East Kent Buses Publicity Shots

[JFO]

Martyn Hearson recently purchased a few large format prints that were part of the old "Bus & Coach trade magazine" archives, and although some of them had been photographically modified for publication, Martyn says he quickly restored some of the affected bits, and given the quality I wonder if perhaps these could have also been East Kent Buses Publicity Shots?
London Victoria Coach Station in 1961 was the setting for East Kent Park Royal bodied AEC Reliance WFN508 blinded for "Le Roy Tours", and Martyn says this version of the illustration has obviously been attended to by the in-house artist as its gained some additional shine prior to publication, while the other shot depects 1968 built Willowbrook 'DP' AEC Reliance OJG131F in what we think was 1972, with a destination blind proclaiming the coach to be on a Northern France Day Tour, parked on a quayside somewhere on the Northern French Coast, and not too far inland judgeing by the presence of a British Rail Sealink Ferry, with Martyn also saying that of all East Kent's fleet from the era, he personally considered these OJG-F's as firm favourites, having ridden one from Hearne Bay to Sussex in 1979: https://groups.google.com/g/mdekbusclub/c/rNVEopcdayc.

[Ian Robertson]

The view of Willowbrook-bodied Reliance OJG131F was taken on Boulogne quayside with, I think, Sealink's 'Dover' in the background, probably on the occasion of the joint East Kent/London Coastal Coaches/Townsend-Thoresen/Seaspeed "Agents' Educational Tour" from London on 10th May, 1970 to promote Express Services L3/L4 to Dover docks as well as the day trip to Northern France.  (Had it been 1972, I should imagine one of the Plaxton-bodied coaches would have been used.)

The outward crossing was on board Free Enterprise II to Calais, with a short tour to Wissant (lunch) and on to Boulogne town and hoverport for the return crossing by Seaspeed's 'Princess Margaret' before the run back to London.

My memory not being that good, most of the above details are taken from a brief report published shortly afterwards in the 'East Kent Omnibus'.

[BARRY OVENDEN]

Thanks Ian. Very interesting. I have a copy of a photo of 131 coming off the hovercraft.

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[JFO]

Thanks for the aditional info guys, and regarding the date on the French shot Martyn was only told early 70's, and I was trying to hazard a guess by looking at the cars in the background.