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my dad worked on the buses around 1966 his name was sydney glover they put a notice on the notice board telling him he had a new baby daughter |
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denise glover, orrell, england 14th Jun 2010 |
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In the 60's whilst living in Chester, l remember that a club that l was in arranged a visit to the two Wigan bus bodybuilders, Massey's and Northern Counties. lt was a great day out and we were made very welcome. Later Massey's were taken over by Northern Counties which has now sadly gone too. |
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John Lewis, Liverpool, U.K. 30th May 2010 |
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ITS 36 YEARS APRIL 1ST 2010 SINCE WIGAN CORPORATION CEASED RUNNING BUSES HANDING OVER TO GREATER MANCHESTER TRANSPORT ON APRIL 1ST 1974 AND ITS BEEN DOWNHILL EVER SINCE |
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N GERRARD, WIGAN, ENGLAND 31st Mar 2010 |
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I remember jumping on the buses just as they were about to start off and the bus conductors who came around for you to buy a ticket |
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janet bunyan, Oxon, UK 17th Feb 2010 |
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Tony, Abbey Lakes did, and still does exist. It's a little further on than Orrell, where I used to live during my teens. I caught the No 7 service from Wigan every day as I attended Wigan Grammar School. My mother had been a conductress on Wigan Corporation before she got married. She can still rhyme off all the service numbers and routes to this day!
I am now reliant on bus travel again as I am unable to drive any more due to a medical condition. To say the service is poor would be an understatement. Bring back Wigan Corporation! |
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Tom Bridge, Wigan, UK 13th Feb 2010 |
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To Dave, Wigan. As a kid I was very fortunate to travel from Liverpool to Whiston on a Crosville H12 (service number) I know this aint got owt to do with Wigan but I do remember the rather bizarre top deck configuration it was so exciting for a ten year old who was into buses. The bus in question was a Bristol Lodekka introduced in 1949 and used widely in North Wales because of the number of low bridges. I have no idea how it came to be in service this side of the water. Guess I was lucky that day. Never travelled on one again. |
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Tony Rigby, Gt Sankey, UK 21st Jan 2010 |
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Smartest bus livery anywhere. when you see the mixes of orange, cream and brown today, you realise that the simple cherry and white were the best. |
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mickey, Blackpool, England 17th Jan 2010 |
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Best bus service ever was the No1 bus Atherton -St Helens,it was every 15 mins,the operator was LUT.Nowerdays it is run by Arriva the 620&320, they are the poorest services on the planet.Bamfurlong at night is like a ghost town. |
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Colin Barnes, Hindley, England 6th Dec 2009 |
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Hi Tony the bus depot is still there albeit for sale but still in use by the First company.Vist G.M.T.Museum site for wigan buses in presevation |
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tom clancy, wigan, england 1st Dec 2009 |
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Oh, I well recall the Red & White Wigan buses, with the two Green lights either side the destination blind. All Leylands of course. I used to catch the No. 6 from Marus Bridge into town every morning, and back again in the evening, but my favourite
Bus Route, was No. 7, Abbey Lakes. I never managed to take this one, but such a lovely sounding name. Was there really an Abbey Lake? and does the Bus Depot still exist today? Wish I had taken more photos of the buses, when I had the chance, but a few I have include: S/D JP9062 S/D BJP 364 and D/D
JP 6032 just inside the Depot; D/D AEK 512 on route 16D to Wigan; D/Ds FJP 566G; KJP 30J
and GJP 9G when new, but my most cherished picture is of D/D FEK 2F parked in a street close to teh depot, all taken in the early 70s.
The town centre always seemed to come alive, with Buses coming and going all day long, unlike today with its traffic free area.
Good luck with this site, and feel free to respond to britannia2@cogeco.ca |
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Tony Potter, Burlington, ontario, Canada 29th Oct 2009 |
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I also remember the bus fare from the top of Howden Drive at Worsley Mesnes to Wigan was
2 new pence when decimalisation came in.This was on the 10B service from Hawkley Hall Estate back to Wigan,sometimes we would walk down to Worsley Mesnes Drive and try to catch the 10C coming off the estate and nearly always missed it.Another memory is going to school (Hindley County Secondary)on the No 3 Hindley Castle Hill Estate service which terminated in Silverdale Rd,once I got on the bus in Library St not realising it was the service No 3A which went up Ladies Lane needless to say I had a long walk back to get to school!!Once again happy days long gone. |
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Dave, Wigan, UK 10th Aug 2009 |
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I can remember the Norley Bus always read
on the destination blind Norley Hall Estate
and it was number 9 or 9A indeed it did terminate at The Green as it used to reverse
here before heading back to Wigan where it
went on to the Bleachworks (service number 8) also the Norley service was extended further up Helvellyn Rd onto Lamberhead Green
Rd as there was a bus stop outside my grandmothers house ( No 85).Not sure where it
terminated from here but I remember it coming back down Fleet St from the Pemberton direction.This was in the days of the open backed Leyland PD1 and PD2 lowbridge and highbridge buses in cherry and white livery.
