PEARSON REGENT 3 PUMP ESCAPE

It was back in 1974, when Paul Pearson from Chester-Le Street, in County Durham, heard that a much-loved fire appliance was coming to the end of its working life. He had watched and waited for the day that CU 5705, still on its original South Shields plates, was being pensioned off from its service with the local fire brigade. It was the Regent Three bus chassis that was chosen for the building of this new appliance and although it carries the Merryweather badge on its radiator, it belies its real pedigree as all the vehicles were actually Maudslays, built at the company’s works, under AEC direction, which by this time, was their parent company.

5705 was the first of two AEC/Maudslay Regent 3 Dual Purpose Pump Escapes bought by South Shields, the other was registered CU 6030. 5705 was purchased in 1951 when the Brigade decided to move over to diesel power, an innovative move away from the entirely petrol fleet it ran. It is hard to believe