AT 4am on Sunday, December 27, 1925, PC Dye was patrolling the highway at Langley Moor, near Durham City, when his nose detected a burning smell.

It was coming from the garage belonging to “the well known omnibus proprietor”, John Basey, whose grand-daughter, Olive, has kindly sent in these superb pictures.

PC Dye found the garage to be secured but spotted a fierce fire inside. He called for assistance, but within minutes the place was engulfed in flames.

“A telephonic message was despatched to the Fire and Rescue Brigade at Crook,” said The Northern Echo. “The arrival of the brigade was considerably delayed by the loss of a tyre and when Supt Shield and his men appeared on the scene, the garage had been razed to the ground and only charred fragments of four omnibuses remained.”

Recent Memories have been telling of fire brigade history which prompted Olive, 95, to search out her pictures.

The Basey family had come north from Lincolnshire to find work in Durham’s many mines. John started as a colliery blacksmith, and moved into working with horses – his son Wilfrid, Olive’s father, won best decorated horse in the local peace celebrations of 1919.

It was a short step in the early 1920s to a motorised form of horsepower. “I vaguely remember the charabancs,” says Olive, who now lives in Brandon. “All aluminium with brass door handles. It was for local people – I remember my family saying that it never went further than Blackhall Rocks.”

From the picture, it appears to have been a Karrier charabanc, probably made in Huddersfield, and ran under the grand name of the “Silver King”. The Baseys had a regal theme running, because they called their business the Langley Queen Motor Services.

Shortly before the fire, John was killed while on foot at the Meadowfield level crossing of the Bishop Auckland to Durham line. His sons then took on the motor services, only to be devastated by the Christmas fire.

When the Crook brigade overcame their tyre problems and made it to the scene, the garage was gutted, and they were able to go home at 6am – almost as soon as they had arrived.

As Olive’s picture of the aftermath shows, only the twisted metal frames of the omnibuses remained, with the unburnable steering wheels still sticking upright.

The Echo said that £4,000 of damage was done – that’s more than £200,000 in today’s values, according to the Bank of England Inflation Calculator. Two 32-seater Daimler buses, used on the express service from Durham to New Brancepeth, were lost.

But saved were “four horses, a pig, a new motor car belonging to Mr Wilfred Suddes, butcher, and a hearse and tow mourning coaches, the property of Mr Basey”, said the Echo.

“A hen cree was, however, involved in the conflagration and upwards of 20 head of poultry perished in the flames.

“Large crowds visited the scene of the fire during the day.”

Some members of the Basey family persisted with the buses; others, like Olive’s father, went into other lines of work, but at least these pictures survive of the Silver King and the Langley Queen.

DO not put your copies of Memories out for the recycling once you have finished reading them – they are becoming valuable collectors’ items. Many thanks to everyone who has pointed out that an enterprising reader in south Durham is currently selling off old copies of Memories on eBay for £2.10 (plus 85p postage).

Today’s edition is Memories 275. If you have collected the lot – and quite a few people have – if they are worth £2.10 each, your complete collection is valued at £577.50, twice what you paid for it at your newsagent.

However, there is no evidence that anyone has yet shelled out £2.10 to seal the deal on eBay, so don’t get too excited just yet.

ONE of the lines of inquiry that makes Memories so valuable concerns Cyclists’ Touring Club plaques. In the last decades of the 19th Century, cycling exploded in popularity – briefly, until the arrival of the motor engine, bicycles were the fastest, most reliable form of transport on the roads.

The CTC was formed to promote cyclists’ interests in 1878 and from 1888, hotels and cafes vied for its official sanction, and to place its “winged wheels” emblem above their doors to attract passing cyclists.

We are on the trail of any remaining cast iron plaques. So far, thanks to our readers, we know of the locations of five, and are currently checking out a couple more possible sightings.

The 24inch diameter plaques were very heavy and expensive, so after the First World War the club issued black-and-yellow enamel plates. We know of none of these still being in situ, although Malcolm McGregor in Saltburn has kindly sent details of one he bought on eBay for £145 from the Midlands.

If you know of the location of a CTC plaque or plate, please email chris.lloyd@nne.co.uk. Hopefully more news next week.