Brewer's Motor Services and Llynfi Motor Services - The Maesteg Rivals

The convoluted history of AE & FR Brewer (Brewer's Motor Services), Caerau, can only be told together with their rivals, Llynfi Motor Services, due to the extraordinary events of their very bitter challenge. The brothers Albert and Frederick Brewer (Brewer's Motor Services) had precedence over William George Thomas (Llynfi Motor Services), as they started their business in 1918, with a dairy at Caerau, and a milk round in Maesteg. During their deliveries, they started giving lifts to people on their horse drawn milk cart, which was modified with running boards to carry passengers. They soon realised the potential there for a public service and replaced their horse and cart firstly with a lorry, and later a small bus. Passengers sat at the rear of the bus, whilst the milk was carried in churns at the front. During the same period, there were no less than twenty other operators running a licensed omnibus service with 'motor cars' on the Maesteg to Caerau route, in direct competition with Brewer's. Amongst them