The 76 BMMO S23 service buses of 1968-70 were the very last buses to be built by Midland Red. The S23 was typical of Midland Red's own bus production - no frills, workmanlike, efficient, reliable and modern but production had fallen to an uneconomic level as the company failed to compete on pay rates with local car factories.

To speed production the last 50 had their bodies finished by Plaxton, including this bus, but they only differed in minor detail from the all-BMMO product. Mechanically similar to the earlier S17 service buses, the bodies incorporated the updates introduced on the CM6 and S21 such as longer windows, peaked styling and offside emergency door.

Bus 5956 is a relatively rare example of a Midland Red bus allocated to the same garage for the whole of its life. Entering service at Kidderminster in November 1969, it remained there until withdrawn in January 1981. The Museum gave the vehicle a major overhaul in 1986-7 and repainted it in National Bus Company livery to represent that era of Midland Red ownership, complete with Wendaway local identity name applied for a time to the Kidderminster area services.