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Trams at Last

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23/01/1903

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It was on this Friday that the long-delayed Board of Trade inspection of Peterborough's new tram system took place - officialdom always takes its time, you know. Two trams left the depot for the Market Place to pick up the official parties. When everyone - including the inspectors - was on board the first car, the driver set off with a fearful jerk, throwing virtually all the officials off their feet! One wonders whether this was a case of nerves, carelessness or intent - we'll never know that. However, the driver reversed the car, made a fresh start and moved off in an extremely smooth manner. The second car followed on, carrying several members of the council and members of the press. Despite this faulty start, the trams passed the test with flying colours. The Peterborough tram service was formally approved and trams from Long Causeway to Walton and Dogsthorpe were able to start carrying passengers. At this time, the Peterborough Electric Traction Co. had twelve open-topped trams for the service. Why, you may ask, were the trams open top? It was because roofed trams would have been too high to pass under the Rhubarb Bridge! (Mitchell, Neil, Streets of Peterborough, 2007; Peterborough Advertiser)

Taken from The Peterborough Book of Days by Brian Jones, The History Press, 2014.

Crime , Murder , Racism

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The Murder of Ross Parker

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2001

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Ten days after the September 11 2001 attack in the United States, at a time of greatly heightened racial tensions, Ross Andrew Parker aged 17 years, who was white, was murdered in an unprovoked racially motivated attack. He bled to death after being stabbed, beaten with a hammer, and repeatedly kicked by a gang of British Pakistani men in Millfield close to Bourges Boulevard.

In December 2002, Shaied Nazir, Ahmed Ali Awan and Sarfraz Ali were found guilty of Parker's murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, Awan to serve a minimum term of 18 years and the others a minimum term of 16 years. The judge, Sir Edwin Jowitt, said during sentencing,

”You put your heads together with the purpose of arming yourselves and of attacking an innocent man you might find by chance simply because he was of a different race to yourselves. A racist killing must be one of the gravest kinds of killing.”

As a result of the murder of Ross Parker, local authorities set up a unity scheme, whereby gang members from different communities were trained as youth workers to attempt to ease racial tensions and so reduce violence.

The press subsequently received criticism for under-reporting racially motivated attacks on white victims.

A memorial plaque for Ross Parker is located in the Netherton area of Peterborough where a football match is played each year in his memory.

References:

The Peterborough Telegraph

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Links

  • Read the Peterborough Telegraph reporting of the trial result
  • Peterborough Telegraph reports 10 years on from the murder
Crime , Murder , Racism

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