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© Transport for London
Collection of London Transport Museum
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A First World War woman bus conductor attends to passengers on the top deck of a London General Omnibus Company motor bus during a snow storm.
Unknown photographer, 1916 - 1919
Location: Unknown
Image no: O83203
Inventory no: 1998/39935
20th Century London caption: Conditions are harsh on a London General Omnibus Company B-type bus during a snow storm. The driver, the woman conductor and some of the passengers are exposed to the elements. These bleak conditions continued until the mid-1930s when the Metropolitan Police, who issued the licences, finally gave consent for top decks to be built on buses and for the driver to be sheltered by a cab. During the First World War (1914-18) when the men joined the armed forces, women were hired to fill their jobs. From 1916, women replaced the 18,000 male transport employees as conductors, clerks and maintenance staff, and successfully built and repaired buses, trains and trams.
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