Another hero of the buses

THE story in the Gazette [January 16] ‘Go on - give bus a smile’ about a homeless gentlemen – Patrick Lawson – now a Bus Driver winner of ‘Happiest Driver’ accolade in July from TFL, which is well deserved. This story reminded me of a gentlemen called Morris Abrahams.

He started the omnibus men’s superannuation fund in 1897 when there wasn’t a pension for retired omnibus crew’s who mostly ended up on the street’s of Victorian London some with their family’s starving some dying on the streets.

Morris Abrahams put a stop to this with by creating the omnibus mens superannuation fund 1897. There wasn’t a pension for bus crews until the government created a pension for them in 1912.

A page from Tatler 1901, August 28, says: “The omnibus crew’s in appreciation gave Morris Abrahams a penny silver bus model at the Holborn resturant London 27th June 1901.”

The chief collecter of the omnibus men’s superannuation fund1897 and a conductor on penny busses Mr J Baker as shown top left of the Tatler page is my great grandfather John Baker.

He lived at 90 Harwood Road Fulham london SW6 and is the conductor on the penny silver bus model as shown on the Tatler page.

This infomation is in the London Transport Museum Covent Garden. Timothy Warner

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