Your Stories: Crusader Travel in Twickenham's Bruce Lyons is still working at the age of 91

Q. How did your travel career begin?

 

After working as a farm hand at the age of 15 and then as a theatrical agent, I began in travel in my 20s. I moved into the sector mainly through family connections because my dad was the casting director of ATV – a London television franchise – and he knew people who specialised in film and stage travel work. I met my wifeto-be Hedda in the early 1960s when she worked at the Israeli tourist office and we married in 1965. In 1966, we set up our own travel agency business, Twickenham Travel, at 22 Church Street, Twickenham. Back then it was a rather dilapidated street, which we thought would be perfect as it did not actually have too much footfall – we were hopeful that people would seek out the shop.

 

I had previously been manager of Kempthorne’s travel agency, and then Embassy Travel, both in Richmond. At the latter, I had been plagued by people passing by and coming in on a whim but not really seriously looking for a holiday. We had a few incidents of drunken men falling through the door of 22 – because we were opposite a pub. We propped them up on our counter with a cup of coffee and supplied plasters for their cut heads!

 

Q. How did the business develop?

 

We built the business up and for many years had shops on Church Street and in nearby St Margarets, Hampton Road in Richmond and in London – in Chester Row and Marylebone Lane. We were the first to charter flights to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt as well as Eilat in Israel, and I was even awarded the Freedom of Eilat. I also ran a specialist business called Red Sea Holidays and led diving safaris in the Sinai, camping under the stars and picnicking on surf boards. Hedda absolutely loved to travel off the beaten track – she created and led her own wildlife tours and safaris.

 

We had many trials and tribulations, and were victims of serious fraud a couple of times that threatened to close the business. In 1995, we established Crusader Travel on Church Street in Twickenham, and were deeply involved with the local community. Twickenham Travel ran from 1966-1995 and then we started Crusader Travel in 1995, down the same street.

 

Q. Tell us about your community work.

 

Working with the local community is something that we both believed in passionately. We organised the Twickenham Festival from 1995 until 2019 and I chaired the Church Street Association until 2022, pioneering alfresco dining in the mid-1990s, along with street fairs. I was instrumental in finally getting the street pedestrianised in 2021. I always worked closely with the traders in the street and the council. Church Street has developed from a dilapidated side street to the jewel in the crown of Twickenham.

 

Q. How is life in the agency now?

 

Hedda, my best friend and the love of my life, died on May 14, 2023. She would not have liked us to give up and we really are still very busy as a community agency. My daughter Shona works with me and she says I am a “fount of all knowledge”, and that my love and passion for travel are undiminished. I still work as hard as ever, spending six days a week in the shop. I love nothing more than getting my teeth into complicated enquiries, getting the maps and brochures out, and talking to good friends and colleagues in the trade, trying to get the right holiday and travel solution for my clients. I greet visitors with a cheery smile and love new enquiries. Sometimes people sit in front of me with the most incredibly difficult itineraries, but I can put it all together pretty quickly. 

 

We sell a bit of everything nowadays but I like complex itineraries – disjointed and nigh-on impossible. My greatest belief is “nothing is impossible”, which I think will probably be my epitaph.

 

 

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What was it like to win the Travel Network Group Lifetime Achievement Award?

 

I received the award at The Travel Network Group conference in Bucharest in June. It was a great honour.

 

Gary Lewis, chief executive, highlighted my lifelong dedication to travel, my pioneering spirit and deep connection to the community.

 

Being part of TTNG [as a Travel Trust Association member] has been a godsend.

 

The lovely Katharina Peck [commercial director] and Ionela Dinu‑Mihai [customer experience and people development director] have always been incredibly helpful, as has Steve Button [head of TTA trustees] and all the team. It is a perfect organisation for a company such as ours, never intrusive, giving us lots of freedom to be creative and letting us get on with running our little business the way we like. We didn’t do much social media about the award because we are so busy, but the news got out there somehow and surprised friends and colleagues in the industry. I have really happy memories of my life in travel – long may it last!