DV When was the Friends of King Alfred Buses formed?
JF It dates back to 1985 after the first ex-King Alfred buses had been privately preserved. The longest-serving preserved bus here today is the 1959 Leyland Tiger Cub WCD 104 which I bought in 1981. Having then purchased another bus I decided that it was all getting a bit too much for one person so I put a note in the Hampshire Chronicle asking anyone interested in saving the history and vehicles of King Alfred Buses to come along to a public meeting in the local King Alfred public house in March 1985. Happily lots of people turned up to that meeting and we decided there and then to form the Friends of King Alfred Buses and we’ve never looked back.
DV How many members of the friends are there now?
Well we currently have about 200 but we are always recruiting more so, if you’re reading this and would like to join, we would be happy to welcome you. A lot of the members are so-called armchair members, some of whom live a long way
