THIS week marks the 100th anniversary of the first Reading motorbus service.

As part of the celebrations for the centenary of the first Reading Corporation motorbus, which commenced public operation on December 6, 1919, the Thames Valley and Great Western Omnibus Trust (TV&GWOT) is organising a free vintage bus service on Sunday, December 8 on the original route which ran from Caversham Heights (Harrogate Road) to Tilehurst (The Plough) via the Railway Station and St Mary's Butts.

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TV&GWOT will have an information point and display at St Mary's Butts, from where the services will depart.

The services will commence at 10.30am and the last departures will leave at 3pm.

Five buses are expected to take part, including the oldest surviving Reading motorbus, 1935 AEC Regent double deck No. 47 and the Trust’s 1976 Bristol ‘Jumbo’ VR double deck No. 38.

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At the time the ‘Jumbos’ were introduced, they were startlingly larger than any buses which had previously operated in Reading and they were launched to the public using the catch phrase ‘Jump on a Jumbo’.

There will also be a special debut appearance of a newly restored Reading vehicle, which was completed this week.

The Trust will be launching a new book to coincide with the centenary, entitled ‘100 Years of Reading Motorbuses’, which will tell the story of the development of the Reading bus network from 1919 to the present day.

Copies of ‘100 Years of Reading Motorbuses’ will be available for purchase from the TV&GWOT Information Point at St Mary's Butts on December 8 at the special launch price of £11 or through the Trust’s website www.tvagwot.org.uk for delivery in time for Christmas for £11.95 plus £2.50 post & packing.

Further information regarding vintage bus running times on the day will be available on the Trust's website as above during the days before the event.