BERE REGIS & DISTRICT MOTOR SERVICES
A list of the operators and businesses they acquired over the years
One Ford Model T 14 seater - from these humble beginnings on 29th October 1929 this organisation grew to be the largest independent operator in the county of Dorset in postwar years. The initial routes operated by founder Reg Toop were four in number, namely Bere Regis - Kingston - Zelstone - Poole, Bere Regis - Wareham, Bere Regis - Bloxworth - Wimborne and Zelstone - Bere Regis - Dorchester. In 1930 two Chevrolets joined the fleet to supplement the Model T. In the same year Toop acquired the market day routes of James Ironside of Winfrith, running from Winfrith to Wareham on Thursdays, Dorchester on Wednesdays and Saturdays and a Saturday service to Weymouth. In March 1936 the daily route between Poole, Morden, Bloxworth, Bere Regis and Dorchester, established by Israel Davis of Bloxworth in 1926, was brought into the growing business when his son Percy Davis joined with Toop to form a partnership. A few months later Bill Ironside (whose father's routes from Winfrith had been acquired by Toop six years earlier) also joined the business as a partner. Between them the three partners, Reg Toop, Percy Davis and Bill Ironside, expanded the fledgling enterprise - largely by acquisition of other businesses, especially during the Second World War - from pre-war market day services to an extensive post-war rural and interurban network with regular daily routes serving Dorchester, Sherborne, Yeovil, Sturminster Newton, Shaftesbury, Blandford and Poole. The 1949 timetable booklet showed a complete network of thirty five routes - some ran daily and some ran once a week to market.
