A new book that turns back the clock 100 years to the dawn of motorised passenger transport in Devizes and Market Lavington is as much about the changes in the way of life as it is about the developing bus industry in rural Wiltshire.

Lavington & Devizes Motor Services (L&DMS) was not a typical West Country rural independent bus operator. It was a fascinating early operator, a pioneer in some respects, only touched on in published transport histories.

Across Britain, many village-based concerns made the gradual transition from carrier to running buses and coaches, with many progressing from horses to motorised vehicles either just before, during or after the First World War.

In general, they ran one or a few modest services to the nearest towns, often only on market days.

By contrast, L&DMS quickly established a daily network of bus services across a large part of central and West Wiltshire.

The firm’s founder, Fred Sayer, had been driving buses and possibly trams for Bath Electric Tramways Ltd (BET) since the mid-1900s, a time when motor omnibuses were in their infancy.

Sayer’s first services probably started in 1915 using vehicles hired from BET.

However, in September 1918 he acquired an Overland charabanc and in April 1919 a Commer WP2 charabanc from the War Department. With better availability of petrol such vehicles could once again be used for pleasure trips.

Business really boomed in the 1920s. Bus operators who would in due course become major players – Wilts & Dorset Motor Services Ltd for one – were embroiled in boundary disputes and had not yet managed to tighten their grip on the area.

This allowed Mr Sayer to take advantage and capitalise on people’s desire for both essential and leisure travel.

Operators large and small equipped themselves with charabancs which could be run open-topped in fine weather or with a folding canvas hood in place for when it rained. Sunday trips to coastal resorts were especially popular and could be the social event of the year for many village people.

The boom years were not to last, though, and by the end of the decade L&DMS was struggling financially, its glory days over.

Packed with fascinating old photographs, this is an interesting read not only for transport buffs but for anyone who wants to discover a little bit of what everyday life was like for our predecessors.

n Lavington & Devizes Motor Services by Laurie James is on sale now and costs £12.99.

Second picture caption: A rugged Commer charabanc, a 32-seat WP1 model with a 1913 chassis, registered in 1921. The occasion was a day trip to Trowbridge, for a political rally by the West Lavington branch of the Workers’ Union, photographed near Dauntsey’s school.     (R Grimley Collection)