Bus firm takes drive down memory lane
Jan 29 2008 by Tony Henderson, The Journal
A BUS company is plugging into local heritage and culture as part of the drive to encourage more people to use public transport.
Go North-East is branding services to reflect the local history, character and qualities of the areas in which the buses operate.
The latest, which began its first week yesterday , is the Crusader service which has been named as a tribute to the Jarrow March of 1936.
The marchers set off from Tyneside to London in what was also known as the Jarrow Crusade to protest at the widespread unemployment and deprivation in the town during the Depression.
The 27 and 27A Crusader buses will operate between Newcastle and South Shields via Gateshead Interchange, Felling, Heworth, Hebburn and Jarrow. As well as the Crusader title on the side of the buses, there are information panels on the Jarrow March on the inside of the vehicles. Opposite Jarrow Bus Station is a sculpture of the Jarrow March, and yesterday one of its veterans tried out the new service.
Con Shiels, 91, who lives in Primrose in Jarrow, was a young man on a Government work scheme in London when the marchers approached the capital.
His father, a shipyard riveter who was also called Con, was the march cook, and Con junior met the column in Hendon and joined in the final leg of the journey.
He said: “Places which had never heard of Jarrow certainly got to know of the town’s troubles after the marchers passed through. I am all for anything which perpetuates the memory of the march, like the buses,” said the former marine fitter.
His son, 63-year-old Con, of Low Simonside, Jarrow, described how the family is steeped in the history of the march. His uncle, Paddy Scullion, was a former Mayor of Jarrow who was one of the marchers.
“The buses will help keep the memory of the march alive,” said Con, whose son – 37 yesterday – is the eighth generation to carry the name, which is a shortened version of Constantine.
The Crusader buses join other Go North-East branded services with distinct liveries such as the Blaydon Racers, the Prince Bishops, the Red Kites, and The Angel which runs past the sculpture on its Newcastle-Chester-le-Street-Durham route.
Martin Harris, Go North-East commercial director, said that more branded services were on the way and appealed for local people to suggest links for their areas.
He said: “People in South Tyneside still identify strongly with the march and it is a big part of the heritage of the area.”
