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This page was first produced as an attempt to redress a serious lack of up-to-date information regarding extant Swift-family
vehicles, but with the rise of instant publication in 'social' media this not really true any longer. Think of it instead as an
easily-accessible I-SPY list of buses of particular interest.
In this task I must acknowledge particularly the assistance of Keith Wright and Mick Overton, who are well-informed and
have surprised me a number of times with their revelations. As this project has unfurled, vehicles have been sold to new,
enthusiastic owners who are keen to share their experiences.
It is now extended to try and bring to the fore examples
of the Maltese heritage that are now finding new homes, or live on in retirement with their erstwhile operators. Please note
that only unmodified vehicles on Malta are included here.
FRIENDS (Swifts)
SM 1
Single-door, fully-seated, Marshall-bodied SM1 (yes, the very first) is owned by Blue Triangle, along with SMD88
and SMA8 (both stored). She is currently in their workshop, receiving attention and hoped to be back on the road
later in 2007.
Photo: © A. Lennox-Kay 2007
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SM 1 in Service
After a long and thorough restoration, this special machine is back in service with a Class 6 ticket. First unveiled
to the public at the grand Transport For London cavalcade and exhibition in June 2014, we see her here on duty as shuttle bus
for the Epping Ongar Railway between Epping and North Weald. But a 339 should be a green bus, historically speaking.......
Photo: © K. Valla 2014
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SM 30
Single-door, fully-seated SM30 is from the first Marshall-bodied batch of buses which entered service in April 1970.
SM 30 is owned by Emsworth & District and has not been seen about for some while, although some work has taken
place recently, and it was intended to return her to service (4/07).
Emsworth also own SM32, which has suffered
conversion to a caravan after use by Bedfordshire and Devon County Councils as a mobile technology classroom, but I was not able to obtain a picture of that. Both have been parked together in the open at Havant for many years.
Photo: © J. Wilkins 2007
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SM 35
Another unmodified vehicle from the Ministry, SM35, Malta plate GVH 130 was donated to the Malta Historic Vehicles
Trust and taken away on tow in November 2012 for restoration. The MHVT collection thus contains both a Marshall
and an MCW bodied vehicle, which is an excellent outcome, since these are rarer in the UK.
Update: SM35 fell upon hard times when the storage space was lost, but has now been sold and returned to the UK for restoration.
Photo: © Mick Overton 2012
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SM 88
I am indebted to Mick Overton for this photo of another astonishing survivor, which Mick owned with two others in years
past. From London SMD88 was sold in August 1977 to A1 Service in west Scotland, legendary operators of many ex-London
buses. Here you can see the pleasing livery and substantial bumper that was added by this conservative owner. I am sure
that the new towing eye was never necessary. This vehicle was stored for many years in a driveable condition and owned by Blue
Triangle.
Photo: © Mick Overton 2007
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SMD 88 in the works
It was good news when 88 came in from the cold, into the keeping of Keith Valla, who wasted no time getting her into the works. Forgive me if I am wrong, but this has to be the first application of green to
a red Swift! Red Merlins worked on hire in the country area, but were never re-painted. SM88, as she is now known (as a fully-seated, dual-door saloon) is undergoing an extensive interior refit after mechanical attention.
We look forward to meeting her in service.
Photo: © Keith Valla 2020
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And now....SM 88
In her new guise, which is modelled upon a lighter green and Canary Yellow (as applied to AN and AF classes) livery applied to ex-Stevenage Superbus SM458 when replaced on the road by Leyland Nationals LN1-2 during September 1972.
SM458 was then sent to Harlow garage for the 812 service. It is presumed that SM459 received the same, but there is as yet no published record of that.
The bus is seen here in the celebrated (and soon-to-be-closed) confines of Stevenage Bus Station in April 2021, a spritual if not actual home.
Photo: © Keith Valla 2021
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SMD 91
From the first batch of Park Royal, dual-doored vehicles SMS91 was converted to SMD specification in 1976 and soldiered
on in the fleet until the end of 1978. Conversion to a mobile classroom followed and she became known as the Video Bus
as she was equipped with projection equipment and several panelled-over windows. Owned previously by the enthusiastic
Hugh Harland as a mobile museum, she was taken into the collection of the Walthamstow Pump House Museum.
Curiously, she seems to have been fitted with a DMS-type front dash panel! After a change of ownership and a well-meaning attempt at restoration, 91 changed hands again, and with so much conversion to reverse, was expected to be put into running order as a 'caravan'.
Photo: © Keith Wright 2005
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SMD 97
And now a scoop! The first picture published of long-hidden SMD97. Another survivor from that first batch of Park Royal
vehicles, this one went on to Transport Ferry Services, Felixtowe early in 1978 working mostly around the Dover Docks
with other Swift and Merlin survivors. Ending up with the famous fleet of the redoubtable Basil Williams, she was
ultimately purchased and stored by Paul Brophy as an act of faith. Now based in Sussex with Steve Parr and the Country
bus and Coach Group, it had been hoped that this one would be back on the road in the Spring of 2008, 30 years after
disposal by London Transport. In the event, the queue was jumped by DMS 1868. However, in 2010 she was made fit and
awarded an MOT certificate, and is now at the Reliance Works being sorted.