Who remembers the upstairs seating arrangements on the lowbridge buses?
Long bench type seats with side gangway.
Happy days!!!
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Dave, Wigan, UK 10th Aug 2009 |
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Carol, you must be a young un, the original Norley bus service finished where the pub is now. it was later extended to Helvellyn/The Green. |
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Jimmy, wigan, England 9th Jul 2009 |
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lynne almond are you daughter of bill |
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alec almond, wigan, england 6th May 2009 |
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I remember the terminus being on Helvelyn rd norley. |
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carol, wigan, england 4th May 2009 |
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For all those who have worked on the red buses in the past and remember Norman Gerrard he will be 65 in April 2009 and like the red buses will not be at the deopt anymore. The depot will not be the same without you Norman. ALL THE BEST AND THANKS FOR ALL YOUR TIME GIVEN |
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Dave, Wigan, uk 16th Apr 2009 |
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i remember the first corporation buses on norley.the terminus was where the norley pub is now. |
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george, wigan, england 5th Mar 2009 |
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My father started working for the Wigan Corporation Transport in 1911 at the age of 12. He retired in 1964. He also served in both World Wars but always returned to the buses.My Grandfather Benny Rouse not only played for Wigan rugby but worked in the Sheds in Netown. |
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Gordon Rouse, Melbourne, Australia 13th Jan 2009 |
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my dad was a ribble bus driver in the forties fifties and sixties and he used to tell of the time he had to stop his bus early one morning to remove a line of hedghogs that were crossing the road only to get a round of applause from the passengers any old bus men remember jimmy ashurst |
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owd dave, wigan, england 10th Oct 2008 |
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Surely they were cherry and white buses.You know,like THE rugby kit? |
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Ruth, Wigan, England 18th Aug 2008 |
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Goodness me it's lovely to read all those memories, they conjure up my own but the reality is that they never leave. Going from Bickershaw Lane to Wigan, looking out for the Abram bus (12) or the one from Bickershaw (13) or wondering if the parked number 11 would be first to move and dashing across the road because I always seemed to be at the wrong stop! Would it be WCT and stop at all the stops or the fast LUT (54, 57, 60 or 61) which only had limited stops. Or maybe run around the corner and try the 320 which could an exotic Ribble! Recently I plucked up courage at the Netly Marsh steam rally to chat with an owner of a WCT single decker; I asked why it had Limerick as the destination. I was told that it had been used in a film. He then started to unwind the destinations and to my son's horror I started to recite them... before they appeared. Yes, very happy memories and thru’ pence well spent for a Saturday morning at the ABC Minors The excitement too of the Platt Bridge Labour Club with a dozen buses parked in Platt Street and the policeman on duty in Ashton stopping the traffic to let the convoy through, the rest of the day in the Peter Pan playground or the open air baths ‘shiver’ before tea at the Mayfair Café!! |
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Emma, Southampton, Hampshire 19th Jul 2008 |
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I remember the WCT & LUT Buses as a small boy,used to travel from Bryn to Wigan by WCT & Bryn to Golborne by LUT.Later in life became a conductor,then Driver for LUT,and often did the 54& 57 routes from Leigh to Wigan.Reading earlier comment as to Bus Inspectors seemingly having a cushy job,those days have long gone.My son is an Inspector & has to wear a stab proof vest when on duty,a dangerous job now...My days were the happiest.... |
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Alan, Tamworth Staffs, U.K. |
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i was a driver 1963 to 1973 best job i ever had |
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tom shaw, wigan, england |
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Paying one old penny for the bus from abram church to platt bridge, except at weekends when it was one and halfpenny for the ride. we now have a red double decker bus in Napier which is used for local events and kids having rides on a double decker bus.Took photos of it last weekend at the Girl Guides centenary picnic at the Oruawharo Homestead which is just round the corner from where i live. |
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Suzanne Hendon, nee Winstanley, Schofield, Brockba, takapau, nz, now New Zealand |
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Standing at old Wigan bus station in the1970'. Getting a carton of milk from the vending machine outside whilst waiting for the 323 to Shevington. It was usually a Wigan corp bus, but if we were really lucky a dark red Ribble bus would arrive. It was the rolls royce of buses or so we thought. They were really coaches but they seemed really posh then. There was nearly always the same conductress on that route who alway wore clogs. She'd make quite a clump clump up and down the bus. |
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Lynne Almond, Stamford Lincs, UK |
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I used to catch a 151 service bus in Station Rd when I was an apprentice at The De Haviland Aircraft Co. later to become Hawker Siddeley Did this for five years.
