Leonard Woolf bust at Monk’s House in Rodmell, Sussex, England

On behalf of the Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain, Marielle O’Neill led the successful campaign for a Brighton bus to be named in honor of Leonard Woolf.

The bus will be named in the next four to eight weeks, and details will be added to the Brighton bus website.

Inspired by a chance encounter with the Virginia Woolf bus by society member Stephen Barkway, as reported in the January 2023 issue of the Virginia Woolf Bulletin, the campaign for a bus named after Leonard Woolf was led by Marielle O’Neill, who is undertaking a PhD. on Leonard and Virginia Woolf’s political activism.

Acknowledgements

O’Neill acknowledges the backing of the society, especially that of Claire Nicholson (chair), and Suren Paul (chair of the Leonard Woolf Society). Thanks also to Maria Caulfield MP, Cllr Paul Mellor and the Board of Deputies of British Jews for their valuable support.

The cover of Issue No. 72 – January 2023 of the Virginia Woolf Bulletin features the Brighton & Hove Virginia Woolf bus.

“It’s wonderful to see Leonard Woolf’s great contribution to politics and publishing recognised. Given Leonard Woolf’s activism in the local community and public-spirited nature it is particularly fitting that this tribute will benefit ordinary people in the Brighton area,” O’Neill said.

The bus to be named for Leonard Woolf is one of the brand new accessible Coaster buses, with two wheelchair bays, dementia-friendly flooring and seating, audio and visual next-stop announcements, and onboard loop system.

The Virginia and Vanessa buses

The Leonard Woolf bus will join existing buses named after Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell. Virginia’s bus, number 472, was named after her in March of 2021. Before that, her name adorned bus number 887 and 845, according to Barkway (35).

You can view both at the Brighton & Hove buses website.