R h n hardy collection
Download 0.62 Mb.
|
THE LAST VISIT “ON BR, SO TO SPEAK” WAS IN 1971. BOBBIE LAWRENCE WAS NO LONGER OUR GENERAL MANAGER WHO HAD BROAD VIEWS AND HIS PLACE WAS TAKEN BY MEN WHO HADN’T. ‘NUFF SAID’. BUT THIS WAS AS GOOD A VISIT AS EVER AND OF THOSE WHO CAME ONLY LUCIEN FASQUELLE , MAURICE SAISON AND JEAN QUERLIN HAD NOT BEEN BEFORE SO HERE WE GO! RH 724 Lucien Fasquelles, the last driver of E17 with George Barlow on the Goddess. He loved England and he was a great cyclist(his velo). Calais-Moscow was a piece of cake to him in his retirement. He was near the top of Edmond’s list, one of the best of the Calais ”Senateurs”. RH 725 George and Maurice Saison, that scourge of Calais management and member of the CGT as indeed was “Dunstable”. Maurice had been known to thump the Patrons’s table which was a terrible crime in France but by no means unknown at Stewarts Lane, Stratford and just about any shed in the country. Normally the selection for the visits was nothing to do with me but I liked Maurice and asked for him to come for he was very English except in appearance for he resembled a certain well known Australian cricketer of the 1920s. RH726 George, Gilbert Sueur, ex mecru of E14 and E41 and also chauffeur to Rene Gauchet when he was young on the E14, a lovely man, strong and friendly and very conscientious: Bill Doughty as ever a marvellous guide who has little French but he is one of them: and Henri Dutertre. He and Gilbert were veteran visitors, Gilbert of the first 1963 group, with two from Calai, One from Fives, two from Boulogne and one from La Chapelle. RH727 Lucien again as he looked on his E17 with Fred White and George Chatillon RH 728 Richard Batten(RH&DR), Maurice Vasseur, Jean Querlin who came up from Boulogne as Chef when Marcel Devewvre retired and Edmond Godry moved up to be Chief Inspector at Calais, a man who could have been Chief Inspector of the Region had he been prepared to move to Paris. Then George, Lucien and Henri RH 729 Travelling “pass” on the 15” gauge: Lucien and the “formidable” Maurice Saison RH730 The journey down from Charing Cross to Ashford had been with an excellent Tonbridge driver whose name I cannot remember but I might find out with a bit of luck. L-R Jean Querlin, Maurice Vasseur( hidden for once!), Maurice with his pipe, Gilbert Sueur, Fred White(hidden), Bill Doughty, Henri Dutertre, Georges Chatillon, now Chef de Depot of which Edmond was to be the last who carried the full responsibilities including C&W.. Quite a few travelled in the cab and were entertained by our Tonbridge friend. RH 731 At Hythe, the standard picture with the Goddess and George and by now you will know the names: the same as above. RH 732Before the Hythe trip, Bill Doughty had arranged for the group to stay at the Training School near Windsor in some luxury. This is the evening before the final departure: Fred White, Jean Querlin, Bill Doughty and Georges Chatillon and next day I met them about 0930 at Charing Cross. RH 733 .And now for the open road. Changing over half way: George and Jean Querlin. RH 734 A very friendly photo: Richard Batten, Gilbert Sueur, Maurice Vasseur and George: Gilbert and Maurice ready for the fray. RH 735 George and Gilbert Sueur with Henri in the wings and wearing a RH&DR cap. RH 736 Where the lettering can be seen more clearly: they are changing over again out on the Romney Marsh with the sheep in the background: George and Henri RH 737 The cap has now been passed to Lucien who is with George with Maurice Saison wearing my inspector’s overall passed down to me by Marcel when he retired and now with that distinguished Festiniog and Welsh Highland driver Paul Ingham. RH 738 The ”Goddess” Maurice and Richard drinking their coups de rouge while Maurice stands by in his rather nicely cut suit! . RH 739 Before the first trip,, another technical huddle and inspection of the “Goddess”. RH740 The locomotive inspected, there is a glance for the unbelievable surroundings in which the Frenchmen find themselves. RH 741 M. Le President oiling the motion with an unusual lubricant of dubious quality but she didn’t run hot: no prizes for the grade of oil nor the unusual type of feeder. RH 742 Lucien stands by and is doing a spot of cleaning.742 Maurice Vasseur in suit and beret with Lucien at the ready and Gilbert (whose liver is no longer outraged as it was said to be first thing)standing by at Hythe second trip, I think. The perfect Frenchmen RH 743 Another inspection: this time of the tender. Maurice Saison and Gilbert RH 744 A close-up from the jetty; unusually we are the same level with the upper deck: so