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The beginnings of Tally Ho! can
be traced back to my grandfather William Wellington.
In 1926 a notice was posted in the Kingsbridge
area stating: -
"W. Wellington
begs to announce that he has purchased a ton lorry
and is open to do any kind of light hauling .
. . 2 Belle Vue Road, Dodbrooke".
The vehicle was a Ford 20hp, which
he used with either a lorry body for goods haulage
or with a bus body for passenger carrying. The
business developed with a mixture of goods and
passenger transport. The conveyance of children
to and from Kingsbridge schools contracted by
Devon County Council was as important then as
it is today. On non-schooldays private party outings
were undertaken.
In the post war years my grandfather
was joined by my father, Jim, who took over the
running of the business in the1950's when the
title became W. Wellington & Son. The coach business
at this time used the fleet name "Kingsbridge
Belle", and the firm was also involved in furniture
removals and cattle haulage.
In February 1960 my father and
Desmond Gullett acquired the long established
coach business run by Mr. J. H. Clark of East
Allington called Tally Ho! Together they formed
"Tally Ho! Coaches Ltd." which they operated from
the former base of Mr. Clark at The Mounts, East
Allington. The goods haulage and "Kingsbridge
Belle" operations owned by my father were run
separately from Kingsbridge. In 1964 the "Kingsbridge
Belle" coach operations were gradually integrated
with Tally Ho! Coaches Ltd. It was then not long
before the decision was taken to expand, and the
Salcombe Motor Company and Walls of Dartmouth
were acquired, the first of many acquisitions
over the years.
In 1971 Tally Ho! had a large purpose
built garage constructed on an industrial estate
in Kingsbridge (originally the old Great Western
Railway terminus for the South Brent to Kingsbridge
line), which is still our home today. My father
took up residence next door with his fleet of
removal vans. This same year saw the withdrawal
of bus services by Western National and so South
Hams District Council asked Tally Ho! and South
Milton Coaches to fill the gap. In 1972 Tally
Ho! acquired South Milton Coaches.
The next area of expansion for
Tally Ho! took place in 1975 with the acquisition
of J. Hoare and Sons of Ivybridge (Ivy Coaches).
For a while this business ran under joint ownership
with vehicles remaining in Hoare's livery but
carrying the Tally Ho! fleet name. This situation
lasted until the end of 1976 by which time the
whole undertaking, including the yard and small
office building at Ivybridge were taken over completely
by Tally Ho!
Then in 1979 Galpin of Plymouth
(Sunshine Coaches) were taken over.
After a number of years of ill
health, Mr. Gullett sadly felt it was time for
him to retire. My father struck a deal with him
on the back of an old envelope and on the 1st
April 1984 Wellington and Partners, trading as
Tally Ho! Coaches was formed. The partners at
that time being my father and mother, and my father's
fellow director of W. Wellington and Son, Mr.
Les Horswill and his wife. At that time I moved
in as General Manager and later in 1989 became
a partner in the business.
In 1991 the Ivybridge part of the
business moved out of the Ermington Road premises
to a new depot on the Lee Mill industrial estate.
The most recent expansion of Tally
Ho! was in January 1999 when the vehicles and
routes were taken over from Stevens of Modbury.
This meant loss of 'The Harrier' another old time
fleet name.
To accommodate our large fleet
of vehicles, in April 2000 we bought the yard
next door to our Kingsbridge depot previously
owned by GW Weymouth Agricultural Engineers.
Today Tally Ho! has 54 coaches
and buses in its fleet, and over 70 full and part
time staff. Most of the fleet is based at either
Kingsbridge or Lee Mill depots, with 4 or 5 at
Modbury and a couple hidden behind hedges near
to drivers homes. At the last count we operate
some 38 school runs to 11 different schools, 3
Monday to Saturday bus services, plus several
one-day only services.
Fortunately turnover and profits
are on an upward trend, so hopefully Tally Ho!
will be around for a few more years to come, perhaps
with a fourth generation at the helm.
During 2003 local garage owner
Edgar Wills retired. His five minibuses joined
the fleet.
Early history with the help
of Roger Grimley.
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