Richard Paramor
London Coastal Coaches Limited was formed in 1925, and Victoria Coach Station was opened in 1932; these two events were certainly instrumental, if not crucial, in helping to create what was to become an important, well-organised and responsibly operated sector of the magical trade of moving people from place to place - the travel industry. But it took time. Coaching was in a state of rapid expansion and consequent chaos until 1930 and suffered growing pains throughout the following decade. A degree of stability had been achieved by the end of the 1930s, but then came the upheaval of the Second World War. It was not until around 1947/8 that things began to return to normal on the transport front; this is when Victoria Coach Station blossomed, and it has gone from strength to strength since. This book does not concentrate purely on London Coastal Coaches Limited and Victoria Coach Station, but sets them in the wider context of the industry in general and chiefly on coaching as it affected the London area, particularly in its early days.