Photo: © C. Green 2007
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SMS 97 the Professional
SMS97 more recently in fine fettle, and earning a living as part of a speciality hire fleet. By coincidence the PRV record photograph of a London Swift was taken of this bus before delivery. What an honour!
Photo: © S. Parr 2017
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SM114
The only other country Swift in existence (go on, prove me wrong, please) is 114, which was part of the Hants and Sussex
fleet of Basil Williams. Purchased by an artist for conversion to a mobile studio, which never happened, she was
rescued by Paul Brophy and stored for a number of years before moving to Country Bus Rallies for restoration. Note the
single-door conversion in this (rather poor) photo.
Photo: © Jonathan Wilkins 2004
Click here for more on Hants & Sussex.
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SM114 Unveiled
The team at Country Bus Rallies unveiled their vehicle, at a running event hosted on Crawley in 2010. A very apt
location for a bus that made her first working journey from CY on a 426 to Ifield. It is openly admitted that there is
a lot more work to do - including making the exit doors operable. I also like the way that the SM is disguised cleverly
as an MB with its single fog-lamp! Good luck to them, and isn't the green paint a joy to behold?
History proved that enthusiasm for SM114 was lacking, and she languished for a long time before a change of ownership and further languishing. In 2025, 114 emerged from the cobwebs for a breath of fresh air, but no great progress ensued.
Photo: © Alan Charman 2010
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SMS 369
From the second batch of Park Royal, dual-doored vehicles this vehicle was the first Swift to come out of restoration
at the end of the 1990's. Restored by Kevin McGowan, she has since been donated to the Cobham Bus Museum where she is
a regular performer. The interior boasts a full set of coin-acceptor and turnstile. Thanks are due to Kevin and the
Museum for inspiration, assistance and advice on restoring my own machine.
Photo: © Jonathan Wilkins 2005
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SMS 678
A great stir was caused when this vehicle surfaced after 20 years in hiding. After conversion in 1978 by Ted Brakell
to a mobile display centre for a company called Predco based in Newbury it was purchased for further private use in
1983. It moved peoples' homes, including one run from Manchester to London and saw leisure use on the East Coast,
collected broken down motorcycles and shifted pallets of bricks from Wickes, giving no trouble until 1987. After a
mishap with the engine, a vandal attack took over two years to repair, and eventually the whole job was forgotten.
Recently, things began to stir again, and now a lot of work has been done and the display equipment stripped out. We
look forward to seeing Dick around with his rare, MCW-bodied machine.
Photo: © D Turpin 2010
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SMS 736
This worthy vehicle, Maltese registration M-1511, has just been acquired by the Malta Historic Vehicles Trust.
Last in service in Malta in April 1981, she was stored in serviceable condition as a strategic reserve bus,and was last
road tested in 1988.By January 1989 she had been robbed for spares to keep a sister in the Ministry fleet running and
didn't move again from that spot where she was parked after that final road test until 20th November 2011. Here she
has been dragged from the shed at Pembroke ready for the journey to a new home and renovation. The vehicle has been
donated by the Ministry of Education, and spares to proceed with the restoration to running condition were included.
Photo: © Mick Overton 2012
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SMS753
Paul Brophy purchased this nice example of the last London production run, one of just two known MCW-bodied vehicles, from the closing-down
sale of Hants and Sussex. Note the wide spacing of the headlights which was a variation introduced for the last hundred
bodies. 753 was the vehicle chosen for conversion to a mobile shop and publicity office in November 1978. Its blue and
red livery is starting to show through again in this view of the bus stored in Mike Nash's yard in 2005. Although largely
unrestored, Paul had sourced and fitted a full set of seats, now sadly lost once more (see below).
Photo: © Keith Wright 2005
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SMS753 Make-over
I simply have to share this one with you.........SMS753 in the guise of a hippy bus. The rainbow wheel-arch motif
makes it for me. Mike Nash, ever-resourceful, succeeded in finding a role as a film-star for this survivor. ITV were
filming a drama for television and needed a period bus. Spot-on I'd say! A mini-series of "He Kills Coppers", from the
novel by Jake Arnott, went on the air in the Spring of 2008. Sadly, in the final part 753 was the focus of a destructive
orgy by the police, with a lot of (cosmetic) breaking glass. Unfortunately the interior fittings which were removed and
stored during the conversion to living quarters were subsequently lost by the production company. Now under restoration
at London Bus and Truck, Northfleet for her new owner.
Photo: © Mike Nash 2007
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SMA8
Looking very grubby after 20 years in a dirty, pigeon-infested barn, but in surprisingly good shape is this distinctive Alexander W-type bodied Swift. These
differed from the 'standard' specification as they were 11m long with the AH505 engine, and spent their life on Green Line route 725 and associated local bus routes.
SMA1 was the last AEC Swift in LCBS service, which is a little remarkable since their popularity was low and they were accused of being under-powered (not uniquely).
