When London Transport (LT) was set up in 1933, it acquired a large number of small operators with a plethora of buses, many time-expired and very much non-standard. Buses with around 20 seats were still required but LT needed to evaluate several types before placing a large order for new buses.

In June 1934, LT placed its own Chiswick-built body on to a Leyland Cub chassis and put it into service at Hounslow as C 1.

Impressed with its performance, LT placed an order for 74 Cubs for its Country Bus area, C 4 going into service in 1935 at Addlestone.

C 4 moved to Chelsham garage (near the Surrey/Kent border) in June 1938, where it spent the following fifteen years on rural bus routes, before being withdrawn in October 1953.

It was sold in 1955 to a farmer in West Sussex where it was used to transport fruit-pickers to and from the farm. Following mechanical issues, it was sold in 1962 to a dealer and slowly deteriorated over the next forty years, under several owners.

Ensignbus purchased it in 2007 and after four years in their workshop in Essex, launched the newly-restored vehicle at their annual Running Day in December 2012.