After assisting a blind man to board a Nottingham tramcar yesterday, two Lenton boys, Samuel Tring (13) and Alfred Scarlett (7), were involved in a collision with a bus and killed.
Tring, a choir boy, had been in the habit of seeing the man safely on the tram each day.
Charles Robinson, of Beeston, the driver of the bus, said he thought the boys were boarding the car.
He applied his brakes but could not avoid the accident, for they dashed from the car in front of the bus.
Both boys' families are in extremely poor circumstances. Tring was the eldest of five and was about to be confirmed. He was a member of Old Priory, Lenton, Choir.
When the news was broken to the family little sister of Tring gathered round their mother in the humble kitchen in an endeavour to comfort her.
Mrs. Tring's eyes glistened as she recounted how proud Samuel was to take the blind man to the tram each day.
"Sam was a great favourite," said his headmaster, Mr. F. Stowell, at Lenton Church schools, where many of the scholars cried when they heard the news in school.
"He was always kindly and helpful. Only a day or two ago," added Mr. Stowell, "he was selected to play outside-right for Nottinham Boys against Hucknell boys on Saturday next."