WHEN huge swathes of Britain’s male population were away fighting in the Second World War, it was left to the women on the home front to take their place as best they could.

And that is exactly what Olive Bright of Darlington did, working as a trolleybus conductress on the tram-like vehicles which transported passengers around the town.

Mrs Bright, who died on January 18 at the age of 96 is likely to have been one of the last remaining women to have experienced the wartime challenges of working on the trolleybuses.

She worked as a conductress between 1942 and 1944 and part of her task was to move the large arms of the trolleybuses from overhead cable to cable when they changed destination – no doubt a physically demanding task for a young woman.

And not only did the trolleybuses bring Mrs Bright employment which would have been uncommon for a woman before the war, they also brought her romance.

For Mrs Bright, nee Garbutt, met husband George, a wage clerk for Darlington Transport Department, while working on the vehicles.

Their daughter Jennifer Doran, now 70, who lives in the Branksome area of Darlington, said her mother - who was born and bred in the town - spoke fondly of her time as a conductress.

She also praised her determined spirit which had seen her battle bouts of pneumonia throughout her life.

“She loved the trolleybuses. She had to swing the large arm from cable to cable and I suppose it must have been a difficult job for a woman, but she absolutely loved her time on the trolleybuses.”

After her time on the vehicles, Mrs Bright worked in the kitchens at Darlington College and worked her way up to assistant cook by the end of her 20-years there.

Mrs Doran followed in her mother’s footsteps and also spent many years working at the college as its information quality manager.

She described Mrs Bright as having a zest for life and a mischievous streak that made her popular with staff at the Windsor Court sheltered housing complex in Darlington where she lived up to her death.

Family friend David Porter, vice chair of the Friends of Darlington Railway Centre and Museum, said it was important to remember the contribution made to the town by people like Mrs Bright.

He said: “Olive Bright was one of the characters of Darlington, and having an interest in the museum, and anybody who played a part in history, I think it is important that everyone hears about such people and their achievements before they are forgotten.”

As well as Mrs Doran, Mrs Bright leaves behind three grandchildren and two great-grand children.

Her funeral is on Monday at Darlington Crematorium.

Darlington trolleybus factfile

• Trolleybuses replaced the town’s tram system in 1926 and were deemed to be more comfortable with their pneumatic tyres as well as being quieter and more environmentally friendly.

• The trolleybus era ran from January 17, 1926, to July 31, 1957, when the very last one, on the Neasham Road to Faverdale route, was withdrawn.

• The reason for the trolleybus’s demise was that the electrical apparatus needed a complete overhaul by 1957, while the routes needed extending to the suburbs, and the council said it would prove too costly.

• Little remains of the trolleybus era; a gym now stands at the site of their Haughton Road depot, there are a couple of lamp-posts in Yarm Road which used to carry their wires, and there is a peculiar inset kerb in Coniscliffe Road which was once their turning circle.

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