WE very much enjoyed reminiscing about the days of the horse bus in Weymouth.

Today we turn our attention - moving forward from the horse drawn era - to the early motor bus.

It's thanks to transport historian Brian Jackson that we can supply you with information about this popular service, which saw buses going out to Chickerell and Weymouth six times a day.

The former horse bus premises in Holly Road, Westham, Weymouth, were taken over by Edward William Puffett, who by January 1913 was operating a motor bus service between Weymouth and Chickerell via Westham.

At the end of January a meeting of interested parties was held at the Queens Hotel where Puffett outlined a scheme to form the Weymouth & District Motor Service Company with at least four vehicles to operate the proposed services. However, despite the optimism of the meeting, it appears the matter was not pursued.

Puffett persevered with the Chickerell service - in April 1913 he purchased a new Fiat bus weighing 1 ton 18 cwt painted green picked out in white and black.

In September 1913 a Thornycroft ‘C’ type 30hp char a banc was acquired, and in February 1924 permission was granted to demolish the stables and build a garage on the Holly Road site. Details of the services operated have been lost in time.

A 1915 timetable shows six return journeys to Chickerell via Westham, two short workings to Westham during the late afternoon, and a special run from the new Chickerell camp at 8.35pm. By this time Puffett had purchased a second-hand double deck bus, the details of this and other vehicles being obscure, it would appear that Chickerell Camp was the main operation during the war period.

In January 1920 a 20 hp Austin char a banc FX 1871 was purchased for reasons unknown. Puffett sold the business in March 1920 to Mr Jack Radford, who ran the Austin and in May 1920 purchased a 24 seat Garford chara banc FX 5694, a left hand drive vehicle manufactured in 1919.

Little is known of Radford or his business, except he sold the business to T.A. Smith. Puffett departed from the transport industry at a point when many were entering it, although he had a varied career, he came from Risca in South Wales to Weymouth as a fitter at Whiteheads torpedo factory when it opened in 1891. He was landlord of the Royal Oak at Lodmoor Hill from late 1907 until October 1914.

In 1920 he took over the Criterion restaurant on the Esplanade, and also went into the building trade. He later ran a café in Kings Street, which ironically became the Southern National canteen. Had Weymouth& District Motor Services actually started and survived the First World War, the Weymouth transport scene and the local bus service could well have been different. Puffett passed away on April 20, 1942 aged 70 years.