Connections with Brighton and Hove : Ian Mills first joined Southdown in 1982 as a bus driver in Brighton, then rejoining what had become the Brighton & Hove company after a short spell away between 1984 and 1985. Ian was hugely respected by all colleagues at the bus company as his career progressed from being a driver at both Conway Street and Whitehawk bus garages to becoming an Inspector where he worked in the former control hut in the Old Steine as well as at bus garages in Conway Street, Freshfield Road and Whitehawk and being a relief staff detailer at Freshfield Road and Conway Street. He soon became a Garage Staff Manager and fulfilled that key role at all four bus garages at Freshfield Road, Whitehawk, Conway Street and Lewes Road before being promoted to the roles of Staff Manager and Senior Staff Manager. Ian was one of those colleagues you are pleased to have in your team. Always prepared to turn his hand to anything that needed doing and approached each project with thoroughness and attention to detail that would guarantee its successful timely completion. His most often used response to a request along the lines of “Ian could you .....“ would always be “leave it with me”. And the great thing was “leaving it with Ian” meant the job would be comprehensively done. He always maintained excellent relations with everyone working at the bus company as well as key stakeholders in the city. He worked closely with Unite trade union representatives and maintained excellent working relationships and mutual respect. He passed away in 2013 having bravely fought a battle with cancer. A few years previously he reflected on his career in the bus company’s staff newsletter and in the article he wrote he shared the following experience which stands as a wonderful epitaph to Ian’s caring and thoughtful character:
7951 Volvo B7TL - carried name since December 2017 on a training bus.