Tributes to a driving force
ONE of the Troubles' most heroic public servants – who personally removed bombs from buses – has died.
Werner Heubeck, who was the managing director of Ulsterbus from 1965 to 1988, passed away in the early hours of yesterday morning at the age of 85. He would have been 86 on Friday.
Ex-Ulsterbus employees said he was "inspirational" and recalled examples of him leading from the front, such as visiting bombed depots and driving the first bus back on to the streets in a bid to motivate others.
Former head of the civil service Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, who worked closely with Mr Heubeck when he was permanent secretary in the Department for the Environment, described him as "a remarkable man".
Mr Bloomfield said he had been regarded with affection by people in Northern Ireland for his bravery and regard for his staff.
"To go from being a German soldier in the Second World War to running Ulsterbus was a big journey," he said.
"I always found him fun to deal with.
"He enjoyed carpentry in his spare time and he actually made the board room table at Ulsterbus.
"He was a brave, unusual character and completely unflappable, no matter what happened."
Born in Nuremberg, Germany in 1923, Mr Heubeck was conscripted to serve with the German Air Force at the age of 19, but was captured by the American army in 1943 and spent the rest of the war in a prisoner camp in Louisiana where he learned English.
After returning to Germany in 1946 he met his wife Monica, who was an interpreter from south Wales. The couple moved to the UK where he later applied for the Ulsterbus job.
He became a well-known face in Northern Ireland throughout the 1970s and 1980s through his strong leadership under the most difficult of circumstances.
Twelve of the company's workers and 1,500 vehicles were lost during his tenure.
Determined to protect his employees, Mr Heubeck personally removed live bombs from buses and sometimes even drove buses under troubled circumstances to show solidarity with the drivers.
Frank Clegg, general manager for bus services with Translink, worked with Mr Heubeck for 15 years.
"He was a very inspirational man, he would have never asked anyone to do something he was not prepared to do himself," he said.
"If a depot had been bombed, he would have jumped into the first bus going out and driven it himself to motivate the staff.
"He led the company in extremely difficult circumstances.
"I think there was a great deal of respect for his leadership from the point of view he kept drivers in jobs by keeping the buses running even in very difficult circumstances.
"The company would like to offer their condolences to his family."
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Tuesday 29 May 2012
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