SMA8 was one of just three SMA vehicles which saw service in the 1980s, all at East Grinstead. I have to confess that I don't know as much as I would like about the later history of this one,
but its rise from relic to superstar was almost meteoric when the might of the London Bus Company was brought to bear.
Here are before and after images taken just three months apart!
Photo: © Keith Valla 2018
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The most recent shows SMA8 in service on a tube-replacement service working for TfL and looking very well indeed.
Photo: © Keith Valla 2018
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SMA13
Looking very much the worse for wear, but far from a basket-case is this distinctive Alexander bodied Swift.This example spent several
years as transport for Bullers Wood School in Kent, where it was restored to original livery. This vehicle was
under restoration in the North East, and looking good with extensive re-panelling, but has now gone under cover.
Photo: © Keith Wright 2005
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FAMILY (Merlins)
MB 90
This is a unique survivor in at least two ways. She is the ONLY surviving vehicle with the low driving position that
was the original standard. All other survivors are type 4P2R with the raised cab floor. She is also the ONLY green
example. It is a tribute to the determination of Chris Sullivan who purchased her at the point of scrapping that she
has survived, and only with considerable effort was she recovered from a location dining facility to a recognisable
bus with reinstated centre doors. Chris might be biased in one way or another as an ex-SA driver who would be
familiar with these buses. MB 90 was on loan to Ensign in their historic collection, and was been involved
in minor spares swapping with my own SM106. Now, however she has been purchased by Peter Comfort, who has
done a fine job in putting her back on the road.
Photo: © Keith Wright 2005
A link to MB90's own web site.
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MBA 444
The longevity of many Merlins is essentially down to the robust AH691 engine and the fact that the RED ARROW service
was a duty that they settled down to (perhaps it was also less hard work). The other point is that they were the last
operational vehicles of the type (outlasting later Swifts) and were being overhauled until 1980. As with others,
MBA 444 was a conversion from MBS. Upon disposal, she was purchased by Bedfordshire Education Department for use as a
mobile technology unit. Partly restored in Hertfordshire by Keith Wright, but changed hands recently and
after a spell in the North West undergoing further work has now migrated south of the Thames, sporting red livery.
Photo: © Keith Wright 2007
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MBA 539
This one is in very reasonable condition after long dry-storage. MBA 539 subsequently vanished into covered storage and
restoration is intended, but no news leaked out for a long time. A mere twelve years after this picture was captured MBA539 presents a very different picture.
Photo: © Keith Wright 2005
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MBA 539
It's amazing what a spell at Roger's LBC facility can do for a vehicle.........I was down at Northfleet as preparations for her MOT were getting into high gear after fettling and a trip
through the paint shop. She looked good then, but is superlative now, and fighting her corner at Victoria. MBA582 from the London Transport Museum was also in service (and Greenway GLS450)
and what a day that must have been!
Photo: © Keith Valla 2017
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MBA 581
It came as a shock to discover that such vehicles were still about......This appalling conversion to dining facility
was once a RED ARROW, and was probably best described as a good source of spares. However, I am sorry to relate that this
vehicle has now been scrapped under very difficult circumstances, instead of being dismantled for spares.
Photo: © Keith Wright 2005
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MBA 582
The London Transport Museum realised belatedly that they did not own one of their most infamous machines, so
earmarked this one after disposal by LT. I am indebted to Mick Overton for the story that a number of vehicles
awaiting sale from London Bus Sales and stored at AEC's disused Southall works became donors of parts before the bus
was completely repanelled and repainted to a very high standard. It is thus in almost mint condition, and only
occasionally seen outside of Acton Depot.
Photo: © London Transport Museum
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MBS 588
This example lived at the BAMMOT Museum site, Wythall and was under restoration by Tim Clayton. Tim has been
instrumental in obtaining some interior floor-trim parts for my own SM106, for which I am very grateful. The trim parts were eventually traced to DMS1067 which was one that escaped from London to the East Midlands.
A couple of other late MB examples feature in this story, viz MBS217 (via Hants & Sussex and Chris Sullivan of MB90 fame) which provided an engine and other spares, and MBS464 which had also belonged to Chris and was offered as a replacement store shed to Calcutt Boats on the Grand Union Canal.
After a long and somewhat contentious wait, 464 was stripped of useful parts and ultimately scrapped. However, by 2015 Tim had reluctantly relinquished 588 which moved to Cambridgeshire, from where she moved again to South Mimms a decade later without any substantive progress. Don't the years fly?
Photo: © Tim Clayton 2006
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MBA 641
Another unique machine, this is a fully-seated, single-door example of the last batch of Merlins. These were used to
implement conventional one-man conversion of routes in the central area. Another quirk of this batch was the use of
the blue 'Straub' moquette and grey trim that was standard for the subsequent Swift deliveries. This vehicle was
owned and restored by Bryan Nash, and is now cared for by Keith Wright in North Hertfordshire. The picture attached
shows the vehicle on its home patch at Potters Bar garage open day (July 2011), with Bryan at the wheel.
Photo: © Keith Valla 2011
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