Funeral for victims of the Chatham road bus accident (1951)

[@michaelcousins4783]

5 of these boys had been classmates of mine at Luton Primary School. I still remember them. Now 82 and living in Australia

[@soulxx1]

I've seen the memorial on Dock road when I was working at Medway council. I think what it must of been like for the families at the time. Needless tragedy.

[@Demonator131]

I'm currently a cadet at this squadron it's so heartbreaking to find out what happed here

[@TheGiantKillers]

The roads in the 1950s were crazy. Despite a fraction of the number of cars we have today, the death toll in 1960 was bigger than for the whole of the 2010s.

[@markrhodes5474]

What a terrible tragedy

[@PurpleSeahorse]

70 years ago today… 😢

[@carmelpule8493]

In 1954 at the age of 16, during my engineering apprenticeship at Chatham Dockyard, I cycled Dock Road to the Dockyard Gate, ever day, for many years, Every morning and later going home, I always had this incident at the back of my mind, I never had any Police Escort as many " cycling competitions have these days". Later on I used to wear, "a feminised pink jacket" where everybody pulled my leg about it. When I used to go dancing at the Odeon in Gillingham, I bought my first pedal motorcycle " Mobilette", the Police often stopped me at 01"00 , often asking me if the motorbike was mine, by making me confirm the registration number, and the mileage on the odometer. Once at Gillingham, a Policeman asked me why I wear such a silly looking pink coloured jacket, as it was too feminised for a young man to wear, to which I replied, " Officer, I often drive late at night in the dark, and I wear this silly looking bright colour so that it would reflect the headlights, following me, acting as the cat's eyes on the road, and so I am safer than the traffic police wearing their non reflective black leathers riding their motorcycles!". The policeman stared at me in silence, then he said, "Young man, will you follow me to Chatham Police station where you will relate to my Chief what you just said to me as, " it is a bloody good idea". I used to reside at 30, Boundary Road Chatham , ( landlady Mrs Osborne from Cornwall) and the police called on me again a couple of times to test my feminine, pink looking silly jacket, which they adopted and started wearing the fluorescent lighted stripes, to make safer traffic police wear. From that day on, the Gillingham/Kent Police seeing me drive around Gillingham, Chatham, Hexham and Rochester even up to Maidstone, and Dover, they never stopped me again, and they often saluted me. Once when my 30 cc two stroke motorcycle needed replacing a spark p[lug, one traffic policeman actually went to buy it for me, and I was on the road once again, I often drove to Par in Cornwall and to Newcastle Upon Tyne on my 30 cc moped, wearing my feminised Pink Jacket, and I had the feeling that all the Traffic Police I met, seem to know of me!. Perhaps if Lieutenant, Clarence Carter was wearing my feminised pink jacket and placed himself at the back of the marching cadets, he may have looked silly to society, but he would have saved all those children, Perhaps the cadets/children at the back should also have worn a pink jacket----- but all the parents and the navy would not have approved of it, in those days. On looking back, at Chatham I felt like Percy Shaw the inventor of the Cat's eyes on the road, when he saw a cat on a fence along the edge of the road in Halifax, looked at his car, and reflected his headlights back to him, allowing him to take corrective action and remain on the road.. I remember meeting Percy Shaw at his home in Yorkshire, where he kept four televisions running constantly for the reason that his friends could watch whichever chose to. He had a table with a loaf of bread and a bowl of butter, ham, cheese, and a tea pot where anyone could go and sit with him and help themselves to a sandwich. Many people say that Percy Shaw was eccentric, but if he was, they I am too for wearing a feminised pink jacket at Chatham, that saved my life,. I still wear a light coloured jacket with the standard fluorescent stripes and orange colour. Pity I did not patent all this, and it is my present to the safety of society. I am over 85 years and still drive my lighter motorcycle as the heavy one, well I cannot handle it with my diminishing strength, Regards to Chatham and Gillingham and Rainham, Strood, Sheerness, Tunbridge Wells, East Grinstead.

[@deniscronin5383]

So very sad all round . Everyone is wiser after the event . God rest their souls .

[@markcolyer1989]

My Dad who is still alive today he was a fellow Bus driver he said to this man if you ever come near me I will ,I'll you hes available for his story NOW

[@OneBlueFroggy]

Had the bus driver had his headlights on full beam, he would have seen the boys even with the street lamp out. So after that they had to have a red light at the rear, when they go marching down the road. Stupid. Why not have all wear reflective gear. Or better still, no marching down the road in the dark. Jeeze

[@Toby_the_Glen]

True, but even now in 2022 many cyclists still use the road without lights or high viz? Tired of living?

[@stuartmiller7419]

Kids deliberately walked in the road in the dark and they blame the road vehicles.

[@rosequartz7841]

That's what they were ordered to do as Cadets

[@PurpleSeahorse]

70 years ago today… 😢