My Dad worked on the buses for years, first as a driver then in the depot, Anybody remember him his name was Tommy Benfold. |
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Anthony Benfold, Leyland, United Kingdom |
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The 1st thing you saw on your return from hol was always a Wgan bus, you knew then you where home! Then the subsidised bus fares, what a treat, you could go anywhere in the world (or so it felt, as a child!) for 2p!!! I went to Manchester every wk end with my friends for 2p and thought i was the 'bees knees!' Such innocence, the lack of it today is the problem with our Society i am sorry to admit?! But i love the childhood i was allowed to experience! Priceless!! |
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supuplad, wigan, lancs |
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the club trip with goose green labour club there would be 6 double decker buses parked outside and we used to run to see if we could get on the first bus we used to get a packed lunch and money for the fair which didnt last long we all had a badge with our club name on and used to get a free tea at that cafe near the fairground at blackpool dianne wigan |
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dianne, ashton in makerfield, england |
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i remember catching the bus at goose green to go to school st marks it was the bus with no doors and my hat blew off i had to go back for it because i darnt have gone to school without it also my dad drove the buses for years [ jack forshaw } |
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dianne, ashton in makerfield, england |
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Joined the Wigan TSB in 1961 but wanted to be a coach driver. I was given the opportunity to learn so that I could drive Blackpool Illuminations 2 or 3 times a week but the bank frowned on secondary employment. When the bank made me redundant 30 years later the first thing I did was pass the test. Always went Lanky United instead of Wigan Corp'n if possible.The trolley buses from Atherton to St.Helens were always my favourite. |
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Alan, Plymouth, U.K. |
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My cousin doug found a 1962 Wigan corporation double decker bus in a disposal yard at Haydock it had been painted up as a play bus and was in a right mess.He bought it and has spent the last six years rebuilding it.It is now fully restored it looks magnificent. |
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Neil Parkinson, Mawdesley, Lancs |
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I remember catching the last bus out of Wigan at 11pm.You would get on the bus and wait, at 1 minute to 11 the inspector would come out of his little office at the top of Wigan by the public toilets and blow a whistle bang on 11. All the buses would then set of.If you missed the bus at the top of Wigan you had to run like mad down wallgate to the stop outside north west railway station, hoping that the traffic lights at the minorca were on red to give you a chance to reach the bus stop, or it was shanks pony home |
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Carl Culshaw, Wigan, UK |
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I remember early 1960's running across Liverpool Road, Hindley, when the bus was coming down Market Street. Always caught it, never missed it. Couldn't do it now!! Remember banging my head a couple of times when I stood up on the luggage rack. Also remember a very good-looking Conductor, called Dave, I think. Dark hair - lovely. Used to love catching his bus. My friend's dad was an Inspector on Wigan Corporation. Hazeldone was his surname. Good times. |
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Barbara Dempsey, Hindley, England |
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I can remember an old police colleague of mine running for the early morning bus folliwing his night duty and grabbing for the upright safety pole at the rear entrance only to find that he had grabbed the " knocker uppers " pole and the both ended up in a heap in the gutter. |
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Alan Moorcroft, Bolton, England |
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I remember walking over a mile and a half from Up Holland to Abbey Lakes just to catch the Wigan corporation bus. I used to watch it turn round in the Abbey Lakes pub car park for its return to Wigan. How great it was to be the first on board, racing upstairs just to have the pick of the seats, usually the back one. Sitting in silence waiting for the driver to finish his break and waiting for the sound and rattle of the engine starting up. The little round light bulbs that dimmed and flickered in time to the engine starting. I can still remember the smell of the interior and the condensation dripping from the windows in rainy weather. |
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Alec S., Preston, Lancs |
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We caught our No 22 outside Oxleys on Station Road. |
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Linda Armstrong, Wigan, England |
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i was born and brought up in wigan but now living in north wales, every year llandudno have a vicorian extavaganza which includes old cars , wagons, steam engines and buses etc and theres always a couple of old wigan corperation buses there " the maroon n white ones" brings back memories of going to school on the 333 |
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jean mcpherson (nee crane), colwyn bay, conwy |
