836 Sir Arthur Pearson
472 Sir Arthur Pearson
Connections with Brighton and Hove :
St Dunstan’s is one of the most famous institutions in Brighton and much of that is due to Sir Arthur Pearson. He founded the centre for men and women who had been blinded in conflict in February 1915 at Bayswater Road in London. Called the Blind Soldiers and Sailors Hostel, it was so successful that it soon moved to a villa at Regent’s Park called St Dunstan’s and the name stuck. The building is now the home of the US Ambassador. By the end of the war, nearly 2,000 war blinded men were being trained for work in civvy street. A convalescent home was opened at this time in St George’s Road and in 1957 the building was renamed Pearson House. It was extensively renovated in 1973 but the historic facade, dating from 1847, was preserved. It is now owned by the major hospital trust in Brighton. The yellow-bricked building at Ovingdean was built just before the Second World War by Francis Lorne. Its foundation stone was laid by Lady Pearson, Sir Arthur’s widow, in 1937.
836 Dennis Trident - carried name since delivery in April 2000, on METRO Line 49, repainted into standard livery February 2005. Bus sold in February 2013.
472 Volvo Gemini carried name since delivery in June 2013 on Route 5. Name removed as bus became The Snowman in November 2017. Name reappeared on ADL Enviro400 722 in March 2024.
Photograph of Sir Arthur Pearson courtesy of St Dunstan’s Archive, London.
