Tower Bridge begins opening with double-decker bus still on it. Then his wartime training kicks in

On December 30, 1952, Albert Gunter was driving his usual route on the number 78 bus heading toward Shoreditch. The 46-year-old driver had no reason to think this day would be different from any other. He got close to Tower Bridge at around 12 miles per hour with 20 passengers on board. The traffic light was green, there was no warning bell, and the gates were open. Everything looked normal. But as Gunter drove onto the bridge, the road in front of him suddenly started to drop away. 

The south side of Tower Bridge had started to rise with his bus still on it. A relief watchman was working the bridge that day, and the usual safety systems had failed. The gap between the two parts of the bridge was getting wider by the second. Gunter had to make a quick choice. As per Tower Bridge, one passenger, Peter Dunn, later talked about what the driver told them after it happened. Gunter said he could only think of two things to do. 

He could stop and hope someone would notice and stop the bridge, but that meant the bus might slide backward into the Thames. Or he could keep driving and try to jump the gap. Gunter said he had been a tank driver during the war and knew a tank could make such a jump. He decided to see if a double-decker bus could do the same. He shifted down two gears, pushed his foot all the way down on the gas, and jumped the six-foot gap onto the north side, which had not started rising yet.

Pretty wild how a wartime skill saved the day

The bus landed hard on the other side, throwing passengers to the floor. The conductor broke his leg, and an 11-year-old boy broke his collarbone. But all 20 passengers lived. The bus itself stayed in one piece even after the rough landing. Everyone on board was taken to the hospital just to be safe, but most went home without serious problems.

Tower Bridge had been raised about 300,000 times since it opened in 1894. This was the first time something like this had happened. An inquiry started the next day to figure out what went wrong. A City Police inspector said that the usual warning signals were given, but Gunter said the lights were green and he heard no bell.  The event has interested people for decades, much like other strange moments from that time. 

Albert Gunter became sort of famous after what happened. London Transport gave him 10 pounds and a day off work. The City of London gave him another 35 pounds. His family also got a free week-long holiday in Bournemouth, their first vacation in five years. When someone asked how he would spend his reward, Gunter said, “Five for me, and five for the missus.”

Even with all the attention, Gunter stayed humble about the whole thing. He told reporters he could not understand what all the fuss was about. His coworkers at Dalston Bus Garage made fun of him with nicknames like “Parachute Gunter” and “Waterwings.” The 1950s were a time of many unusual stories, and this event became one of London’s most talked about moments. The number 78 bus route still runs today, crossing Tower Bridge as part of its regular trip through London.