Southsea crash bus was on wrong side of road | Nostalgia

The three-car pile-up with a bus along Eastney Esplanade in 1957 was seen by Ian Heath who supplied more information about the incident.
By Bob Hind
Published 2nd Feb 2020, 06:00 BST
Updated 2nd Feb 2020, 06:00 BST
These three cars came to grief in 1957 on Eastney Esplanade. Picture: Colin Hull collection.These three cars came to grief in 1957 on Eastney Esplanade. Picture: Colin Hull collection.
These three cars came to grief in 1957 on Eastney Esplanade. Picture: Colin Hull collection.

He says: ‘All three cars have Portsmouth registration numbers and I am at a loss about what happened, especially as the bus is on the wrong side of the road!’

He adds: ‘As regards the Cresta, it was top of the Vauxhall range of three saloons. These comprised the Wyvern 4 cylinder, the Velox 6cyl, and the Cresta 6cyl.’

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Ian says in 1957 a basic Wyvern was £538 plus £268 17s purchase tax (£803 17s). The Velox 2.5ltr 6cyl was £580 plus £291 7s tax (£871 7s), and the Cresta 2.5ltr was a whopping £640 plus £321 7s tax (£961 7s).

On another note Ian asks if anyone remembers an accident when he was a police cadet. A laundry van going north over Copnor Bridge ran into a bus queue on the west side of the road. He says the accident was recalled by police officers years later. No-one died but several people were seriously injured.

Related topics:SouthseaPortsmouthVauxhall

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