Black History Month: 29 October 2020
Born in 1887, Joe Clough became the first Black London bus driver in history. He was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and having been orphaned at an early age, became employed by a Scottish doctor to look after his ponies. When he was just 18, in 1905, this doctor offered to take him to England, an opportunity Joe quickly accepted. They arrived in 1906. As the doctor's servant, Joe learnt not only how to drive the horse drawn coach, but also the motor car, which was a very recent invention.
It was not until 1910 that he applied to work at the London General Omnibus Company. Initially employed for a while as a spare driver, once he had passed his test, he began driving number 11 B-type buses around London. He made huge contributions during World War One, as he drove a field ambulance for four years on the Western Front at Ypres. Once the war was over, he lived in Bedford with his wife and two daughters and was able to buy his own taxi in 1949. Sadly, he died in 1976 at the age of 91.
Want to find out more about Joe Clough? Click here for more information.
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