Ken Hargreaves (pictured, second from left), often called ‘Mr Leyland National’ for his central involvement with development of the National Bus Company standard-issue single-deck of the 1970s, has been awarded honorary life member status by The Leyland Society.
That was bestowed upon him at the Leyland National 54 event in Whitehaven on 3 May. It recognises his contribution to designing, building and testing the prototypes of the long-running integral vehicle.
He is often said to have been the first person into the factory in Workington that was created for the National, and the last person out when it closed in 1993 after sale of Leyland Bus to Volvo five years earlier and a reduction in demand for new full-size buses.
Mr Hargreaves’ career with Leyland Motors began in 1955 as an apprentice. He was a founder member of what The Leyland Society describes as “an elite team” within the research, proving and development department, and worked on the FPB7 National project from its outset.
He was involved in building the prototype Nationals and testing them in the extreme heat of Spain and the intense cold of the Arctic Circle. He arrived at the Lillyhall plant in Workington in 1970 as a superintendent and was heavily involved in training the factory’s workforce.
Although the National was synonymous with National Bus Company fleets, it sold in smaller numbers to passenger transport executives, municipals, independents, the Scottish Bus Group, and left- and right-hand drive export markets.
Later Mr Hargreaves oversaw other projects including the B15 Titan double-deck that drew strong business from London Transport, and railbus work that built on commonality with the National platform.
Mr Hargreaves later became General Manager, seeing ownership of Leyland Bus pass first to a management buyout and then to Volvo.
At the earlier Leyland National 53 event in May 2025, the Workington Transport Heritage Trust named a Leyland National 2 after Mr Hargreaves in recognition of his work. He drove that vehicle around the old Lillyhall site, and also contributed to driving at this year’s Leyland National 54.
