Personalities

Sometimes it’s a struggle thinking of something imaginative to post here each day. Yesterday, though, a French visitor came to my rescue.

Am used to people arriving here searching for Harry Blundred. We’re third & fourth on Google. But yesterday someone from France was after *Sir* Harry Blundred. I don’t think her majesty has yet bestowed this honour on Blundred (unless you know diffeent). Blundred may be a gentleman soldier who was largely responsible for the introduction of the minibus into the townscape (as opposed to the landscape—get the difference?). He may be an early pioneer in the privatised, deregulated bus scene. He may have been in the right place at the right time. But he’s not received such high recognition from the crown.

In his pre-deregulation days at Exeter, immediately before he headed up the 1983 breakaway Devon General, Blundred was the 2ic at Western National. Rather oddly, Blundred reported to another unusually named individual (in control of the substantial WNOC and someone who was soon to retire) by the name of John Bodger. I recall Bodger’s secretary at that time was a certain Miss Conbeer. It seemed to me that the entire WNOC was run by what sounded like a dodgy firm of solicitors: Bodger, Blundred & Conbeer.

Blundred was a bit of a character. But there were many others in those long lost days. Pay a visit to Alan O. Watkin’s NBC Fotopic site to see a collection of I hope not too forgotten personalities of yore, inlcuding Blundred. Scroll down to one young looking Paul Atkins to see a hairstyle-and-a-half from the late 70s. I think Atkins was last heard of at Southdown or Maidstone & District. I doubt he was knighted, either. Am pleased to say that not one of them were benighted, though.