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On the Buses in World War 1

Thylacine

Thylacine

master brummie
I'm interested in anything to do with life on the buses during World War 1. Petrol rationing, employment of women (for example as conductresses), use of town gas to power buses, use of buses by the armed forces: these are just a few of the topics that members might have information on. Family memories, anecdotes, photographs are all most welcome.

[There has been quite a lot of discussion of the more technical aspects of this subject on the "Midland Red Early Days" thread (Birmingham Transport / The Buses). What I'm hoping to attract here are some posts on the more personal aspects of public transport in WW1. :)]
 
Thylacine Cannot put a date to this one. There was another one on the forum that used to ferry troops to the front line but I shall have to search for it.
 
Thanks for that great picture, Ger22van. It is just the right vintage, being a 1913 Tilling-Stevens model TTA2 petrol-electric bus. It was originally owned by Midland Red but was sold to Birmingham Corporation in 1914. It escaped confiscation by the War Department because they didn't like the petrol-electric transmission. It is now preserved and lovingly restored by the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Trust at their Wythall museum (where a wonderful cross-section of Midlands transport heritage can be seen). Here is a link to their website: https://www.bammot.org.uk/index.asp.

I'm looking forward to seeing the other picture you mentioned.
 
Are you only interested in Birmingham information? If not my grandfather was a London General Omnibus Driver who joined up when some of the bus garages had their buses commandeered in October 1914 and went to war driving his bus. It would have been a 'B' type like the picture from GER22VAN.
 
Hi Vixster! Thanks for your reply. No, not just Birmingham. I would be interested in any information you have on your grandfather and his WW1 bus-driving experience. A picture of him or his bus on war service would be an added bonus!
 
Can I ask what you are collecting this information for? Obviously it is family information which I don't necessarily have a problem with sharing but it will depend what for. I do have a photo of buses arriving in France which I think he is in but if you are after photos specifically have you tried visiting the London Transport museum in Covent Garden in London as they have a bus and did a while ago have an exhibition specifically about the buses during the war. Also if it is research you are doing you can contact them for access to their archives which has loads more stuff!
 
That's a fair question, Vixster, which I have no problem answering. I'll do my best anyway!

I have been specifically interested in the history of Midland Red (the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Co Ltd, to give the full name), as you can see by browsing the Midland Red Early Days thread. On that thread we have discussed the special problems and challenges experienced by the company during World War 1, which proved to be very interesting to myself and other participants in the discussion. My personal interest is purely that of a public transport enthusiast. I have no ulterior motive: I am not writing a book or creating a website or anything like that. Merely enjoying the discoveries to be made by co-operative research with other members of this Forum, and sharing the results with interested readers.

What we discovered about Midland Red extended to a more general interest in public transport history in WW1. I started this thread for the purpose of exploring the social aspects of this history. I am aware of the rich resources of the London Transport Museum, at least insofar as they are available on the internet. But being located in Tasmania, it is difficult to get into serious archival research. In any case, I'm not really into historical research at that level. It's more a matter of discovering what we can come up with by searching the internet, and co-operating with the friendly members of the Birmingham History Forum to gain the benefits of personal stories, memories, anecdotes and pictures.

If you should feel unwilling to share on this basis, then I would quite understand, and respect your wishes. But if you are willing to share your photos and stories, rest assured that I would equally welcome and respect your contributions.
 
Thylacine said:
... It's more a matter of discovering what we can come up with by searching the internet, and co-operating with the friendly members of the Birmingham History Forum to gain the benefits of personal stories, memories, anecdotes and pictures.....
Click to expand...

You put that very well and you certainly echo my feelings about this forum - I may quote you (unattributed, natch)!
 
Great! I have been looking for images of the first world bus, and here it is! did a google search and hothing this good, thank you
 
Thanks to Vixster's reminder about the London Transport Museum (LTM), I've been taking another look at their excellent on-line photograph collection. I came across this interesting one of a London bus put to an unusual use in World War 1. The caption reads: "LGOC B-type bus (B2132) converted into a pigeon loft (for carrier pigeons) during the First World War. Three soldiers (a Private, a CSM and a Captain) stand in front of the bus, posing for the photograph. A driver in military uniform sits in the drivers cab. A bicycle is propped against the side of the bus."
 
Here's another good one from the LTM collection, captioned "Posed shot of a soldier wearing a sun helmet, standing with one foot on the bonnet of B-type bus no B2411, now in use as a troop carrier in Egypt. The small donkey (or mule) is probably the regimental mascot." The LTM "Wartime" theme includes a huge number of similar pictures.
 
Did you get my answer to this which I sent yesterday but seems not to be in the thread? If not I will resend it
 
Thylacine said:
Here's another good one from the LTM collection, captioned "Posed shot of a soldier wearing a sun helmet, standing with one foot on the bonnet of B-type bus no B2411, now in use as a troop carrier in Egypt. The small donkey (or mule) is probably the regimental mascot." The LTM "Wartime" theme includes a huge number of similar pictures.
Click to expand...

Neither B2411 nor pigeon loft B 2132 returned to London after their war service - many did though, and after overhaul returned to their peacetime role of carrying the capital's commuters.
 
When the men went to war, women were for the first time employed in occupations that were previously an exclusively male preserve. Pictured below (from "brizzle born and bred" on flickr) is Elise Shepstone in 1917, employed as a tramway conductress (known as "clippie" or "conductorette").

The caption on this picture is interesting: "Women were first used as conductors, or 'clippies' as they were nicknamed, during the Great War, which led to a sex battle when the men returned. The clippies refused to give up their jobs and new freedom, and in April 1920 there was a near riot on Bristol's Tramway Centre where a crowd of 2,000 gathered to support 13 unemployed ex-soldiers. Around 30 trams were damaged and the Tramway Company caved in. The clippies were all sacked, offered £5 to go away and their jobs were given back to the men."

I'm hoping that this picture might spark memories or stories about similar situations in Birmingham or the Midlands.
 
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