Hedingham (bus company)
Hedingham is a bus company in Essex. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and forms part of Go East Anglia. History. In 1921 Aubrey Letch shortly after serving in World War I, with his parents' help, trading under his own name commenced operating a coach hire company, gradually expanding to run bus services to Braintree and Sudbury on their market days of Wednesday and Thursday respectively. In March 1935 Letch purchased the competing business of PW Finch of Castle Hedingham. This allowed Letch to take over the Monday to Saturday workers' service to Braintree . In the late 1950s, he further expanded the business with routes to Gestingthorpe, Pebmarsh and Halstead. In early 1960, Letch retired due to ill health and sold the company to Donald MacGregor, which was renamed Hedingham & District Omnibuses. Since then the company has grown by acquiring other companies, including: In March 2012 the company was sold to the Go-Ahead Group, forming part of Go East Anglia. Following this, 'Hedingham' became the widely accepted company name and as such is no longer referred to as 'Hedingham Omnibuses'. Depots. Three depots are located in: Hedingham used to have a depot in  Tollesbury however it closed in 2016 due to cuts. Livery. Hedingham Omnibuses' livery was cream with red relief, until the 1970s being blue and cream. The livery varied between single deckers/ coaches and double deck buses, with red being the main colours on double deckers with cream relief. The GoAhead Group have, more recently, introduced a livery consisting of a red base, with a maroon front section - identical to that now used by Chambers. Many buses are transferred from other Go-Ahead subsidiaries. These typically retain their former liveries, as they are end of life vehicles nearing scrapping, or the  peak vehicle requirement requires all vehicles to be available, rather than being repainted. Recent transfers include buses from Konectbus, Carousel Buses and Go-Ahead London. Operations. Hedingham operates in various areas of Essex, extending from Harwich in the north to Tollesbury in the south. The main centre of operations is Clacton-on-Sea, where the company took over the majority of the town's routes following First Essex's withdrawal. Hedingham also operates around Colchester, Halstead, Braintree and Witham, as well as serving villages and the island of West Mersea on council-supported routes. Flagship routes for the company includes : Some routes have received buses fitted with free wifi and route branding. In Popular Culture. Two former Hedingham Omnibuses (Bristol VRTs RUA 461W, HJB 455W) masqueraded as London Buses in the 2009 Doctor Who Easter special, Planet of the Dead. The original livery can be seen in the accompanying behind-the-scenes special Doctor Who Confidential: Desert Storm.