Cooper was born in Bromley in Kent. He was the third of four children of Captain George Stanley Cooper and his wife, Clara Tilling. The family were comfortably wealthy – the Coopers family were printers, and the Tillings owned a substantial omnibus company. His father was killed in Jhansi in India in 1915, while serving with the Royal West Kent Regiment.
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The remaining 14% was initially held by Britain's other large bus operating group, Thomas Tilling, as in the 1920s there was close co-operation between the two groups. In 1928 BAT was reconstituted as Tilling & British Automobile Traction Ltd. Thames Valley expanded significantly in the 1920s and 1930s by buying a number of smaller firms and their routes. Tillings sold out to the British Transport Commission in 1948, thus becoming a nationalised company.
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In 1933, the company operated 154 buses on services throughout Northamptonshire, with some services terminating just over adjacent county boundaries, plus special services to seaside places and Whipsnade Zoo during the summer. In December 1933, services around Aylesbury were acquired from the Aylesbury Omnibus Company.United Counties Arriva Aylesbury The company continued to expand, by buying out smaller bus and coach operators. The garage at Stony Stratford operated by a fellow Tillings company, Eastern National was transferred to United Counties.
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In the end, he is shown to be disgusted by Despereaux's well-being. Lester Tilling - Lester Tilling is Despereaux Tilling and the rest of the Tillings' father. He sent his own son to the punishment of being exiled to the dungeon (though it was stated that he was weeping), where the rats would no doubt eat him. Later, after Despereaux escapes the dungeon on Gregory's tray, Despereaux pays a visit to the Mouse Council, which pronounced his sentence.
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In 1955, he became a director of Tillings Association Limited and then Chairman in 1960, a post he held until 1965 when he became Chairman of the London Transport Board which controlled the London Underground and London's buses. He served as Chairman of the LTB until the end of 1969 when it was replaced by the Greater London Council-controlled London Transport Executive. He then acted as the administrator of the South-eastern Law Circuit until 1974. Holmes was knighted in 1969.
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Thames Valley's expansion continued in the early 1950s, with other parts of the newly nationalised bus network (South Midland and Newbury and District from Red & White, and part of United Counties) being placed under Thames Valley management. In 1968 Tillings' major competitor, BET, sold its bus interests to the Transport Holding Company (successor to the BTC) and the Transport Act 1968 formed the National Bus Company, which came into existence on 1 January 1969, amalgamating the interests of The Tilling Group with the recently acquired BET Group.
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The company built new garages in several towns, a new headquarters, with major engineering workshops, in Bedford Road, Northampton, and a central covered bus station at Derngate, Northampton, thus putting it into a good shape to withstand the rigours of wartime operation. The company entered the long-distance coach service market in 1933, when it bought Allchin & Sons of Northampton, which ran coach services to London, Bournemouth, Torquay and several Midlands cities. In 1934, it acquired a route between Oxford and London from its fellow Tillings subsidiary, Eastern Counties. In 1934, it was one of the founders of the Associated Motorways consortium, to which it transferred its Bournemouth and Torquay routes.
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Preserved Eastern Coach Works bodied Bristol MW6G in September 2012 On 24 September 1921, the United Counties Omnibus & Road Transport Co Limited acquired the assets of the Wellingborough Motor Omnibus Co Limited, which began in May 1913.The United Countries Strip Commercial Motor 5 May 1950 page 44 The majority shareholder was Tillings. At this time, the previous livery of blue and white with red wheels was replaced by the standard Tilling livery (green with a cream band) and retained until replaced by National Bus Company green (and always with a white band) in 1972. In September 1933, the company's name was changed to its present title, United Counties Omnibus Company Limited.
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DRT uses the following maintenance and operational facilities: Raleigh Division: :Address: 710 Raleigh Avenue, Oshawa :Coordinates: :Opened: 1965 (original) 1980 (GO Transit expansion) :Facilities: bus storage, maintenance and servicing for DRT (GO Transit no longer operates out of this location 2012-13) Whitby Works Satellite Division - Trentway-Wagar / Coach Canada: :Address: 1559 Victoria Street East, Whitby :Coordinates: :Facilities: bus storage, maintenance and repairs Westney Division: :Address: 110 Westney Road South, Ajax :Coordinates: :Opened: 1988 :Facilities: bus storage, maintenance and repairs Pickering Works Satellite Division (Discontinued Late Aug 2014) :Address: 2570 Tillings Road, Pickering :Coordinates: :Facilities: Previously used for bus storage only. DRT discontinued their use of space at this location Late August 2014; buses were transferred to Westney and/or Raleigh divisions to compensate. Now City of Pickering Operations Centre.
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Metrobus Optare Olympus bodied Scania N230UD at Elmers End station in November 2013 whilst on diversion Route 75 commenced operating on 15 December 1912 as a daily route between the Woolwich Ferry and South Croydon operated by Tillings Bus Company. The route was acquired by the London General Omnibus Company and extended from Croydon to Caterham Valley. In 1950, route 75 worked from Woolwich Ferry by way of Charlton, Blackheath and Lee Green. AEC Regent III RT buses were used. In 1960 the route was extended, on weekdays only, to South Croydon, from West Croydon station. In 1983 it converted to one man operation, using Leyland Titans.Route 75 busesatwork.co.uk In 1991, route 75 was withdrawn between Woolwich and Blackheath and, later in the same year, ceased operating to Blackheath, being diverted to Lewisham station to terminate, additionally there was an extended Saturday shopping hours service to Surrey Quays.
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