here they go for the last time: how sad but by 1973, I would no longer be in a position to entertain as of right being at Railway Board Headquarters from Oct 1073.Lucien had been in tears when we shook hands: Fred has his nautical cap and if you don’t know the others by now, you never will but it is a group of eight very happy men and so were Bill Doughty and I. RH 745 A lot of photographs were taken in Liverpool by the regular press photographers but they did not follow us to the top of the new turning tower that the Queen had recently opened. It is a truly wonderful view across the Mersey and onto Wales.. This time we had Ben Hervey- Bathurst as the perfect interpreter and how he loved meeting the French Railwaymen as you will see in the next series of photographs for he had worked with the Resistance in the war. SNCF CAPTIONS 746-795.ALL FRENCHMEN IN ENGLAND RH 746 In later years, Peter, our younger son and I visited France and we took this picture of two “Sons of Boulogne” who had worked at Calais and were now deep in retirement. Louis Sauvage(L) and Josef Six(R). Louis fired on E7 for many years, Josef was a fitter and turner at Boulogne and about to be made redundant, came to Calais, passed to drive the 141Rs after a period firing as a chauffeur de remplacement (spare man). I often laugh at these two dear men who, Peter says, look like members of the “Boulogne Mafia”! Peter can’t talk as he is wearing a “Donkey Jacket” which makes him an honorary member. RH 747 (Copy of official SNCF photo 1964) Andre Duteil’s retirement after working CC40103 from Aulnoye Paris Nord or maybe from Brussels. Andre is wearing the ”Quille” and holding Madame’s flowers. The”Honneur aux Retraites” board will have been carried throughout and another quille is on the LH buffer beam of the engine. Annie is their daughter with another Andre .her husband(L), Madame as buxom as Andre is lean behind him and two other members of the family. Before long, there will be a considerable party either at the Gare du Nord or at La Chapelle depot. Andre was a very popular man RH 748 A profile of Monsieur Phillipe Leroy in the cab of the Blue Deltic travelling between Grantham and King’s Cross. How much do we all owe him, a wonderful friend to all of us BR men. RH 749 Driver Piggins of King’s Cross, Phillipe Leroy and George Harland, Chief Locomotive Inspector ER with the Deltic at Peterborough. (Barry When you print this one, please do it horizontally. You can cut George off at the midriff, it won’t hurt him.) RH 750 Visit of Andre Duteil and Henri Duteil to England in 1961 at Dover Marine with Driver Jack May of Stewarts Lane and the late David Kirby, Shipping Manager at Dover who would rise to great heights on BR. The engine is one of the 73000 electric locomotives heading the Golden Arrow. RH751/752 We visited Stratford Loco on a Sunday afternoon and here are Andre and Henri much interested in the V & P of this LTV N7 and equally so in a very old”Black Goods”, steam brake J15. They marvelled at it’d simplicity and that of the little “Buck” in the distance still with its wooden cab roof, both very old engines and I think that 5361 was the last of the breed in 1961 and lasted to the end of steam a year later. She was built in 1889: “well done thou good and faithful servant” George Mitchell, Examining Inspector, who travelled with both men in France came with us. RH 753 Andre Duteil at the regulator of a West Country somewhere around Brockenhurst. Thumbs up, he says but he did not care for Mr Bulleid’s steam reverser and I don’t blame him: they were Bert Hooker’s guest for the day and they made the most of it RH 754 At Bournemouth West there is usually time for a photograph. Here is the legendary Bert Hooker in his best overalls washed by hand no doubt time and time again: he is a travelled man, many times on the Eastern Region and he wears his overalls in the Eastern style with the top or top two buttons done up and the Southern and Western style of overall trousers which needed braces rather than the bib and brace of the ER and LMR. .Andre and Henri wear the standard French industrial and agricultural overall available in shops and in the Economat near Calais Ville and Andre wears the SNCF goggles, a great help but absolutely essential with stoker fired engines.; what a remarkable difference in style those 25 miles of sea crossing do make yet all three men drawn close together by the great bond of the railway fraternity. RH 755 On another visit with the Chef de depot, M.Eugene Lavieville in 1965, Henri has hold of 34052, a rebuilt West Country somewhere south of Brockenhurst: very