Horn; brass reed with rubber bulb for use with brass horn, circa 1930

From the early 1900s through to the mid-1930s, the best and most reliable form of audible warning for buses was a hand-operated horn. This example would have been fitted to the right of the driver, close to the steering wheel, and was used on a number of buses including the S.T, L.T. and S.T.L.-type models. Electric horns were introduced during the 1930s, but some buses were still using bulb horns until the early 1950s. This horn was purchased from Mrs Cash, whose late husband worked at Chiswick Works where the bulk of London's buses were built and maintained.