Midland Red Books by Ashley Wakelin
★ Popular Transport Book of the Year 2026

Award-winning Midland Red books by Ashley Wakelin

Entertaining historical and autobiographical books recounting the author’s working life with the legendary Midland Red, and his 50 years in the bus and coach industry.

Browse the books Read the reviews
“Splendid, nicely designed books that present a fantastic snapshot in so many of the aspects of the company – the operations, the people, the customers, the ups and downs, foibles, facts and so much more. Superb!” Classic Bus magazine
Inside Midland Red book cover Midland Red Influence book cover Midland Red and its People book cover Midland Red Evolution or Revolution book cover, winner of the RCHS Popular Transport Book of the Year 2026
A Midland Red double-decker in the snow with Merry Christmas greeting
New for Christmas

Midland Red Christmas cards

14 festive bus designs in 3 packs, £15.00 a pack with complimentary envelopes and free postage. Order by Monday 14 December for Christmas delivery.

See all the cards
SOS LRR Christmas card: An SOS LRR coach in a snowy Leamington Spa street in 1938, with the greeting A Merry Christmas and a Peaceful New Year BMMO S15 Christmas card: A BMMO S15 single-decker in a snowy old town street with a Christmas market Wheels RE & VRT Christmas card: A Wheels RE single-decker and VRT double-decker in cream and maroon in a snowy park, with the greeting Merry Christmas
RCHS award presentation at The Met in Leeds
The awards were presented by RCHS President Peter Cross-Rudkin and Philip Brown at The Met in Leeds on May 30.
747Award news

An award-winning book!

We are proud and delighted to announce that Midland Red – Evolution or Revolution has won the Popular Transport Book of the Year Award 2026, organised by the prestigious Railway & Canal Historical Society.

The judges commended the page design and exceptional images, and said it was a substantial and original book which should appeal to a wider audience than just bus enthusiasts and transport historians.

You can read reviews from national magazines of this and Ashley’s other books. All of his books can be purchased from this website with free tracked postage to mainland UK.

Magazine reviews of the books
The books

Four books, one legendary company

Welcome to the official website of the award-winning Midland Red books by Ashley Wakelin. For more details of each book, click its cover picture.

Midland Red Evolution or Revolution book cover

Volume 4 · The latest book

Midland Red – Evolution or Revolution

Winner of the RCHS Popular Transport Book of the Year Award 2026

Midland Red’s iconic buses and coaches, and the people who gave the company its direction and its drive. Read more

“A highly attractive publication bringing back memories of the ‘red’ era. Recommended.” – Bus and Coach Buyer magazine … Read more
“Another stylish production from Ashley Wakelin, copiously illustrated, suffused with intoxicating nostalgia and full of facts, interesting snippets and asides.” – Classic Bus magazine
Fare£35.00inc. FREE UK mainland delivery* In stock – available now
Midland Red and its People book cover

Volume 3

Midland Red and its People

Midland Red’s iconic buses and coaches, and the people who gave the company its direction and its drive. Read more

“A mine of fascinating information and engaging stories, presented in an attractive layout with plenty of interesting pictures. Superb!” – Classic Bus magazine
“You will enjoy this wonderfully written book. I can heartily recommend it.” – Buses magazine … Read more
  • 168 pages
  • 270+ photographs
Fare£35.00inc. FREE UK delivery*

All books are in stock and available now – but Inside Midland Red is almost sold out, so order soon if you want a copy. Credit & Debit Card payments powered by Square. *For destinations outside the UK mainland, please contact us for delivery fees.

How to buy

Four easy stops to your door

Buying online is quick and secure – here’s how it works.

  1. Choose your book

    Click the Buy Now button for the book you want. It takes you to that book in our online Bookshop (powered by Square). For more details of each book, click its cover.

  2. Add to Cart

    Click the Add to Cart button. You can also add other books from the bookshop.

  3. View your cart

    Click the cart image at the top of the page to view the contents of your cart, then click Continue to Payment.

  4. Pay securely

    Enter your details and pay by card, or use an Express Checkout account. Delivery is free to mainland UK.

Paying by credit or debit card

Ignore the “Express Checkout” buttons at the top of the payment page (they are only for people who have their own personal payments account). Just scroll down and enter your name, address and card details, then click the red Place Order button.

Paying by Google Payments etc.

If you have your own Google Payments or similar account, just click the corresponding “Express Checkout” button at the top of the payment page, then follow the instructions to make the payment.

Prefer to buy in person?

You can also buy from “Kenilworth Books”, the vibrant independent book shop in Talisman Square, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 1JB. You can also find most of our books at:

  • Kenilworth Books
  • Transport Museum Wythall
  • MDS Books
  • Hunts Bookshop, Rugby
  • Julian Bowden Transport Bookshop

They may not hold stock of all titles, so it’s a good idea to check that your required title is in stock before visiting them.

