A petition to change the name of a road near the Cardington Sheds in Shortstown has been started, with a campaigner saying it dishonours the victims of the R101 airship disaster.
The naming of Burns Road, which is in the New Cardington estate by the sheds, has been called “bad taste” and “disrespectful” by local historian Trevor Monk.
He’s now started a campaign to get the road name changed.
Speaking to the Bedford Independent, Mr Monk said: “Knowing the area, history, and what happened to the victims who died on R101, I don’t see how they couldn’t see an issue with it. Gobsmacked is an understatement.”
The R101 airship was on its way from Cardington to Karachi, which at the time was in India, (it became part of Pakistan in 1947), when it crashed into a hill in Beauvais, France on 5 October 1930.
While the impact was said to be gentle and survivable, the ship was inflated with hydrogen and the resulting fire incinerated 46 of the passengers and crew. Two crew members died of their injuries soon after.
Mr Monk says that while there are obvious, albeit coincidental, connotations to using the word ‘burns’ in a road name near the sheds, there is also a much deeper reason for his belief the name should be changed.
“The road leading to Burns Road is Mason Road,” he says, “C.H. Mason died on the R101, burned to death, and was one of the victims who was not identified due to the fire.
“Having Burns Road right there with other R101 victim names is in totally bad taste. I can’t believe those involved did not pick up on the possible issue with this road name.”
The Mayor has already weighed in on the issue and in a tweet to Mr Monk said that names for the roads were suggested by Shortsown Parish Council.
A spokesperson for Bedford Borough Council backs this up, saying that the names on the new estate were chosen “in remembrance of those who lost their lives in both the R101 disaster and in the world wars”.
They also say that the Parish Council approved the naming of these roads in April 2021 prior to the houses being occupied.
However, the Parish Council says that the name ‘Burns’ was added by Bedford Borough Council.
Shortstown Parish Council’s clerk told us, “the Parish Council proposed a number of surnames of those who died in the R101 disaster. They also put forward the names of three influential late parish councillors.
“The Borough Council reviewed these and made a number of alterations, including the addition of the name ‘Burns’, the suggested Parish Councillor names were not taken forward”.
Shortstown Parish Council has said that they will now discuss a proposal at their meeting in March to ask the Borough Council to change the name of this road.
Neither Bedford Borough Council nor Shortstown Parish Council has given a reason why the name ‘Burns’ was chosen or approved.
Mr Monk has also suggested a new name for the road.
“Shed one was enlarged and shed two was rebuilt along with the mooring mast by the Cleveland Bridge Co, if Cleveland is not already used, I feel this would be a more fitting name,” he said.
If you’d like to join the campaign to get the name changed, you can sign the petition here.
