Handcross Hill bus crash

Handcross Hill bus crash
Handcross Hill bus crash
	Gearbox and brake failure
Statistics
Vehicles	1
Passengers	34
Crew	2
Deaths	10
Injured	26

On 12 July 1906, a bus crashed into a tree on Handcross Hill in Sussex, England, killing 10 people and injuring a further 26 in the worst road crash in Sussex history.

Background

The vehicle involved in the crash was described as the "Vanguard" motor omnibus No. 6,064,

London bus from the London Motor Omnibus Company.^[2] The driver was H. Blakeman and the conductor was F. Ewens. Including the two crew members, there were 36 people on the bus.^[1] The bus was hired for a private excursion to Brighton for the day, carrying Volunteer Fire Brigade members and their families from Orpington and St Mary Cray in Kent.^[3]

Accident

A report from

gearbox shattered, and the brakes subsequently failed,^[3] causing the vehicle to sway from side to side of the road. About 100 yards from where the brakes broke, the bus crashed into a large tree on the hillside. The deckload of passengers was reportedly hurled into the woods, and the body of the bus rebounded onto the road and drove into the bank again a little further down the hill. The bus laid completely wrecked in two heaps of debris.^[1]

A cyclist which the bus had passed saw the bus disappear into a cloud of dust, and when he looked down the hill he saw bodies of the dead and injured lying in the roadway, and the wreck of the bus pinned between two trees. He immediately called for assistance, first informing the occupants of a trap (carriage). The injured were initially transported to the very near village of

Sussex County Hospital in Brighton sending nursing staff in a motor-car.^[1]

A total of 10 people who died - six were killed immediately, one died whilst being moved to Handcross, and three died at Handcross [1] - making it the worst road crash in Sussex history.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "MOTOR OMNIBUS ACCIDENT" (PDF). The Times. 13 July 1906. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
^ "The motor bus revolution, 1900 - 1914". London Transport Museum. Retrieved 5 February 2023. the London Motor Omnibus Company adopted the fleet name 'Vanguard'
^ ^a ^b ^c "Handcross Hill bus disaster - 12 July 1906". sussexhistoryforum.co.uk. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2023.

External links

An archive of over 50 pictures and newspaper clippings related to the crash

[13_july-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "MOTOR OMNIBUS ACCIDENT" (PDF). The Times. 13 July 1906. Retrieved 5 February 2023.

[2] "The motor bus revolution, 1900 - 1914". London Transport Museum. Retrieved 5 February 2023. the London Motor Omnibus Company adopted the fleet name 'Vanguard'

[forum-3] "Handcross Hill bus disaster - 12 July 1906". sussexhistoryforum.co.uk. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2023.

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