Travel 100+ years ago

I have this photo my grandmother travelled in almost 100 years ago, the photograph is a of a Charabanc and she could not exactly remember the place they went to, she thought it might have been a day out from Coventry to Leamington Spa. The photo has on the back the ability to use it as a postcard, she went with a friend and the friend sent the card to her dated June 1920

Although I can't add any information about your lovely photo, I can share with you another charabanc picture that was sent in for one of my Historic Coventry "Mystery pages". Although possibly from a similar era, the charabanc in your photo appears to have been upgraded from a four-legged engine to a four-stroke one! (Oops, just noticed there were two horses in my picture - but the joke wouldn't have worked, so I'll leave it!)

Charabancs of this design were typical in the post WW1 period and many were in fact former war ministry lorries that were sold off at the end of the war and bought by enterprising ex servicemen to be given new bodywork for the summer season. Some were then even re-converted in winter to lorries such as for coal delivery. Here is a picture of two such vehicles bought by Copps Silver Cars of Ilfracombe. Photographs were taken at the start of each excursion and were ready to be purchased by the end, much like those that are taken at the end of amusement park rides today. There is a surprising Coventry connection. You may notice they both carry DU registrations and they are in fact two of the six Maudslay double deckers that the city had purchased in 1914 to start its motor bus service. The service was short lived as the vehicles were commandeered, minus their bodywork, by the war ministry later that year. These are the only two known to have survived the war. Although Red House Motor Services had started in 1919, they did not have 9 vehicles at this date and nor I believe would any other of the Coventry excursion operators so the vehicle was from outside the city.

These days, a bit of sun and it's t-shirts and shorts! Look at what they have on!!