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JUNE-JULY 2010 INTERIM UPDATE WHILE OUR WEBMASTER RECUPERATES FOLLOWING HIS A LEVELS. The links at the sides of the screen, including the “Contact Us” link, seem to be working now, just move your cursor over the red box of your choice and click. If all else fails, get in touch via Helen Bainbridge at the Swaledale Museum at Reeth. The forthcoming book, The Bus Up the Dale, was originally conceived as a brief history of the fondly-remembered Swaledale bus company, Percival Brothers (Coaches), Ltd. We now seem to be engaged in compiling the Grand Universal History of Every Bus in Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Ever. More details and illustrations will be furnished on this site in due course, and anyone who can help to fill in any of the many gaps in our information will always be very welcome to get in touch. This project would be nothing without the comments and contributions we have been privileged to receive so far, and more pieces of the jigsaw are turning up all the time. Many many thanks to the numerous people involved. As with the illustrated talk, The Bus Up the Dale, in 2009, “Part Two” - The Rise and Fall of Percival’s - on 26th May 2010 was a sell-out at the Swaledale Museum. And, as before, we shall run a duplicate for the benefit of those who couldn’t get in: this is scheduled for 1st September 2010. The Swaledale Museum does not often have to invite a guest speaker back to repeat the same lecture! Many thanks to everyone – including not least Helen Bainbridge at the Museum – for such kind support. Back in 2009, William Percival’s granddaughter e-mailed to say: “Fascinating talk. You don’t have to be a bus pixie to appreciate it. It was very entertaining and informative. We thoroughly enjoyed it and are looking forward to the next one.” A different talk was given at Arkengarthdale Methodist Church on 9th April 2010, this again was well received, and so again, thanks to all concerned for their kind interest and support. As seems to have become usual, members of the audience were able to fill in some more gaps and some useful contacts were made. The February 2010 edition of Vintage Roadscene carried a piece on Tim and Doris Scratcherd of the Black Bull at Reeth who ran motor-buses up and down Swaledale and Arkengarthdale between the Wars. This article was unfortunately mangled by someone at Vintage Roadscene, despite our best efforts at this end to fend off predatory sub-editing, so that John Robert Stubbs of Langthwaite and Willie Stones of Whaw were made to sound as if they had been one and the same person; however, by clicking on the relevant red boxes here, you can find out which was which. For various reasons, we are at present continuing to keep the information and photographs on this site to a modest minimum. With photographs, in particular, there arises the question of respecting and protecting other people’s copyright. Some copyright-holders are pretty laid back about it, but some are not, and they have their reasons too. The next major addition to this site will be fleet lists (of more interest to vehicle enthusiasts than to aficionados of Dales life), but don’t hold your breath, folks. The book, The Bus Up the Dale, was to have included a chapter on the Percivals' shop at Gunnerside. As research continued, it became inescapably apparent that the grocery, meal, coal, hay and cartage side of Lodge Percival's business encompassed more than enough local history to fill a book on its own. So now the author is years behind schedule with not just one book, but two. James Percival has suggested that this second book could be marketed as a companion volume to the first, and called The Shop Up the Dale; however, the working title is currently Dales Life in the 1930s. It is intended that both of these publications will appeal to anyone with an interest in Swaledale, but obviously transport buffs will note that there’ll be much less about buses in the latter volume. As and when either one of these books is ready for publication, you can bet we’ll be boasting about it on this web site, so keep tuning in. And once again, anyone with any relevant information or anecdotes will be most welcome to get in touch. W A N T E D ! The story of Percival’s
would scarcely be worth telling without its drivers who made the company a legend in its own lifetime.
One of the best-loved drivers on the Swaledale run was Billy Burrells, but Billy was not originally a
local man, and he left the area shortly before Percival’s closed down: hence it has been difficult to
find out anything about him. |
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