Phillips of Shiptonthorpe

Quirky, individualistic, boot-strapping and entrepreneurial, Clive Phillips started is business in 1952 with two second-hand buses. By 1960, his fleet comprised 26 buses; by 1971, it had grown to 42 vehicles. The author describes the buses as "variable, to say the least", as they came from numerous sources and were never bought new. Buses were regularly delicensed in the summer, and others bought for spares. Withdrawn vehicles were rarely sold after their hard-working lives, as pictured in many of the photos here, and instead were put out to graze, rust or be plundered for spares in fields behind the company premises. Some of the book illustrations show this enthusiasts' Shangri-La in its shambolic heyday.