Duple Coachbuilders was a coach and bus bodybuilder in England from 1919 until 1989.
History
Duple Bodies & Motors was formed in 1919 by Herbert White in Hornsey, London. Before World War I, he had briefly built cars under the Bifort name in Fareham, Hampshire.
Early days
The name Duple is intended to convey the principle of a single vehicle being suitable for a dual role, an idea Herbert White developed. The first vehicle of this type was called the Bifort. Subsequently, former military Ford Model Ts were fitted with the newly designed dual-purpose bodywork. The bodies looked like a small touring car, but could be transformed into a van by removing the decking at the rear of the car and fitting a van top. This type of vehicle had enormous appeal to the owners of small businesses, who were able to obtain a working vehicle and private car for little extra, and soon bodywork of this type was being produced in substantial numbers. The 'convertible' body, as it was known internally, was built on Morris Cowley and Oxford chassis as well as the Ford T; as well as the standard van top there was a pick-up and even a version with raising sides and slide-out display shelves for use in markets, production ceasing around the end of the 1920s although Duple continued to repair and service examples for many years afterward.
In 1926 a new factory was opened in Hendon to meet growing demand.
Coachwork had been built on occasions since the inception of the company, including a six-wheeled Lancia-Barton Charabanc. but in 1928 it was decided to make an effort to increase output of this body type substantially. As a result, the order book began to grow and within ten years the number of people employed had risen to around 800.
In 1928, Walter Ernest Brown, a former partner in the Strachan & Brown bodybuilding business, joined the firm, and he had a major influence on the company's future expansion.
Major clients of this period included the Great Western Railway, who ordered a number of bodies for its expanding bus fleet, and Elliott Brothers' Royal Blue fleet.
1930s
By 1930, the total number of coach and bus bodies produced was 250, establishing Duple as an emerging bodybuilder of some stature, whose distinctive design features were able to influence national trends.
The depression of the 1930s coupled with the introduction of the 1930 Road Traffic Act brought about changes in the bodybuilding sector, which led to a stabilising of the transport industry, established operators feeling secure now that the threat of unregulated competition had been removed by the licensing system. Accordingly, there was a trend towards vehicles with higher standards of finish and more comfortable interiors.
In 1930, Duple received the largest single order to date, for 50 bodies to be fitted to the AEC Regal chassis for Green Line Coaches, the newly established express service arm of the London General Omnibus Company.
In August 1931, two Bedford passenger chassis (the 14-seat WHB and 20-seat WLB) were announced. Duple had built early bodies on the WLB chassis for the Vauxhall Motors (the parent company of Bedford), and was listed in publicity material as one of the four bodybuilders recommended for the WLB chassis. As demand for the type rose, Duple's ability to produce in quantity set them apart from their competitors, and soon Duple-bodied Bedford WLBs were in service around the country. The association with Bedford was to last over 50 years.
In 1932, Duple acquired the business of London Lorries who, despite the name, were heavily involved in the manufacture of coach bodies.
By the middle of the 1930s, Duple was widely regarded as a coachbuilder, although bus bodies were still produced in quite large numbers. An order was received from Vauxhall Motors for special sports tourer bodies on Vauxhall 14 hp light six chassis and a stand was taken at the 1933 London Motor Show to display them. They were advertised by Vauxhall up to 1935 and may have been Duple's last car bodies made in quantity, although they also bodied Canadian-assembled Buick 8-50 cars for General Motors in the UK. Also built in the 1930s was a special coupé on an Alvis speed 20 model for Lloyd Thompson of the Holdsworth Moquette company, a major supplier to Duple and many other coachbuilders.