Clough, Joe

People > Clough, Joe

Joe Clough (1887 - 1977) was a West Indian immigrant to Britain who made his first home in London and later moved to Bedford.

Joe became London Transport's first black motorbus driver, an ambulance driver in the First World War, a driver for the National Omnibus Company in Bedford and latterly a taxi driver in the town.

He was a well known figure in Bedford and is remembered with affection by many local people.

Joe was featured in many newspaper and magazine articles about the town and a whole chapter of the book by John Brown 'The unmelting pot' (1970) was devoted to him and his wife Margaret. Joe was also interviewed for both BBC and Thames Television programmes.

On the 11th October 2004, an event was held in Bedford Central Library with the London Transport Museum.  This included a performance by the poet Abraham Gibson of a poem inspired by Joe's life.

For a full biography of Joe Clough visit the London Transport Museum's blog Joe Clough 1887-1977 - London's first motorbus driver

Further Reading:

• Newspaper articles in the collection of Bedford Central Library
• The unmelting pot by John Brown (1970)

Joe Clough - a short biography by Bedfordshire Libraries, 2004

Page last updated: 28th May 2020