Boy killed in bus tragedy

A soldier, still engaged in Army service, learned his six-year-old son had been fatally injured in a bus tragedy in Stirling.

The Observer said this was a consequence of the “dangerous practice of boys stealing a ride on the footboard of motor omnibuses.”

The incident happened when two boys, unobserved, climbed on to the footboard of a Bannockburn bus when it arrived at the foot of King Street.

“When the motor reached the head of Thistle Street the boys, either through the bus swerving or some other cause, were thrown off,” added the paper.

One of the youngsters, John Machar Barr, stepson of soldier Mr John Williamson, 14 Bow Street, suffered severe injuries when a rear wheel of the bus passed over him.

The boy was taken to Stirling Royal Infirmary but died that night.

The other boy was hurt but not seriously.