JAMES LONG

It is with great sadness and shock we are reporting the sudden passing of Jim Long. Jim was a regular contibutor to our blog and has been a truly good friend to myself for the past twelve years or so.

I first came across Jim after he emailed me back in 2004 regarding a photo of mine he had seen in Buses magazine and he asked me if i could send him a copy to which i duly obliged and from that day on we became firm friends and began to share our photographs from our local areas. Jim was Ipswich through and through and his knowledge of all things Eastern Counties and Ipswich Buses was huge going back to the 1950's. His collection of photos was massive, i am lucky enough to have copies of many of his Black & White images he has taken and collected over the years and he was always grateful to me for sharing all my photos from trips around our area.

ECOC Bristol RE HAH891D taken by Jim on Yarmouth Sea Front in July 1966.

Jim had health issues earlier in his life which he overcame and once retired he was always out and about with his devoted wife Eve capturing the latest happenings around Ipswich, he had a problem with large crowds which stopped him from attending events such as Showbus and various local rallies in the past few years but always made and effort to keep his collection of FEC and Ipswich Buses photos up to date whilst i did my best to assist him from this end with Norwich, Yarmouth & Lowestoft pictures which i know he was always truly grateful. I met Jim and his wife Eve on many occasions and his enthusiasm for Transport was endless and we shared thousands of emails, texts and numerous phone calls over the years all about this hobby of ours, sadly our last message was last night when he sent his photos from Simon Morris of the Blue Line repaint, i know he would have been out this morning with Eve at his side getting some more for us today! Needless to say the phone call from his Son in Law today came as a true shock and i still cannot believe you have gone buddy. He never forgot my childrens Birthday's or Christmas Cards and whenever i saw him he would always put a note in my hand and tell me to spoil them. His kindness and thoughfulness will be missed and it will be a while before i get used to not seeing the words 'Jim Mobile' pop up on my phone with a text saying 'Pics in ur box'

There have been lots of kind tributes and words about Jim today across social media, he was truly respected and well liked within the Enthusiast circles and his face and photos will be sorely missed by many people around the area. He was a special man who always went out of his way to make sure i was ok with my personal life and helped me along the way with some wise words. I will miss you Jimbo and as you always said to me 'Take Care'

Myself and Roy would like to thank Jim for his contibutions and being part of our Blog Family, they will be truly missed.

Our Thoughts, Prayers and Love are with Jim's wife Eve and his family.

Rest in Peace Buddy.      Grahame