Transport Holding Company
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The Transport Holding Company (THC) was a British Government-owned company created by the Transport Act 1962 to administer a range of state-owned transport, travel and engineering companies that were previously managed by the British Transport Commission (BTC); it came into existence on 1 January 1963.
Assets[]
The THC's assets were very varied, reflecting its role as the manager of those investments that did not fit elsewhere in the post-1962 structure of nationalised transport. There were essentially six areas of activity:
- bus companies, some part-owned with the British Electric Traction Group, later acquired by the THC,
- bus manufacturing companies (Bristol Commercial Vehicles and Eastern Coach Works)
- road haulage companies, e.g. British Road Services (BRS) and Pickfords
- shipping lines, e.g. the BTC's shares in Associated Humber Lines and the Atlantic Steam Navigation Company
- travel agents (Thomas Cook and Son, to which Lunn Poly was later added)
- miscellaneous (the BTC's shares in the )
Demise[]
With the coming into effect of the Transport Act 1968 on 1 January 1969, the THC's road transport and shipping interests passed to the National Bus Company, the National Freight Corporation and the Scottish Transport Group. Its remaining assets were privatised and the company dissolved in the early 1970s.
Subsidiary companies[]
Bus companies - England and Wales[]
The following companies passed to the THC in 1963:
- Bristol Omnibus Company
- Crosville Motor Services
- Eastern Counties Omnibus Company
- Eastern National Omnibus Company
- Hants & Dorset Motor Services
- Lincolnshire Road Car
- Red & White Services
- Southern National Omnibus Company
- Southern Vectis
- South Midland
- Thames Valley Traction
- United Automobile Services
- United Counties Omnibus Company
- West Yorkshire Road Car
- Western National Omnibus Company
- Wilts and Dorset Motor Services
The THC also had a shareholding in the following coach companies (the remaining shares were owned by British Electric Traction):
In October 1967 the THC purchased one of the largest remaining independent bus operators:
- West Riding Automobile Company and its 50% subsidiary:
In March 1968, as the Transport Act 1968 was passing through parliament, British Electric Traction decided to sell its bus operations to the THC:
- Aldershot and District Traction
- Devon General Omnibus and Touring Company and its subsidiary:
- East Kent Road Car Company
- East Yorkshire Motor Services
- Hebble Motor Services
- Maidstone & District
- Midland Red and its subsidiary:
- North Western Road Car
- Northern General Transport and its subsidiaries:
- City of Oxford Motor Services
- Potteries Motor Traction
- Rhondda Transport Company
- Ribble Motor Services and its subsidiaries:
- Scout
- South Wales Transport
- Southdown Motor Services
- Trent Motor Traction
- Western Welsh Omnibus Company
- Yorkshire Traction
THC already had a minority shareholding in many of the BET companies through shares purchased by the mainline railway companies in 1929–1930, which had passed to the state on the nationalisation of British Railways. The acquisition of the BET companies led to the THC gaining 100% of Black and White, County Motors, Samuelson's and Timpson's
Bus companies - Scotland[]
The Scottish companies were known as the Scottish Bus Group:
Chairmen[]
- Sir Philip Warter
- Sir Reginald Wilson
- Lewis Whyte
References[]
- Former nationalised industries of the United Kingdom
- British Transport Commission
- British companies established in 1963