The utility double decker was a product developed during the Second World War to counter the growing shortage of double deck buses. Most bus production had been halted or highly restricted during the early war years, with bus chassis manufactures and body builders being instead involved in production of essential military equipment. However it soon became clear that the combination of enemy action, aging vehicles, and shortages of parts was affecting operators ability to maintain services. The Ministry of Supply thus allowed selected manufactures, including Guy, Bristol, Daimler and Leyland to produce bus chassis', while a limited number of bodybuilders were allowed to build bodies to a highly restrictive specification. These bodies were built using un-seasoned timber, limited interior paneling, and the design also omitted any non essential radiussed sections, allowing a saving in scarce materials and labour time. From the passengers point of view, comfort wasn't a high priority, as most of the vehicles were supplied with rather basic wooden slated seats. The Ministry allocated these buses to operators on a need to have bases, with various combinations of body and chassis types appearing in many urban fleets across the country.