大象传媒

This incident took place on Saturday and Sunday the 4th and 5th September 1943 and I can vouch for the story because I was eleven years old at the time and overheard most of the relevant conversation. On this day my Aunt Win.(Little) was married to my Uncle George Munslow at Higfhfield Church in Highfield Lane Southampton.
Until that time my aunt had been employed in the Town Transport office for a Mr Bartholomew whom she had invited to the wedding.
The reception was held in a small hall in Walnut Avenue in Swaythling a suburb of the town and the celebrations continued until around midnight when the question of transport home for the guests was being discussed. It being wartime, the trams and buses stopped running before 12pm and after that hour taxis were few and far between.
My Father, the bride's eldest brother, was standing close to Mr Bartholomew and, not noted for his timidity, asked in a voice meant to be heard "...whether,in the light of present company, some kind of conveyance might be organised ..."
Without further ado Mr B. arranged for the overhead lines to be switched on and a lone tramcar was dispatched to the Swaythling terminus and as far as I know, those who required transport were taken all over the town. My family was taken as far as the Shirley terminus and I assume that others were accorded similar treatment. Whether fares were paid, or not, I just do not know.
All credit to Mr Bartholomew, I don't think such an executive decision would, or could, be made today in relative peacetime.

I hope this qualifies as a wartime story under your rules it certainly is an example of power-play forgive the pun.. Regards John Humby.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.