Call for Glasgow memorial to seven killed in 1950 tram crash

Two trams colliding in Glasgow city centre in 1951 (Image: Newsquest) ON the bus on his way to work, James Cherrie spotted a friend, and the two men moved upstairs for a chat and a smoke. It was a decision which cost James his life.

Minutes later, the bus skidded and overturned, sliding into the path of an oncoming tram. James and six fellow passengers, including a 16-year-old girl, who were all on the top deck of the bus, were killed, and 43 people were injured. Nurses and doctors from nearby hospitals, who heard the horrendous crash, rushed to the scene to help.

Glasgow Times: James Cherrie

James Cherrie (Image: Joy Knight) It was May 24, 1950, and James's daughter Joy was a young child at the time. She has never forgotten the events of that terrible day, however, and recently, she got in touch with the Glasgow Times to ask if other readers recall the crash.

"I wonder if there was ever a memorial to the men and women killed on their way to work that fateful day?" she asks. "It would be a great thing to have a public memorial on the site."

Glasgow Times: The Cherrie family on holiday - Joy, brothers, Billy and John, and mum Florrie The Cherrie family on holiday - Joy, brothers, Billy and John, and mum Florrie (Image: Joy Knight)

Tram accidents, like this one pictured in 1951 (main image), when two cars collided blocking traffic in the city centre for hours, were rare. But this one, between the citybound bus and the Anniesland tram, shocked the city. Our sister newspaper, the then Glasgow Herald, reported the story the next day, under the headline: "Seven dead in city collision - tramcar cuts through top deck of overturned bus."

Glasgow Times: A map, printed in the newspaper, shows the location of the crash

A map, printed in the newspaper, shows the location of the crash (Image: Newsquest) It continued: "One of the worst accidents in the history[1] of Glasgow Corporation Transport Department occurred yesterday when seven persons were killed and 43 injured in a collision in which a tramcar embedded itself in a bus which had skidded and overturned in Great Western Road." The dead were Harry McGrane, 45, of Woodside Street; Margaret Macandrew, 16, of Towerhill Road; John Allan, 55, of Ripon Drive, who was postmaster of Kirkintilloch; James Wilson, 29 of Friarcourt Avenue, who was blind and on his way to the Royal Asylum for the Blind in Possilpark, where he had been a carpenter for 13 years; Richard Wright, 45 of Palmer Avenue; Joseph Ferns, 20, of Shafton Road; and Joy's dad James, who was 41.

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