Museum a fitting last stop for secret superfan’s marvellous models

Comprised of around 600 meticulously detailed models, each bus related to a specific real-life equivalent, complete with service number and with every painstaking detail reproduced using card, packaging and acetate for the windows.

Discovered at his Holt Park home along with hundreds of bus magazines, notes and photographs, the collection gives an insight into an enduring passion for public transport which began when Gordon was a child growing up in Dewsbury.

As a boy, Gordon always loved buses and had ambitions to work with them one day, but his academic aptitude led teachers to encourage him to instead go to Durham University in 1956, where he studied physics.

Meeting his wife Pat during his studies, Gordon went on to become a physics lecturer at The University of Leeds and had three children, son Michael and daughters Cath and Judy.

But despite an esteemed academic career, Gordon seemingly never forgot his boyhood dream, and spent decades pursuing his hobby in secret whilst working on his impressive collection.

His daughter Cath said: “It was a complete surprise. I’d seen him making some of the bus models in his later years but had no idea of how many were squirreled away in his ‘playroom’ as he liked to call it.

“My mum knew a little as she’d come home early one day and found him hiding them away quickly, but she hadn’t realised how many there were. We didn’t count them all but there must have been around 600 or 700 in total as well as hundreds of photographs of buses and bus magazines from as early as 1949.

“My dad was very frugal and didn’t like any waste. The bus models were made from card, packaging and acetate sheets for the windows, and he made his own decal transfers for the bus numbers.

“After he died, we found lots of books with notes, which we presumed were specific service numbers. We think all were of local buses from across Yorkshire.”

Not content with working on his many miniatures, Gordon even took his enthusiasm to the next level, restoring two full-sized buses, including a 1948 Leyland Tiger which he found in a field.

Restoring it to its former glory, remarkably he discovered it was the same bus which took him to school as a boy. Gordon would take it to frequent rallies and today it resides in Keighley Transport Museum.

Keen to see Gordon’s model collection and story preserved, his family approached Leeds Museums and Galleries, who arranged an eye-catching new display and tribute which can now be seen at Leeds City Museum.

Cath added: “I’m not sure what dad would have thought about the collection going on display - we think he may have thought people would find it strange for him to make these models and have this much interest in buses.

“But it feels like a tribute to the passion and dedication dad had to buses and his craftmanship. The attention to detail is astonishing.”

As well as a selection of around 140 of his models, the display features some of Gordon’s magazine collection as well as photographs of both the miniatures he created and his restored school bus.

Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture, said: “As well as being a celebration of one individual’s remarkable story, this display encapsulates the passion, enthusiasm and dedication which makes Leeds such a special place.

“It’s inspiring to see Dr Brooke’s efforts celebrated and for the museum to be encouraging visitors of all ages to think about how they can pursue their own hobbies and interests in similarly creative ways.”

Leeds City Museum is a Give What You Can museum, where visitors are invited to donate to support the museum if they are able.

Donations can be made via Tap to Give donations points on arrival or during your visit with contactless, Chip and Pin, cash and coins. 

More details on planning your visit, can be found at: Leeds City Museum | Leeds Museums and Galleries | Days out and exhibitions

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