TTNG Lifetime Achievement Award ‘great honour’, says Bruce Lyons

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Bruce Lyons, second right, with the consortium’s Gary Lewis, Stephanie Slark and Ionela Dinu-Mihai. By Alex Maguire.

Bruce Lyons, director of Crusader Travel in Twickenham, said his lifetime achievement award from The Travel Network Group is “a great honour”.

The 90-year-old pioneering agent has worked since the age of 15 – and still works six days a week in his agency.

Delegates at the consortium’s conference in Bucharest earlier this week gave him a standing ovation at the Palace of Parliament as he received his award from chief executive Gary Lewis; Ionela Dinu-Mihai, customer experience and people development director; and Stephanie Slark, membership services director.

His daughter Shona, who works with him and also attended the conference, said: “I cried watching him go the stage, escorted carefully by Ionela and greeted warmly by Gary and the team.

“I felt so pleased to see him recognised for all the incredible hard work he has done all these years.”

Lewis said: “Bruce is the very definition of inspiring. His lifelong dedication to travel, his pioneering spirit and his deep connection to the community are extraordinary.

“At almost 91 years old, and after an incredible seven decades in the travel industry, Bruce continues to lead with passion, humility, and heart – a true role model for all of us in the industry. It’s our absolute honour to celebrate his incredible legacy with this Lifetime Achievement Award.”

Born in August 1934, Bruce met his wife-to-be Hedda in the early 1960s at the Israeli tourist office.

They married in 1965 and in 1966 set up their first travel agency together at 22 Church Street.

As they built their business, they pioneered charter flights to Hurghada, Sharm el Sheikh and Eilat, and Bruce ran a specialist business called Red Sea Holidays.

Edda “absolutely loved” to travel off the beaten track and created and led her own wildlife tours and safaris.

In 1995, they established Crusader Travel in Church Street, Twickenham, and were “deeply involved” with the local community.

They organised the Twickenham Festival from 1995 to 2019 and worked closely with the council and other local businesses to revitalise the Church Street area.

Bruce and Hedda Lyons in Venice

Hedda passed away in 2023 but Shona commented: “She would not have liked us to give up. We really are still very busy as a community travel agency.

“Bruce is still a font of all knowledge and his mind is as quick and alert as ever – his love and passion for travel are undiminished. He still works as hard as ever in the shop.

“Travel has been in my dad’s blood most of his life – he has a very inquisitive mind, an adventurous spirit and a great sense of direction.

“He loves nothing more than getting his teeth into complicated enquiries, getting the maps and brochures out, and talking to his good friends and colleagues in the trade, trying to get the right holiday and travel solution for his clients.”

She added: “ Being part of the TTNG [as a Travel Trust Association member] has been a godsend for a small independent business like ours.

“The lovely Katharina Peck [commercial director] and Ionela have always been incredibly helpful and supportive as has Steve Button [head of TTA trustees] and all the team.

“It is a perfect organisation for a business like ours, always in the background, but not ever intrusive, giving us lots of freedom to be as creative as we like and letting us get on with running our successful little business the way we like.”

Shona said Bruce greets visitors in the agency with a “cheery smile” and loves new enquiries.

“Sometimes people sit in front of him with the most incredibly difficult itineraries and I sit by his side and smile to myself, as I can see how shocked they are, when this 90-year-old, almost 91, takes it all in his stride…and puts it together pretty quickly – with his customary smile and good humour,” she said.

“His greatest belief is ‘nothing is impossible’ and we live this idiom every day. I think that will probably be his epitaph, as he and my mum ride the clouds together again one day, united once more.”

Main picture: Bruce Lyons, second right, with the consortium’s Gary Lewis, Stephanie Slark and Ionela Dinu-Mihai. Below: Shona and Bruce at the conference in Bucharest. Both by Alex Maguire.