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I was brought up in a steet in new springs when the bus came from wigan you got off the bus at the top of the street then the bus when to the bottom and there you got on to go to wigan this caused me many a scraped knee from running to catch the bus to work you took your life into your hand by jumping onto to the platform at the back of the bus this was usually accompnied by cheers from your work mates oh happy days |
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june, wigan, england |
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I cannot forget watching the buses from Upholland where I lived seeing them come down from Orrell Post past Abbey Lakes, from being very little. Plus my Grandad was a conductor {Ernie Alker}plus his mate Harry at least I think it was Harry and we would get a free ride or two when we were growing up. One of the things we used to do was wait until we saw the bus at Orrell Post then run down Alma Hill onto Parliment St to try and catch it. Then find out it was going to Robymill..Drrrr. Well that was the fun bit of growing up.{M Pearce ex Upholland NR Wigan} |
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Martin Pearce, Nelson, Lancashire |
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had a great time on the buses(1966-1975)both the staff and public were great,best part of the job for me was playing football
for wigan transport, miss it, great times |
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john barker, launceston(cornwall), uk |
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Living along the Wigan / Bolton route via Wingates 15 route,as was. The buses that had front opening auto doors. We, as kids, would try and get behind the doors on the first seat,(that's where the heater was ) in winter. The Leyland buses were synonymous with Wigan transport in the 50's & 60's, a workhorse in every respect. Pick up opp the Ritz in Wigan, near, where once was a railway station opposite, the name escapes me !!, & travel all the way to Bolton for about 1s - 4d to Great moor St bus station, THOSE were the days !!! |
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Brian, Leigh via Owfen', England |
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i started as a bus driver in 1969 with wigan corporation and have been there for 37 YEARS i have many memories and stories about life on the buses and made many good friends i have driven over 100 types of bus in those years good and bad |
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norman gerrard, wigan, england |
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My grandfather . Matt Downing was a bus driver and I still have his drivers badge.
My greatgrandfather was a mayor of Wigan.
As a bus designer at Leyland Motors I later worked on Atlanteans and pd's |
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Terry Wilding, Glendale, Isle of Skye |
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The sign on the inside the bus which read In the interest of Public Health and Cleansiness please abstain from the objectionable habit of spitting. Always remember that but dont ask me why. |
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Tom Butler, Dawlish, Devon |
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going to school on theese busses (1960s) single decker from appley bridge to shevington (plough and arrow) 3pence old money then the double deckers to shevi secondary (having a crafty smoke upstairs) one old penny "happy days" |
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jean mcpherson (nee crane), colwyn bay, nth wales |
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The bright red busses... Lancashire United! Wigan Corp was Burgandy and White.
In 1981 I went on a coach trip to the Hamburg Beer Festival with a group of my mates. I can remember whenever we stopped for a rest break in some villages they treated us like kings. We would go into a pub and were made most welcome, the locals would sit with us and try to talk about football... and ask how we were doing in the leauge.
We were being driven about in a 'Lancashire United' touring coach, they thought we were a football team!! :D |
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Cadfael, Wigan, Lancs |
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my grandad coming home from work and me trying on his bus drivers hat,william [billy] gaskell,i miss him. |
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phil sutton, billinge, uk |
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All lined up outside the Empress Hall for late transport after the dances. |
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B J, Wigan, Lancs |
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when i was 18yrs old i was a conductress on the red buses used to get up at 3-15am the staff bus picked me up at 3-45am the first passenger was alway`s a postman (they never paid) then was the people who started work at 6am next the school children then the pensioner`s. On friday morning you would see the us with our hair in curlers and a scarf over our heads getting ready for the weekend. And the best feeling was the 11pm whistle for the last bus. |
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margaret lowe (nee), standish, lanc`s |
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coming home from school (Cardy at Hindley) coming down the stairs with a basket full of trifle that we'd made in Dom Science class luckily it didnt slip out of the basket but it was all over the place someone could have had a headfull. Used to love hanging off the back of the bus in the days when they had no doors - well brill!! |
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polly, ince, england |
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