Club Report

John Kennett's latest contribution to Eltham's local history was the story of its bus service over the years, told in his illustrated talk By Bus to Eltham' appropriately given in the month when the last Routemaster made its exit (although Eltham's last RM, and last bus conductor, had departed in 1986).

The current 15 local routes (plus specials) all stem from a primitive first public horse-drawn service. In the 1830s, William Jewel (of the Castle Inn) operated a one-return-per-day service (two on Sundays) for up to nine passengers to Charing Cross and in 1849 the Scudds' railway omnibus to Lewisham and Blackheath stations opened.

Other enterprises followed; Tibbett's route from the Greyhound to Greenwich and London in 1854; Palmer 15 years later started a service from the Castle to Blackheath and Bentley in 1891 served Sidcup Hill and New Eltham.

1894 heralded a new era when Thomas Tillings acquired a vehicle with room for 26 passengers, garden seats on top and 11 dairy departures - it cost 3d from Eltham to Lee and 4d to Blackheath. The service lasted until 1907 when the bus was transferred to a new Eltham/Woolwich route.

A further advance in 1902 was the first motor bus to SE9, while in 1907 Tillings started an Oxford Circus to Sidcup service, which next year became route No:21, the first numbered bus for Eltham. A contemporary account said that motor buses "obtrude offensively on one's senses of hearing, sight and smell, hoot aggresively and blind us with dusts". But they did open up the Eltham and Sidcup countryside to inner Londoners and were usually full. In 1912 a national steam bus from Oxford Circus to Bexley was introduced briefly.

With rapid housing developments in Eltham, a variety of new routes were introduced in the 20s and 30s to Penge, Dartford, Forest Hill, Orpington, Welling and Chislehurst.

A pirate' bus company (Sidcup to Wood Green) appeared, when private operators were authorised, named Carswool (from the names Carswell and Woolvett, who funded the business from their war gratuities), the firm was takenover by the newly formed London Transport in 1933 for £3,000.

The post-WW2 years continued to ring the changes, in 1952 the last London tram expired and to assist with increased operations a bus station was opened at Well Hall railway station, subsequently moving across the road to the new Eltham station in 1984.

MOMs (one-man-operated) and mini buses were introduced; Eltham became part of the Selkent set-up when London Buses split into eight districts in 1979, Selkent was itself bought by Stagecoach in 1994 when the divisions were sold off, and a variety of new liveries out-numbered the familiar London red.

Rather sadly Eltham's most familiar bus route left the local scene in 1997 when the 21 to Moorgate became the 321 to Lewisham.

With his customary skill John Kennett had informed his audience of a past they had never known, while brushing up their memories of a past they had actually experienced, with his talk about that cherished landmark, the London bus.