Last updated: 14 June 2018

For this month’s feature, I have selected another item that was added to the Society’s Archive during this year’s Annual General Meeting in March.  Darren Marshall, chair of the Society’s trustees, kindly donated a rather enigmatic artefact – a paper label that carries the destination LEE-ON-THE-SOLENT (Archive ref PS04805).  Measuring 305mm x 97mm, the label carries the remains of gummed patches towards each end of the printed face (see image).  The reverse is blank.

I am usually able to provide a reasonably definitive account of the background to items in our collection but, on this occasion, I need help from fellow members and other visitors to our website to pin down the source of this particular artefact.  Having consulted a couple of members already, we believe that the label would have been displayed in the nearside windscreen of Provincial’s full-fronted double-deckers or nearside lower-deck front window of half-cab double-deckers operating on route number 8 between Bridgemary and Lee.  This seasonal service was introduced by Provincial on Tuesday 6^th June 1961 and ran from Gregson Avenue to Lee Tower via Rowner Road.  Patrick Miller recalls in his book ‘Provincial – The Gosport & Fareham story’ that the first bus to operate the service was open-topped Guy No.18 (EOR 876) which left the shops in Bridgemary at 1030 and arrived at the Tower at 1046 (I have included a rare, later photograph of No.18 at Lee Tower from the Society’s collection – ref PS01191). 

As the route was intended to employ the company’s open-toppers, it is likely that their destination blinds were modified in advance of the route’s introduction.  However, David Whitaker has confirmed that closed-top double-deckers were used in convoy with the open-toppers when heavy demand necessitated more than one vehicle on the service.  As it is unlikely that every double-decker had LEE-ON-THE-SOLENT added to its destination blind in readiness for the June 1961 start date, it seems likely that our label could have been used in the ‘convoy’ double-deckers during the early days, weeks and months of the service.  If anyone can confirm this from their own recollections or, better still, photographs, I will be very pleased to hear from you (see contact details below).  In time, it would appear that the Lee destination was added to all double-decker destination blinds – there is certainly evidence of it being added or spliced into each of the double-decker blinds from that era in the Society’s collection.

Route number 8 was destined to survive until 1970 but, following withdrawal of the last of Provincial’s open-toppers at the end of the 1968 season, the service utilised closed-top double-deckers and saloons during its last two seasons.

If any members or non-members have similar artefacts that they would like to donate to the Society or allow to be photographed or scanned, I should be grateful if you would contact me – Chris Richardsen – using e-mail address ProvSocArchive@gmail.com.

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