Bona fide trade enquiries from museums, independent and specialist book shops etc are welcome – please contact us.

Readers’ comments

What the readers – and the magazines – say

Some of the comments we have received from buyers of the books, plus quotes from reviews published in national magazines.

I’ve just finished reading Midland Red Evolution or Revolution and must say I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. I have a couple of existing Midland Red titles which gave me insights into the company and its buses but yours provided another dimension, namely the human side, which so often gets overlooked. Your writing skills really kept the narrative interesting as well as educational, much of which is clearly based upon your own experience. Well done!

P.B., Leicestershire
Magazine review

A mine of fascinating information and engaging stories, presented in an attractive layout with plenty of interesting pictures. Superb!

Classic Bus magazine

A sincere thank you for producing your four Midland Red books. They’re so full of heartfelt warmth and love for the company. A real pleasure to read and own.

A.H., Sutton Coldfield

Bought for me as a Christmas present – much better than a pair of socks!

S.H., Darlington
Magazine review

In all, Midland Red – Evolution or Revolution is a highly attractive publication bringing back memories of the ‘red’ era. Recommended.

Finished reading your new book yesterday. Wow, what a fantastic read it was; had it been a work of fiction it may have been described as a ‘page turner’, it was that good and difficult to put down. So many congratulations on producing a fourth volume; it is marvellous, memory evoking and, at times, thought provoking.

S.W., Wales

Joy as the postman brought me Ashley Wakelin’s latest book – and it looks like an absolute cracker on the mighty and much loved Midland Red!

D.S., Shrewsbury
Magazine review

You will enjoy this wonderfully written book. I can heartily recommend Midland Red and its People.

Stuart Warr & Alan Millar, Buses magazine … Read more

An easy transaction, quick delivery, beautifully and nostalgically packaged – perfect!

M.L., Stockport

A very, very good read, and lots of anecdotes by a guy who was there at the centre of things. A MUST for any Midland ‘Red’ devotees. You won’t regret your purchase.

P.K.
Show more commentsShow fewer comments
Magazine review

Beautifully presented, solidly bound, printed on glossy paper with well-rendered photography and great value. There’s a huge amount of work in this book and every page counts. Every Midland Red enthusiast and omnibus historian needs this book on the shelf!

Bus and Coach Preservation magazine

Well done with ‘Midland Red and its People’. It really does give a great insight into the people who worked for Midland Red and the wide range of roles. It is like no other book on transport and is a great companion to the two previous books.

S.K. Media

I thoroughly enjoyed Midland Red and its People, so I’ve just ordered the other two books!

B.J., Argyle
Magazine review

Midland Red and its People, the latest volume of Ashley Wakelin’s lavish, self-published treatise about Midland Red, focuses on its most important asset: the people who kept some 1,700 buses running across the Midlands during its heyday. It is well illustrated with images of Midland Red people, places and vehicles, many in colour, with some of the earlier vehicle views being restored and colourised to bring them to life.

Bus and Coach Buyer

A real page turner, well, I struggled to put it down once I started reading it, well done!

S.W., Porthcawl

Inside Midland Red – What a beautiful book, maybe an idea for a gift.

Visit Tamworth
Magazine review

Splendid, nicely designed books that present a fantastic snapshot in so many of the aspects of the company – the operations, the people, the customers, the ups and downs, foibles, facts and so much more.

Classic Bus magazine

Lots of good stories. Here’s to the next book!

M.S.

Ashley, my book arrived this morning, it’s fabulous, congratulations on a super book. Thank you again.

S.B., Tamworth

Really loving the ‘Inside Midland Red’ book.

D.T., Stafford

Read all the comments and full reviews

All aboard

The author, the talks, and the company

Ashley Wakelin in Midland Red uniform cap

The author

Ashley Wakelin

Ashley, the award-winning author, has seen the bus and coach industry evolve over fifty years of change. He has worked in manual and managerial roles, has been an enthusiast, preservationist and operator, and has worked in both the private and public sectors with national and small independent operators…

Read more
Ashley giving a talk on Midland Red

Group talks

Talks on Midland Red

Ashley also gives entertaining and engaging talks about Midland Red, its history and development, its social history, and its people – ideal for after-dinner and group meetings.

After-dinner & group talks
Illustration of a vintage Midland Red coach

The company

What is Midland Red?

The Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company (BMMO) played a pre-eminent role in bus and coach design. With their bright red livery their mission was to “paint the Midlands red” – and so they became known as “Midland Red”…

Read more
On film

From the printing press to your bookshelf

Video of the book being printed
A short video of the book “Inside Midland Red” being printed.
And here are a few selected photos.