Howard Berry – författare

It seems impossible to think that a company who imported their first passenger vehicle into Britain in 1972 would, less than twenty years later, take over what was once Britain’s largest passenger and commercial vehicle manufacturer. It is a testament to the quality of Volvo’s products that they are one of the most popular chassis on the road today.Covering Volvo from their entry into the UK market, this book gives an overview of all the models to enter the UK market. With a brief description of each chassis type and 180 photographs, all in colour and with informative captions, it showcases Volvo’s products in their operating heyday.

The Plaxton Supreme was the epitome of classic British coachbuilding and was the most popular British-built coach body of the 1970s and 1980s. Its high-floor cousin, the Viewmaster, was the first high-floor coach produced by a British coachbuilder and set the standard for many years to come. The story of these icons of British coachbuilding is told through 180 colour photographs, all taken during their operating heyday and accompanied by informative and sometimes humorous captions.

In 1983, Plaxton of Scarborough addressed the threat to their market dominance from Continental coachbuilders with the Paramount, a range of luxury coach bodies which included the first purpose-built British double-deck coach body. Over its lifespan, the Paramount could be seen the length and breadth of the UK in fleets big and small and in sizes big and small. The story of these icons of British coachbuilding is told through 180 colour photographs, all taken during their operating heyday and accompanied by informative and sometimes humorous captions.

For seventy years, Duple was one of the two best-known names in coachbuilding in Britain. Formed in Hornsey, London, in 1919 before moving north to Blackpool, Duple grew to be one of the most popular suppliers of luxury coach bodies for the British market. Decline in new vehicle sales in the late 1980s saw Duple’s fortunes start to fade, the company closing its doors for the final time in 1989.This volume celebrates Duple’s work after the era of its all-conquering Dominant bodywork.

Until production ceased in 1986, Bedford buses and coaches were a familiar sight on roads across the world. From the ubiquitous Bedford OB and the distinctive six-wheeled Bedford VAL right up to the final model, the air-suspended turbocharged Venturer, the advertising slogan ‘You see them everywhere’ was perfectly suited to the company.Covering the period from 1960 until the end of production, this book gives an overview of the majority of models produced during this period including the VAM, VAL and Y types. Containing a brief description of each chassis type and 180 photographs, most in colour and all with informative captions, it showcases the products of the Dunstable factory in their operating heyday.

Even though it is nearly forty years since the last vehicles left the Southall factory, the products of the Associated Equipment Company, more commonly known as AEC, are still synonymous with quality and reliability. In this, the first of a series of two books, Howard Berry sets out to give a pictorial overview of the singledeck bus and coach chassis produced by AEC in the post-war years.AEC vehicles were operated worldwide, and in this book the author presents photographs showing vehicles not only in service in the UK, but also abroad, mostly bodied locally, and these provide a contrast to the home-grown bodywork such as Plaxton and Duple that those in the UK will be more familiar with. Intended to appeal to both enthusiasts and the layman alike, vehicles such as the Regal, Reliance, Swift and Sabre are all detailed, with over 180 black and white and colour pictures, all with informative text.

For many years, Plaxton of Scarborough has been at the forefront of British coachbuilding and has been the leading light in design and technological advancement on numerous occasions. During the 1960s, the Panorama was the best-selling British-built coach body, and its successor the Panorama Elite introduced several ground-breaking features we take for granted in coach bodies of today. The story of these elegant Yorkshire-built icons is told through 180 colour photographs, all taken during their operating heyday and accompanied by informative and sometimes humorous captions.

Based in the city of the same name, Bristol commenced production of buses at the turn of the twentieth century, initially for its own bus fleet. Soon Bristol products could be seen nationwide, and became known for their rugged durability.Covering the period from the 1960s until the end of production in 1983, this book gives an overview of many of the models to come out of the Brislington factory. Containing a brief description of each chassis type and 180 photographs, all in colour and with informative captions, it showcases Bristol’s products when in their operating heyday.

Utilising previously unpublished photographs, Howard Berry tells the story of Alexander-Bodied buses and coaches.

For seventy years, Duple was one of the two best-known names in coachbuilding in Britain. Formed in Hornsey, London, in 1919 before moving north to Blackpool, Duple grew to be one of the most popular suppliers of luxury coach bodies for the UK market. Decline in new vehicle sales in the late 1980s saw Duple’s fortunes start to fade and the company closed its doors for the final time in 1989.Covering a period of approximately ten years from 1972, this book gives an overview of the popular Dominant body range together with its high-floor counterpart, the Goldliner. With a brief description of each body type and 180 photographs, all in colour and with informative captions, it showcases Duple’s finest products in their operating heyday.

From tiny acorns, mighty oaks do grow, and this is certainly true when it comes to the story of Leyland Motors. From humble beginnings building steam lawnmowers in the Lancashire town of Leyland, the company grew to become one of the largest vehicle manufacturers in the world. With groundbreaking ideas such as designing buses and coaches with bespoke chassis rather than converted lorry chassis, Leyland vehicles were sold all over the world.Through acquisition and merger, the majority of British vehicle manufacturers ended up under the Leyland banner, resulting in the creation of the mighty British Leyland Motor Corporation, whose subsequent fall from grace has been widely documented elsewhere.This, the first in a series of books showcasing the products of the passenger division of Leyland since 1960, concentrates on single-deck coaches and includes such wellknown ‘big cats’ as the Leopard, Tiger and Royal Tiger among others. It contains 180 photographs, most of which are in colour, all with informative text and captured when the vehicles were in their operating heyday.