Names on the buses

919 Cecil Pashley

786 Cecil Pashley

Connections with Brighton and Hove : 1891 - 1969
Cecil Pashley was an early aviation pioneer. He was born in Great Yarmouth on 14th May 1891. Cecil and his brother Eric were passionate enthusiasts for stories of aviation pioneers. Aged 17, Cecil learned to fly a glider at Hockley, Essex. Soon after he moved to Brooklands, Surrey, with Eric, to join other aviation enthusiasts. In 1909 he learned to fly in a Bleriot monoplane - the same model which made the first cross channel flight. After learning their trade at Brooklands, the two brothers moved to Shoreham Airport and founded the Pashley Brothers Flying School in 1913. The brothers designed and built the Pashley biplane to enter the first Brighton Aerial Cup in 1914, which they won. The brothers went into service in the First World War. Eric joined 24 Squadron in France but was sadly killed. Cecil joined the Royal Naval Air Service training school and trained pilots. This included the ace 'Mick' Mannock (possibly Brighton born). After the war Cecil started the Gnat Aero Company, making Shoreham Airport a busy commercial aviation hub. When war broke out again in 1939 Cecil joined the RAF, teaching pilots across the British Empire. He was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1944 and an MBE in 1947. He remained in the RAF until 1954. Cecil continued to be part of the Southern Aero Club at Shoreham. He ran this with his wife Vera. When he died in 1969, aged 78, he had flown more than 18,900 hours and had taught around 1600 people to fly.

483 Volvo Gemini - carried name since delivery in November 2013 on Route 6. (previously on bus 835). Route 6 branding removed February 2016. Rebranded as Route 27 in March 2018. Name removed in February 2019. Name reappeared on Scania Omnidekka 919 in March 2024. Bus sold in November 2024. Name reappeared on 786 ADL Enviro400 in December 2025.

Photograph of Cecil Pashley reproduced with the kind permission of the Royal Pavilion, Libraries and Museums (Brighton and Hove).