AEC Regal single decker bus with a Craven body, 1931, registration no. VO 6806.

In 1929 AEC introduced the Regal single decker and the Regent double decker in direct opposition to the Leyland Tiger and Titan which had been launched two years earlier. The Regents were designed by the AEC Chief Engineer, GJ Rackham, who had previously been Chief Engineer at Leyland and designed the Tiger and the Titan. These four buses and GJ Rackham had set the pattern for bus design for the next ten years. The Regal continued in production until 1940, by which time around 3,000 had been built. This example was purchased in 1931 for the Red Bus Service of Mansfield Woodhouse and continued in service until about 1948.