OBITUARY – Cyril Kenzie

One of the industry’s best-known operators, Cyril Kenzie, has died aged 93.

Cyril’s father, Bernard, founded Kenzies Coaches in 1947, but it was under Cyril’s control that it grew, though latterly, the the day-to-day running was taken over by his son, Richard. Kenzies Coaches closed down in 2019, when Richard reached retirement age without a family successor.

FROM OUR ARCHIVE: The Coach Driver of the Year was Darren Stanford of Kenzies Coaches (centre) seen here flanked by Cyril Kenzie, himself a former double winner, and Kevin Rooney, Traffic commissioner for North East England

A keen coach preservationist, Cyril Kenzie attended most if not all UK Coach Rallies, starting in 1955, and was Coach Driver of the Year at the 1957 and 1965 rallies. He accompanied Kenzie’s restored 1965 Plaxton Panorama-bodied twin-steer Bedford VAL to the 2018 rally in Blackpool, shortly before his 90th birthday.

Several coaches in the fleet honoured Cyril with  registrations starting CBK (Cyril Bernard Kenzie). Like many operators, Kenzie’s graduated from lightweight to heavy-duty coaches around the end of the ’70s, in its case from Bedfords primarily to Volvos, and owned over 180 vehicles during its history.

Cyril was also a keen Bus and Coach Buyer reader, calling the office when the magazine suspended publication during the pandemic lockdown, worried that he had missed an issue.

The team at Bus and Coach Buyer offer sincere condolences to Cyril’s family and friends.

One thought on “OBITUARY – Cyril Kenzie

  1. John Wakefield says:

    A coaching legend – RIP Cyril

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