The true story of the Tower Bridge Bus Jump
On the 30th December 1952, the number 78 bus was travelling over Tower Bridge towards Shoreditch in East London when, the road in front of the bus seemed to drop away. The 78 bus was on a rising bascule!
The bus driver, Albert Gunter, accelerated and managed to jump the bridge and successfully reach the other side, getting all his passengers across safely. There was only one injury, the bus conductor broke his leg. Albert was awarded £10 and a day off work for his quick thinking.
This true story was the inspiration for Bella’s first children’s book, ‘The Tower Bridge Cat’.
The daring first flight through Tower Bridge
In 1912, a pilot named Frank McClean flew his seaplane between the road and high walkways of Tower Bridge. In fact, he continued upstream and flew under all the Bridges up to Westminster. On the return trip he landed in the river Thames as he tried to fly under Tower Bridge! Luckily, Frank and his seaplane were both saved.
This true story was the inspiration for Bella’s second children’s book, ‘The Tower Bridge Cat and the Baby Whale’ where Maya the Flyer and her seaplane help Bella save the day.
The Bridge Master’s Cat
Tower Bridge isn’t the only one with a past - there’s a lot of history to Bella herself as well! Like Hannah The Cook, who was inspired by a real member of the Bridge staff, Bella is based on the many cats that actually lived in Tower Bridge’s Engine Rooms. They were just as smart and useful as Bella is - in fact, cats were so important that the Bridge employed a Cat Manager to look after them all!
The Tower Bridge Cat was nearly Bridget, as there were twin cats Bridget and Gladys on the Bridge, but in the end she became Bella as so many children love that name.
Because of this feline foundation Bella’s first children’s book was originally going to be called The Bridge Master’s Cat and The London Bus, and would have featured an orange-eyed Bella wearing a bridge master’s hat! Have a look at the original cover, and compare it to the final cover for the Tower Bridge Cat. How many differences can you spot?
Can you see any differences in the how Tower Bridge Team look in these early illustrations and how they look in the books?
