, the Wye Valley. So vivid still as I went with him as often as possible, often sitting on the step if the coach was full. Health & Safety didn't exist then!!"
Later in the 50s, with the Bedford & Dennis coaches, father would organise trips to Silverstone, Wembley, a Blackpool w/e for football with Matthews & Morty, followed by the illuminations and your typical northern landlady! Trips to Weston-super-Mare, Bognor, Cheddar, the Wye Valley. So vivid still as I went with him as often as possible, often sitting on the step if the coach was full. Health & Safety didn't exist then!!"