Chronicle solves bus mystery

A PLEA made through the Chronicle to discover the name of the man on the right of this picture came up trumps for transport enthusiast John Holmes.

It gave him not only the name of the conductor, Jack Carr, but put him right on the name of the driver, Eddie Fitton, who he mistakenly named as Tommy Monks.

The 70-year-old, who now works as a volunteer for the British Transport Museum, took the photograph in 1965, but was unable to put a name to the face when he found it in his archives.

“I knew both of them, it’s just the names I was struggling with,” said the great-grandfather, from Warwick Close, High Crompton.

After making his appeal for help, he received a number of telephone calls from people who knew both men.

“Jack’s daughter, Sylvia Horton, rang and told me her dad was the conductor on the picture, and he had died,” said John.

“Then the driver’s sister rang, she was called Margaret and lived in Hathershaw, and told me he was called Eddie, and not Tommy as I had thought.

“When all else fails, the Oldham Chronicle always comes up with the goods,” said Mr Holmes.