The Transport Holding Company (THC) was a British Government-owned company created by the Transport Act 1962 to administer a range of state-owned transport, travel and engineering companies that were previously managed by the British Transport Commission (BTC); it came into existence on 1 January 1963.
The THC's assets were very varied, reflecting its role as the manager of those investments that did not fit elsewhere in the post-1962 structure of nationalised transport. There were essentially six areas of activity:
bus companies, some part-owned with the British Electric Traction Group, later acquired by the THC,bus manufacturing companies (Bristol Commercial Vehicles and Eastern Coach Works)road haulage companies, e.g. British Road Services (BRS) and Pickfordsshipping lines, e.g. the BTC's shares in Associated Humber Lines and the Atlantic Steam Navigation Companytravel agents (Thomas Cook and Son, to which Lunn Poly was later added)miscellaneous (the BTC's shares in the Penarth Dock Engineering Company)With the coming into effect of the Transport Act 1968 on 1 January 1969, the THC's road transport and shipping interests passed to the National Bus Company, the National Freight Corporation and the Scottish Transport Group. Its remaining assets were privatised and the company dissolved in the early 1970s.
Bus companies - England and Wales
The following companies passed to the THC in 1963:
Brighton Hove and District Omnibus CompanyBristol Omnibus CompanyCrosville Motor ServicesCumberland Motor ServicesDurham District ServicesEastern Counties Omnibus CompanyEastern National Omnibus CompanyHants & Dorset Motor ServicesLincolnshire Road CarMansfield District TractionMidland General Omnibus CompanyNotts & DerbyRed & White ServicesSouthern National Omnibus CompanySouthern VectisSouth MidlandThames Valley TractionTilling's Transport (THC) LimitedUnited Automobile ServicesUnited Counties Omnibus CompanyUnited Welsh Services LimitedWest Yorkshire Road CarWestern National Omnibus CompanyWilts and Dorset Motor ServicesThe THC also had a shareholding in the following coach companies (the remaining shares were owned by British Electric Traction):
Black and White MotorwaysSamuelson TransportA Timpson and SonsIn October 1967 the THC purchased one of the largest remaining independent bus operators:
West Riding Automobile Company and its 50% subsidiary:County Motors (Lepton) LimitedIn March 1968, as the Transport Act 1968 was passing through parliament, British Electric Traction decided to sell its bus operations to the THC:
Aldershot and District TractionDevon General Omnibus and Touring Company and its subsidiary:Grey Cars of TorquayEast Kent Road Car CompanyEast Midland Motor ServicesEast Yorkshire Motor ServicesGreenslade's ToursHebble Motor ServicesMaidstone & DistrictMexborough and Swinton TractionMidland Red and its subsidiary:Stratford BlueNeath and Cardiff Luxury CoachesNorth Western Road CarNorthern General Transport and its subsidiaries:Gateshead and District Omnibus CompanySunderland District Omnibus CompanyTynemouth and District TransportTyneside Omnibus companyWakefield's Motors LimitedCity of Oxford Motor ServicesPotteries Motor TractionRhondda Transport CompanyRibble Motor Services and its subsidiaries:StanderwickScoutSheffield United ToursSouth Wales TransportSouthdown Motor ServicesTrent Motor TractionWestern Welsh Omnibus CompanyThomas Bros (Port Talbot) LimitedYorkshire TractionYorkshire Woollen District TransportTHC already had a minority shareholding in many of the BET companies through shares purchased by the mainline railway companies in 1929-1930, which had passed to the state on the nationalisation of British Railways. The acquisition of the BET companies led to the THC gaining 100% of Black and White, County Motors, Samuelson's and Timpson's
Bus companies - Scotland
The Scottish companies were known as the Scottish Bus Group:
Central SMTHighland OmnibusesScottish Motor TractionWalter Alexander and Sons (Fife) LimitedWalter Alexander and Sons (Midland) LimitedWalter Alexander and Sons (Northern) LimitedWestern SMTSir Philip WarterSir Reginald WilsonLewis Whyte