Westbury Transport & Vintage Gathering

Joseph Lewis reports on the 26th Westbury Transport & Vintage Gathering, held at Bratton, in Wiltshire earlier this year.

Organised by Keith Miller and family, the large, single-field set-up held a variety of interest from a classic site dumper and agricultural tractors to vintage commercials. 

The 1960 Barford Bantam owned by Guy Blake from Edington was painted an intriguing orange colour. This was explained by the Bantam’s former ownership by the MoD collecting targets so the dumper would not be shot at. The Lister single-cylinder diesel engine ran well with no wear at all on the ¾-ton capacity, manual tip model. 

A selection of tractors included a Ferguson TE-F 20 still with an auctioneer’s label on the bonnet and a Fordson Power Major supplied by TH White. One of the tractor highlights was a 1955 McCormick IH Farmall Model BM owned by Andy Crisp from Southwick. 

One of the commercial highlights was Keith Miller’s Leyland bus converted to a recovery vehicle by Ribble Motor Services of Lancashire. Ribble converted three of their buses into breakdown trucks after withdrawal from passenger service. These vehicles had Burlingham bodies. Keith’s had the fleet number 234, but when they were converted they were named BD1, BD2 and BD3. 

BD1 was fully restored but unfortunately was destroyed as the result of a fire. BD3 seems to have been lost without trace but could appear eventually in a barn, leaving BD2 ex-234. At the same time as this Leyland Motors labelled their single-decker PS1, and then as in Keith’s PS2. The double-deckers, however, which are believed to have the same chassis were labelled PD1, PD2 and PD3. Keith notes this explains the possible confusion between BD2 and PD2 which leads into the realm of the double-deckers! The Leyland 600-powered model with Harvey Frost.

This event report comes from the latest issue of Old Glory, and you can get a money-saving subscription to this magazine simply by clicking HERE