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Croydon garage honours fallen colleagues

Memorial plaque and photographA memorial plaque to Croydon bus staff killed in a 1941 bombing raid was unveiled by the Mayor of Croydon on Wednesday (May 11)

Relatives of the men on duty that fateful night joined staff past and present to honour the dead as well as those who risked their lives to save their colleagues and vehicles.

During the night of May 10 1941, two bombs were dropped on the bus garage in Brighton Road.

Most of the buses in the garage were full of fuel, ready for work the next day, and when the bombs hit and the buses caught fire the garage was reduced to a ruin.Family and colleagues gather for the ceremony

Croydon driver Freddie Soper had been the driving force behind organising the memorial along with his colleagues Paul Greenwood, Allan Thurbon and Keith Edgerton.

Freddie said: “It is the 70th anniversary this year, and we decided it was time to do something to honour those who died.”

Driver Gary Woodward and familyThornton Heath driver, Gary Woodward was extra proud to bring his family along to the unveiling as his grandfather Bill Maile, was a driver at the garage at the time.

Hearing the bombs go off Bill realised that the garage had been hit and ran the short distance from his home to help rescue his colleagues and save as many of the undamaged buses he could. He was later commended by the London Passenger Transport Board in recognition of his heroics.

Bill retired in 1969 after 41 years as a driver.

Published: Fri 13 May 2011Modified: Fri 13 May 2011Archived: Sun 12 Jun 2011

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