East Kent Road Car Company Ltd ― A Century of Service 1916-2016

This book takes the reader on a journey through those one hundred years. It covers the initial developments of the 1920s and 30s, the challenges of World War II, the halcyon days of the 1950s and the descent into the economic struggles of the 1960s. Nationalization and an eventual move back into the private sector are also covered, finishing with a description of the innovative approach to new services developed by the local Stagecoach management today. With over two hundred illustrations, both black and white and colour, many previously unpublished, this book provides a wide-ranging historical and pictorial record of the buses, artefacts and operations of the East Kent Road Car Company.

Richard Wallace was born in Hawkhurst, Kent in 1951. Moving to Hythe, he worked for East Kent as Traffic Clerk, Conductor and Driver/Conductor. A spell with London Transport intervened, where he worked on London's iconic number 11 route. A managerial career on the railways then followed, working on the Underground, at the Office of the Rail Regulator, Transport for London's London Rail and finally as European Policy Manager for the Association of Train Operating Companies, representing Great Britain train operators in Brussels. Although he retired in 2013, he still works part-time driving coaches. Richard holds a Master's degree in Transport Policy and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. He is part-owner of an ex-East Kent AEC Regent V, which he drives regularly at rallies in Kent.