OVER its 113-year lifetime, Yellow Buses has amassed a fascinating archive of photographs.

Now, through social media, the company has embarked on a project to share its collection with the public.

It was in 1902 that Bournemouth Corporation started a tram service, eventually amassing 113 vehicles.

The first motor buses were introduced in 1906 and the first trolleybuses in the 1930s. Trolleybuses rapidly replaced the trams, before being themselves replaced by motor buses in the 1960s.

Throughout these times, the company took a lot of photographs, and it is this collection that Yellow Buses is now publishing on its Facebook page.

See them all here 

Jenni Wilkinson, head of marketing with the company, said: “We do quite a lot of analysis on our social media and it became clear that looking back was something of clear interest to people using our social media.

“We’ve looked back through our archives and we’ve found some amazing pictures.”

Some of the pictures were of new vehicles, some were of big occasions in the company’s history, while others were taken for technical reasons such as road widening plans. But many of them are interesting for reasons far beyond their original purpose.

“In some of the pictures, there’s damage from World War Two in the background,” said Jenni.

Most of the photos were part of an archive of pictures and documents at the company’s previous depot in Mallard Road. When the Yellows left for a new base at Yeomans Way in 2006, after 53 years in one place, more material came to light.

“When you’re emptying a room totally, you come across some things that you didn’t even know you had,” said Jenni.

Many of the photos did not have captions, and local people have been encouraged via Facebook to help identify dates and places. “It’s been really quite interactive,” said Jenni.

Jenni, with the help of some “willing helpers”, has been fitting the job of scanning and uploading the pictures around her other duties at the company.

She said she had her own favourites among the collections.

“I think it’s the people that interest me the most – the pride that comes across,” she said.

“You’re looking at people being photographed in front of some of the new vehicles but the fashions have changed, the hairstyles have changed so much. You’re watching people change through the eras.”

The pictures online have prompted many people to share their proud memories of working for ‘the Corporation’, or of their parents or grandparents who did.

“I think we’re iconic in Bournemouth,” said Jenni.

“We’re a part of the town, we’re a part of people’s community.”

She added: “We felt we should share a little bit of our history with people.”