JACK WILSON has lived his life "on the buses".

His family is steeped in LUT tradition from the early days of the trolley through to the double decker glory of the diesel in the 70s.

Back at the dawn of the century his father Thomas carted the ashes for the first tramlines; he was the club custodian and, for many years, a driver.

Jack, with his brother Fred and Jim, followed in the family tradition.

Aged 17, he started as conductor, later turning to driving. And he too became the LUT Club custodian.

Now 87, Jack - born and bred in Howe Bridge "and proud of it" - looks back through his years in the bus lane from his neat bungalow in Hope Fold Avenue.

And a picture from 1940 highlights of the camaraderie of a life at the wheel of the Big Red Bus.

It's a shot of the LUT's Home Guard unit, which worked throughout the war years through to 1945.

Jack can still remember all but two of the "Dad's Army" characters from the picture from nearly sixty years ago.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.