Blasts from the Past: School Buses

When the school moved to Wimbledon in 1897, a huge advantage of its new location was the proximity to railway stations. Both Wimbledon and Raynes Park were only a mile and a quarter away. Whichever station you used, however, that mile and a quarter involved getting up a hill! The writers of the school’s 1907 Inspection Report believed that this ‘inconvenience’ was ‘more than compensated for by the open and healthy character of the site.’ Not all the pupils agreed. As one of the archive volunteers discovered whilst researching the early days of the school (you can read her article in the next edition of the KA Newsletter), an omnibus was introduced by the school to ease the journey. The experience was described by Gilbert Szlumper (OK 1900):

‘Having arrived at Wimbledon station the two ways of reaching the School were by foot or by the School bus, which was a rather shabby wagonette drawn by two weary horses and driven by a rosy-cheeked coachman named ‘Appy who was optimistic enough to hope that each of his passengers would pay him twopence for the journey, but I fear the number of twopences was usually less than the number of passengers, as some left the bus (without) paying a hundred yards short of its destination.’

The school omnibus ceased in 1913 and, despite its best efforts, the Governing Body at King’s could not persuade the London General Omnibus Company to run a motor bus in its place. Pupils were, for the time being at least, forced to make their own way up one of the steep streets between Worple Road and the Ridgway. (For those who cycled to school, a large shed which could accommodate 150 bikes was installed for the start of the 1923 academic year.)

I recently found a reference to another bus run by King’s: a ‘Valedictory Ode to the School ’Bus (lately defunct)’ was published in the school magazine in December 1929. The poem begins:

‘Although to us this year is one of gladness,

It cannot pass without one note of sadness—

A faithful friend has just been lost to us,

One much abused, to wit, the old School ’Bus.’

As it goes onto to mention climbing ‘from Cottenham’s abyss sheer’ and ‘Jerseyed and booted heroes’, I am inclined to think that this particular bus existed to ferry pupils to and from the playing fields close to West Barnes Lane (now called Kingsway), which had been purchased by the school in 1924.

The demise of the school bus in 1929 might have been a loss but a significant boon was just around the corner.  In the autumn of 1930, the London General Omnibus Company at last began running a bus between Wimbledon Station and Raynes Park, via the Ridgway. This first iteration of the route was numbered 103; under the 1934 re-numbering scheme it became the 200. Whenever I see a queue of King’s students waiting for a number 200 bus I think about the hundreds, probably thousands, of pupils before them who have done just the same.

What are your memories of the 200 bus, or of getting to and from school in general? As ever, please do get in touch if you have stories to share: I can be contacted via email at archive@kcs.org.uk.

Lucy Inglis | School Archivist