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LUPTS 50th anniversary reunion: |
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Due to
technical difficulties, some pictures which should be displayed on this page
are currently unavailable.
Paul Hollinghurst’s
photo albums here
Report (by Jonathan Cadwallader)
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The weekend that had been chosen to
celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Society fortuitously
coincided with the final visit of the Cunard liner
Queen Elizabeth 2 to Liverpool. On the evening of Friday 3rd October, BBC
Northwest Tonight used one of my photos of her arriving in the Mersey, taken
from Crosby Beach, as a backdrop to their weather forecast. So, having
enjoyed the approval of Dianne Oxberry and Gordon
Burns, I later joined approximately 10 members gathered at Seacombe Ferry to view the ship departing from the
Liverpool Cruise Terminal at 22.00, to the accompaniment of foghorn and
fireworks. A splendid start to the weekend! |
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The following morning the party gathered from 11.30 at the
University for the start of the main day of celebrations. I had arranged for
the preserved former St. Helens Corporation 135, an AEC Regent V, to
transport us during the afternoon to the North West Museum of Road Transport
and to the Windmill Farm Railway. Departure from outside the Students’
Union building on Mount Pleasant at 12.00 was complicated slightly by the
commencement of road works at the junction with Brownlow Hill a few days
earlier, but after a three point turn a prompt departure was made. |
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The crew were reluctant to take the bus
through Page Moss on the direct A57 route to St. Helens, owing to hostile
action by locals on a previous occasion. I was not keen on their idea of
using the M62, but left the driver to come up with his own Page Moss avoiding
route. I was pre-occupied with collecting financial contributions during the
first half hour of the journey, but did have time to notice our rather
curious progress via Edge Hill, Smithdown Road,
Wavertree, Childwall Fiveways
and Queen’s Drive, before finally heading along the East Lancashire
Road. This gave the opportunity for some to reminisce about the location of
old student “digs” of the non-archaeological variety as well
as recall visits to Hattons model shop, although it
did lead to a 15 minute delay to our arrival in St. Helens. |
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The North West Museum of Road Transport is
located in the former tram and later bus depot in Hall Street, near the town
centre. It recently re-opened following an enforced closure of several years
due to the condition of the roof. One Heritage Lottery Fund grant later and
the leaks have been stopped. The LUPTS party were able to spend over an hour
browsing the impressive collection of buses gathered from North West England
and beyond, as well as taking a short guided visit to the normally
closed workshop area. This part of the building had not been included in the
refurbishment programme and it is to be hoped that it can be upgraded soon.
One particularly interesting bus to be found undergoing an engine
rebuild was former Widnes 39, a 1935 Leyland Lion LT7. In its later life it
was used as a towing vehicle, before being purchased by several LUPTS members
in 1963. Amongst their number were Alan Murray-Rust and Brian Faragher, who were thus able to reacquaint themselves with 39. Following a group photo in front
of St. Helens trolleybus 387, on loan from Sandtoft,
I encouraged everyone back onto 135 for a slightly late departure. |
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The collection of 15” gauge railway
equipment amassed by Austin Moss at the Windmill Farm Railway is
considerable. I can’t profess to know much about miniature railways,
but I can appreciate the value of the work that he and his supporters have
carried out in saving so many items of rolling stock. The line first opened
in 1997 and is now 3/4 mile long. A number of the LUPTS party had visited the
site in 2002, following the Sunday lunch of a Bus Tour Weekend, but to many
it was a new experience. We took our places for a return trip to the outer
terminus, Lakeview, where a pond and picnic area have
been established. The engine shed and workshop were then comprehensively griced before some of the group made friends with a few
goats and a llama that form part of the farm attractions. The belated
discovery of the tea room by some of the party meant that I had to crack a
metaphorical whip to get them all back on to 135 for a 15 minutes late departure. |
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Our progress on the A59 back to Liverpool and the University was
slower than I had anticipated, with the result that 135 pulled into the bus
stop outside the Victoria Building at 17.25 rather than the planned
17.00. A hurried goodbye and thanks to the crew was followed by a quick dash
for cover as the threatened rain had arrived. I had allowed quite a lot
of time for the party to consume the buffet whilst chatting in the splendidly
restored Leggate Theatre, so we were still able to
start the evening’s entertainment on schedule at 18.45. I read
out a letter that I had received from the new Vice-Chancellor, Sir
Howard Newby, welcoming LUPTS members and stressing
how much the University valued continued contact with alumni. Charles Roberts
read a letter from Professor J. Allan Patmore, the first LUPTS President,
who, although unable to join us, sent his best wishes. A list of other members
who had sent apologies for their absence was displayed on the projector
screen. It was also time to thank Sir Neil Cossons,
a founder member who was also unable to attend the event, but through whose
influence we had been granted the use of the theatre. |
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I had asked several members to give 15
minute illustrated presentations about their time as student members of
LUPTS, choosing speakers of varying ages in order to cover as much of
the period from 1958 to 1991 as possible. Charles Roberts started the
programme, followed in turn by Alan Murray-Rust, Mark Telfer,
Martin Jenkins, David Ventry and Alan Atkinson.
