Paul Smith writes (20 June 2010): Just a line from Colchester with images which may be of interest for the Transpire website.

I am currently carrying out some work in relation to our most well known independent operator hereabouts, Hedingham Omnibus, whose head office incidentally is at Dugard House, just down the corridor from my own Penn Lane Publishing office in Colchester.

This month Hedingham celebrate their 50th Anniversary and in looking through my photo records, I came across the photo of ex-Trent Bristol VR LRA 801P, Hedingham No L165, taken in 1999 at Braintree Bus Station. The VR is of course now preserved back in Derbyshire and I also attach my shot of it taken at the recent 2010 Chesterfield runnning day for comparison.

Hedingham have over the years operated a number of former East Midland types including a Leyland PD2 and Royal Tiger in the mid-1960s and, in the late 1970s, a Bristol FLF6 No 359 (378 RNN), previously Mansfield District 624 which became HO L93.

One intriguing aspect of Hedingham is how similar their current buses look to those of TM Travel, with their traditionally applied livery of red and cream, and even in some cases a dark red skirt! See the Olympian comparisons below.

For those interested in seeing more HO buses I shall shortly have a Hedingham 50th Anniversary page going on to my Penn Lane website www.pennlanepublications.co.uk.

Robert Parkinson comments (21 June 2010): Re the comment about Hedingham and East Midland buses: they currently operate ex Mansfield Volvo Olympians K107 JWJ & L109 LHL

Oliver Foreman adds (21 June2010): As a Mansfield depot driver, buses in this batch of Volvo Olympians (101 to 109 in those days) were my all time favourite PSV's to drive. Boy, would they go! It is said that Brian Souter got them cheap hours before new exhaust emissions regulations would have made their purchase illegal. Unfortunately, I cannot find photographs of 107 or 109, but I have taken the liberty of adding below a photograph of sister vehicle 101 (Photo 5 below).

Good old Daniel Sellers (23 June 2010) has found these links not only to the ex Mansfield Volvo Olympians mentioned above, but to another of my Mansfield favourites Leyland Olympian K357 DWJ (very spacious cab if I remember rightly). Oliver
Links HERE and HERE.

Now Paul Smith has found a photograph of L109 LHL in Hedingham livery. See image 6 below (added 26 June 2010).