Safeguard Coaches will celebrate its centenary on Saturday 16 March. The operator’s 100th birthday bash will major on an event at Guildford Cathedral between 1200-1600hrs, with six vintage buses providing free services.
Other transport-related activities at the gathering will include bus washing, a display of heritage buses, arts and crafts, talks, and sales stalls.
Also to be on sale will be an exclusive centenary book. Proceeds will support The Fountain Centre at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, which has been chosen by Safeguard Coaches after it lost long-serving staff member Brett Lambley to cancer in 2023.
Mayor of Guildford Cllr Musak Miah will open the event, which will be compered by broadcaster and transport enthusiast Dave Guest. A presentation will be made by local historian David Rose.
Safeguard Coaches Managing Director Andrew Halliday (pictured, right) says: “We are all so proud to have reached this incredible milestone and we want to share the celebration with transport enthusiasts from all over England.
“It promises to be a fantastic day, and I am looking forward to seeing everybody there.” Mr Halliday adds that Safeguard Coaches remains in the ownership of the same family that established it in 1924.
The six heritage buses will come from the London Bus Museum and private owners. They are planned to be:
- A 1949 prototype AEC Regal IV single-decker
- A 1950 Dennis Lancet single-decker
- A 1953 AEC Regal IV RF-type single-decker
- A 1954 AEC Regent III RT-type double-decker
- A 1964 AEC Renown double-decker
- A 1970 Leyland Panther single-decker.
Those vehicles will transport visitors to the event from Guildford town centre, the railway station, and Onslow park-and-ride site by the A3. They will also visit Park Barn, an estate that Safeguard has served since it was built in the 1950s and which has benefited from strong investment in new buses by the operator since 2022.
