East Lancashire Busmen Restore Memorial Garden

Sometimes, you just need a good news story. With the headlines full of strikes, closures and the general doom and gloom that seems to come with the transport patch, it’s refreshing to find something that reminds us what the industry is really about — people.

Transdev Blazefield

At The Blackburn Bus Company’s Intack depot, two colleagues have quietly done something rather special. Central Stores Manager Lee Wardle and General Manager Frank Stanisauskis rolled up their sleeves to rescue a forgotten corner of the site — a run-down memorial garden dedicated to departed colleagues. Overgrown and unloved, it was hardly the place for reflection it was meant to be.

So, Lee and Frank brought it back to life. Think gravel patio, hanging baskets, a proper tidy-up — and the centrepiece, a memorial plaque proudly mounted on a hefty old engine block. It’s not grand, but it’s genuine. And in its own way, it says a lot about the sort of people keeping the wheels turning in East Lancashire.

The Blackburn Bus Company’s Central Stores Manager, Lee Wardle said:

“The garden had just become dirty and scruffy over the years, so I decided to bring it back to its best – and with support from Frank and the company, we now have something we can all be proud of.

“As well as a place of remembrance, it’s a quiet corner on our busy depot site where all of our team can take a break for a quiet few moments. I’m very pleased with how it looks now – it’s something we can all take pride in and enjoy.”

The Blackburn Bus Company’s General Manager, Frank Stanisauskis said:

“When we looked at the state of the garden, we both knew it needed restoring. Lee has done 90 per cent of the work on it himself and it looks much better now.

“It’s a fitting tribute to our predecessors who are no longer with us, and in a big depot site with buses and people coming and going, it’s an oasis of calm and long may it remain so.”

As well as digging out dozens of weeds, Lee and Frank have planted new greenery to add a fresh dash of colour to the memorial garden, close to the entrance gates at the depot on Whitebirk Road in Blackburn.

Transdev Blazefield

The Intack depot is home to The Blackburn Bus Company’s modern fleet of buses serving East Lancashire, on its network of routes from Burnley and Preston to Bolton and beyond.

Details of all routes and timetables are available online at transdevbus.co.uk/blackburn, on the free Transdev Go mobile app and from enquiry offices at Blackburn, Accrington and Burnley bus stations.