GASH OF NEWARK
In Nottinghamshire but only just across the county boundary by a few miles
The long established business of W. Gash & Sons Ltd. operated several routes between Newark-on-Trent and Nottingham for a period of many years. After expansion into Newark town services at the time of bus deregulation in 1986, following a surprising reduction in Road Car operations in the town - the firm was later acquired by Lincolnshire Road Car (part of the Yorkshire Traction Group) in 1989. The Gash named was not retained by Road Car. Sixteen years later, Road Car themselves passed into the ownership of the Stagecoach group in 2005.
The Gash business grew from simple foundations. It was in the village of Elston that the local miller, William Gash, acquired a secondhand Beeston-Humber truck AL1174 which he then used to transport corn and other goods to and from the market in Newark. In 1919 William had added some bench seats and started to convey passengers as well as commodities to market. This Wednesday service was followed in 1922 by a Saturday service from Elston to Nottingham. In 1928 the market service to Newark was extended back to start from Hawksworth and the operation between Elston and Newark became daily. This soon developed into a daily operation from Newark through to Nottingham.
The business, two vehicles and routes of Garrood, East Bridgford were acquired in 1932; they had traded as The Fairway, and had also operated from Nottingham to Newark, but via Bingham and Staunton-in-the-Vale. Construction of wartime aerodromes at Newton near Bingham and Syerston near Elston brought increased business to Gash, and these were busy days. In 1945 the business and one vehicle of J. Goodwin of Flintham was bought. In 1947 the first two double-deckers arrived in the fleet, lowbridge Leyland Titans 48-seaters of 1930 vintage from Wigan Corporation.
In 1953, with a fleet size of twenty six which had far outgrown the original premises, the operating base was moved from Elston to a purpose-built facility at Newark. Soon afterwards the business became a limited company. Expansion into continental tours came in 1957. Celebrations were held to mark the 50th anniversary in 1969 and services used the newly opened Broad Marsh bus sttaion in Nottingham from 31st October 1971. Some alterations to the services and route pattern took place in the early 1980s.The timetables illustrated below are from an undated eight page duplicated timetable booklet. One page shows the Newark to Leicester service operated three days a week and jointly with Barton Transport. The other is the hourly 'main road' route from Newark to Nottingham (half hourly on Saturdays). This busy route was supplemented by two other services, a daily route from Newark to Nottingham via Flintham six times a day, which in practice made connection with the main road route at Toll Bar Farm, East Bridgford Lane End, whilst the bus from Newark went on to serve Bingham. The third service went from Newark to Nottingham by way of Orston and Bingham, running on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Before the "Go
Gash" days of the 1980s and the Routemaster operated Newark town
services (such as the 83 to Balderton) the firm of Gash was oft
remembered
for their Daimler CV deckers. Several of Gash's vehicles have been
preserved (in non-operational condition) by Marshalls of
Sutton-on-Trent.
with many thanks to John Brogden for the loan of the timetable,
and incorporating information from articles and publications
found in the libraries of Lincolnshire
for more information on this operator see 'W. Gash & Sons Ltd" by David J. Stanier,
published in 1987 by Trent Valley Publications of Burton-on-Trent, ISBN 0-948131-06-3.
