Devon General - History

History

The Devon General Omnibus and Touring Company started operations in south Devon in 1919 with two bus routes from Exeter to Torquay. In 1922 Torquay Tramways bought the company for £36,000, although it was operated as a subsidiary of the National Electric Construction Company (NECC) and the motor buses already owned by the tramway company were transferred to Devon General. Some charabanc tours had been operated by the Torquay Tramways and this continued under Devon General. A local independent company that traded as Fleet Cars was purchased in 1925 but continued to operate as a separate business for a few seasons, during which time a number of other small operators were also acquired and merged with Fleet Cars.

In 1931 the NECC became a part of the British Electric Traction Group (BET). The Torquay tram network was closed in January 1934. The Tramways company was sold to Devon General, the fleet of which was enlarged by 24 buses to allow it to operate the former tram routes.

Devon General had turned down the chance to buy local independent coach operator Grey Cars in 1930 so it had instead been purchased by A. Timpson and Sons of Catford in 1931. Timpsons sold the business to Devon General in 1932 and the following year both Grey Cars and Fleet Cars, which had been operated as separate businesses, were merged into Devon General. Most coaches continued to operate under Grey Cars' name, although some small operators that were subsequently bought out by Devon General continued in their old names for a while.