Hampshire Buses

Hampshire is the largest county in South East England, despite losing the Isle of Wight and other areas during the 1974 boundary changes. Three important cities fall within its present boundaries; Winchester, Southampton and Portsmouth. Winchester, once the capital of England and still the county town, was home to the famous green buses of King Alfred Motor Services until the business was sold to the National Bus Company subsidiary Hants and Dorset in 1973. Formerly a Tilling Group member, Hants and Dorset's green buses were soon painted red in NBC days and could be seen throughout the county until the company was split up in 1983. The Hampshire operations continued under the auspices of Hampshire Bus until Stagecoach took over in 1987. The other NBC operator was Provincial, operating around Gosport and Fareham, later to become part of First Bus. John Law has been photographing them all since the early 1970s and the best of his pictures are seen in this book.