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A sad end for a war veteran.


Waterside Echo

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1942 Sheffield AEC Regent No 472. Bodywork by Beadle of Rayleigh, Essex. Date of photo unknown.  W/E.019.JPG

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 Beadle's workshops were in Dartford. It looks as though Sheffield Transports Regents 472/473 were the only two buses they ever purchased with bodywork built by them. They were registered HWA 72 & HWA 73.  W/E.

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I have been in touch with a relative who was born,brought up and worked in Essex who confirms that the J C Beadle of Dartford location is the likeliest place of construction (not Rayleigh) and that there was a family connection with Beadles of Rochester. The likelihood is that the bus was purchased for the purpose of ferrying workers to the major construction sites in the County during the fifties and sixties and when no longer useful met its unfortunate end at a stock car spectacular in Rayleigh Stadium which also housed Greyhound and Speedway events.

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Found another picture of 472 in 'Sheffield Trams Remembered' by Graham Hague & Howard Turner published in 1987.The Austin A40 suggests a date between 1949 and 1952 the disposal of the bus being given as 1952 (Charles C Hall). Does anyone know if it was ever painted in blue and cream; it would have been grey when delivered in 1942? Location is Fargate.

hpqscan0001.jpg

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Great photo Voldy. Look how sparking clean the glass is on 158. Imagine having worked at Tommy Ward's and being ordered to smash such splendid things to destruction ! Note the mirror arrangement on the trams, all they would show the driver would be other vehicles when they were almost in line with the very front of the tram, but then the trams didn't need to worry about affecting overtaking traffic or vehicles alongside, except on sharp bends. Where's that part hidden PD2 going if it's turning left ?

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The only route that I remember turning into Surrey street then (1950's) would have been the 61 from Southey (and/or Shirecliffe) to Nether Edge. Would return to town as either 63/97 or 98.

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On ‎29‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 20:19, Voldy said:

The only route that I remember turning into Surrey street then (1950's) would have been the 61 from Southey (and/or Shirecliffe) to Nether Edge. Would return to town as either 63/97 or 98.

Or a school special going to the Montgomery Hall. We had from a trip from Hillfoot to see a show there, it must have been the late 40s to early 50s as I remember singing god save the king in the National Anthem.  W/E.

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Does the photo actually show one of our buses painted in the short-lived green livery...which few people seem to remember?

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1 hour ago, lysander said:

Does the photo actually show one of our buses painted in the short-lived green livery...which few people seem to remember?

I may be wrong but from memory it may be dark blue, driver trainers at the time were usually painted in the reverse livery but I think some never got the cream bands or only got one. 

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16 hours ago, lysander said:

Does the photo actually show one of our buses painted in the short-lived green livery...which few people seem to remember?

No, the 'Driver under instruction' buses at that time were all-over grey which HWA72 presumably  carried until its demise. The wartime Daimlers and Guys were all grey on delivery though after the war were repainted or (in the case of some Daimlers) rebodied. The relatively short 'Green Experiment' was from March to July 1952 and by public demand was rapidly abandoned! After this, hand painted adverts began to appear on the trams and buses once more. 

I think that the "reverse livery" mentioned by boginspro featured on some of the pre-war buses and the Rotherham buses carried such a livery. 

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We have been here before, on the Bus Photo's thread bus man and transit seem to think the same as me, perhaps there were different colours at different times but I remember a dark blue trainer when I first went on the buses.  We also had towing wagons in the reversed Farington livery. I have a picture of a trainer about 1950 in the reversed livery but the site upload keeps failing.       EDIT here is a link to the picture      -----------------    https://www.dropbox.com/s/rc1icj6sux7asv3/bus_park.jpg?dl=0        

 

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