This approach seemed to be well received. Photographs of places visited
by members brought back memories to us all, as did some of the anecdotes
about unexpected events, be they the consequences of a loose coupling on
the White Moss Peat Railway in Simonswood, an
impromptu bus tour around Bourne, Lincolnshire, or the driving of a tram
through the streets of Glasgow. I had requested shots that showed LUPTS
members enjoying visits if possible and was pleased to find that many
such pictures exist. Some were taken on the traditional Wednesday afternoon
visits, but others were from trips further afield, on weekends or at the end
of a term. The longer trips frequently employed road vehicles of dubious
quality, culled from a variety of sources, including the infamous fleet of
Guild minibuses. In later years, of course, the annual bus tour was the
event that resulted in many group photographs and a few of those shots were
shown. The presentations were enhanced in many cases by Charles
converting original photographs to digital form and adding introductory
sequences. To add to the slides, before the interval we viewed
some splendid 8mm film taken by Brian Faragher of
society trolleybus tours and Doxford Shipyard
and by Peter Stoddart of local transport and a
riotous rag parade! After the break Dave Parker introduced the DVD of an
8mm film shot by himself and his father, Len, on the occasion of LUPTS taking
former Ribble PD3/5 1775
to Welshpool, where we hired a train on the W &
L L R to celebrate 25 years of the society. Quite a
number of the audience were able to recognise themselves and the hairstyles
of yesteryear on screen. |
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A slight overrun in the proceedings and a confusion about the time that the building security
staff were leaving led to me having to rush through my section, telling of
what LUPTS had meant to me and of the continuing influence it has on the
lives of all those present. Many of the evening’s speakers mentioned
the camaraderie that they valued throughout their time as students and in the
years since. Apart from my own gratitude for the many good friendships I made
during 17 years of attending meetings, most of which have endured to this
day, I know that others also place great value on this continuing legacy of
LUPTS. Social gatherings, whether they be a few friends in a pub on a
Saturday night (an almost weekly event if you are in the Merseyside area,) or
the annual bus tour, have resulted in members who attended the University
years apart becoming friends, sharing holidays, buying buses, writing books
and even, indirectly, getting married. Though not to each other! Long
may the influence of LUPTS continue. |
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The Wirral Bus and Tram Show took place on Sunday 5th October and I
suggested that members might like to gather at the Taylor Street terminus of
the Birkenhead Heritage Tramway at 13.45. Although it was not possible to
arrange a dedicated trip for members, about 20 of us enjoyed a return trip to
Woodside in Lisbon tram 730, with “LUPTS TOUR” showing on the
blind display, thanks to Mike Mercer of the MTPS.
After perusing the other trams, buses and sales stands there was a final chat
over a cup of tea in the Pacific Road shed before we all went our separate ways. |
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I would like to thank Claire Jones and the other University staff, Paul
Holmes and the museum volunteers for his Regent V, Austin Moss and Mike
Mercer. Particular thanks are due to Charles, the two Alans,
Mark, Brian, Peter, Dave, Martin and David for their contributions
to the evening entertainment. Jonathan Cadwallader |
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Attendees and apologies for absence
The following people attended some or all of the
reunion event:
- Former LUPTS
members:
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Alan Atkinson
(Chairman 1970/71, President 1973-85) o
Jean Atkinson o
David Armstrong
(Honorary Member) o
Jonathan
Cadwallader (Chairman 1976/77, President 1985-91) o
David Cope
(Chairman 1980-81) + Janice Cope o
Alan Day o
Paul Desmet o
Brian Faragher (Secretary 1963/64) o
John Forrester
(Chairman 1975/76) o
John
Fraser o
Adrian Humpage (Secretary 1990/91, Chairman Elect 1991/92) o
Martin Jenkins
(Founder Member, Chairman 1958-61) o
Tim Jenkins
(Chairman 1989-91) o
Tom Kane
(Secretary 1974/75) o
Tony Kletz o
David Lockyer o
Andrew Lowe
(Honorary Member) o
Rob Marsh +
Mick Marsh o
Alan
Murray-Rust (Journal Editor 1966/67 and 1969/70) |
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Keith Nason (Chairman 1984/85) + Emma Walsh o
Dave Parker
(Treasurer 1981/82) o
Tom Parkinson
(Founder Member) o
Richard Pearson
(Treasurer 1977/78) o
Chris Poole
(Treasurer 1980/81) o
Steve Poole
(Treasurer 1968-70) o
David Richards o
Alan Roberts
(Treasurer 1982/83) o
Charles Roberts
(Chairman 1981/82) o
Graham Roberts o
John Robertson
(Chairman 1982/83) o
John Ryan
(Founder Member, Secretary 1958-60) o
Geoff Smith
(Chairman 1963/64) o
Peter Stoddart (Founder Member, Asst Journal Editor 1960/61) o
Mark Telfer (Chairman 1985/86) + Wendy Telfer o
Graham Unwin (Chairman 1986/87) o
David Ventry (Secretary 1975/76) + Moira Ventry o
Andrew
Wither |
- Friends of
the Society:
- Maura Gray (Widow of Jerome McWatt, Founder Member) + family
- Paul Hollinghurst
- Ian Parry + Dave Parry
Apologies for absence were received from:
- Former LUPTS
members:
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Frank Atherley (Founder Member, Treasurer 1958/59) o
Chris Bennett
(Founder Member, Treasurer 1959-61) o
Peter Burton
(Founder Member, Committee member 1958/59) o
Neil Cossons (Founder Member, Journal Editor 1960/61) o
Simon Dunn
(Treasurer 1984-86) o
Brian Dutton o
Tony Henry o
Ian Holt
(Chairman 1965/66) o
Chris Knowles
(Honorary Member) o
Rob McCaffrey
(Chairman 1979/80) |
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Ian McLaughlin
(Chairman 1977/78) o
Allan Patmore
(President 1958-73) o
Bryan Pyne
(Chairman 1964/65) o
Nick Richardson
(Journal Editor 1982/83) o
Ray Walkington o
Anthony Warren o
Roland Williams
(Chairman 1983/84) o
Matthew
Williamson o
Ian Winfieldale (Treasurer 1978-80) o
Peter White
(Journal Editor 1970/71) |
Friends of the Society:
- Alan Johnson
- Bruce Maund
Last updated: 12 November 2014
©
Charles Roberts/LUPTS 2008-2014