determined! RH 756 And on the platform at Southampton Central, Bert Hooker, Eugene and Henri against their engine. RH 757/758 757 has RH on it at the expense of Basil de Iongh and this was a wonderful gathering organised by Gwenda: we had the two Frenchmen Eugene and Henri and our three great Francophile friends, James Colyer-Fergusson next to Eugene, then George Carpenter and Basil de Iongh. On the R is Madame Franco, Russian by birth, lived in Tunisia, spoke French perfectly and taught it but had never been to France! Gwenda looking elegant on the right and also our three Anthea, James and Peter in our garden at Oakhill Crescent, Surbiton probably about 1962. RH 759 Edmond Godry with our Peter, Francoise Godry and her Mother Denise on the Eastnor Castle Estate steam roller in front of Eastnor Castle, home of Ben and Elizabeth Hervey-Bathurst. A happy happy visit for us all where the Godry’s were given an amazing welcome in 1975. RH 760 The Eastnor Traction Engine with James H-B with Michel Robillard and Paul Bomy both from Calais double-manning the Bathurst’s venerable machine. RH 761A splendid side-on view of the old engine and it’s intrepid operators in vigorous if doubtful action. RH 762/763 I feature on 762 at the expense of J H-B and James is on 763 L-R apart from RH are Paul Bomy wearing my overalls LNER fashion, Ben very serious in one and actually smiling in 763, Jean Querlin from Calais and a friend of James’, Gervais who looks remarkably like Gordon Pettitt of BR! Michel on the footplate working out what’s what for he will be at home if the old thing is a compound. Ben makes a point of looking serious when involved with steam traction engines so he said! The same venerable machine. RH764 Here she is again but with a different equipe: this time Lucien Fasquelle once of 231 E 17 and one of the best of the splendid Calais “Senateurs” along with Josef Six, a perfectly well matched pair. Josef died at the age of 54 but Lucien is still going strong, the same age as me, He says 1923 was a good vintage. RH 765 Ben looking like a real steam man with Lucien, Josef and James H-B RH 766 Blowing off steam, this won’t do at all especially with French enginemen. RH 767 This is the best of all. Here is Josef Six, hand on the throttle, assistants convulsed with laughter, making a good three mph and heading straight for a tree. Grimly determined and concentrating hard, he fails to hear until almost two late the calls for him to alter course. Her winds the wheel gently as he would notching up a PO and nothing happens, then frantically and the great machine veers to the left and promptly heads for further obstacles. Everybody(except for Josef) is weak with laughter. It seems all wrong to a railwayman to have to steer! Such wonderful days with the Bathurst’s at Eastnor. . RH767A After the visit to Eastnor Castle, we stayed in a hotel overnight and called on Alun Rees, then the Locomotive Engineer of the Severn Valley Railway next morning. We had a thoroughly happy day and here is Lucien Fasquelle, Alun Rees and Josef Six, proving the point!. It is sad to think that after Josef retired at the age of 50, he died within the next two years. He had a Workshop background at Boulogne, made redundant on closure, did two years firing at Calais and then passed for driving on the diesels, the 72000 and 66000 class that worked Calais-Amiens. Lucien is still going strong, the same age as me and we were both born on 1923.” Now it is supper time, long past and then two hours writing to come and sadly I shall look at Match of the Day to watch Liverpool’s tragic loss in the last minute of the game. Now the only thing they can win is the FA Cup Quarters v Stoke at home where they consistently draw as they were doing today. RH 768 Now the visit of Andre Duteil on his own to stay with James in London. We are in the splendid dining room at Eastnor in the Bathurst’s apartment upstairs. Some historical paintings as a back drop to an artistic Andre talking to Denis Brandt. Andre has yet to change for lunch. He is wearing what had been Marcel Dewevre’s chef mecs overall which he had given to me. Marcel was a rotund 6’ 2” and Andre just five feet tall. . RH 769 Lunch is over: one of Mrs Onyons best. Her son had been on the footplate and then transferred to the signalman’s grade and was at Ledbury where he had also been based on the bankers Ben is on the left, Andre is sitting, James Colyer-Fergusson and Ben’s half brother home from America. Ben and he was a magnificent pair. RH 770 Again Andre, his grandson Thiery and James C-F with Denis Brandt and his sons in front of the Castle and with the old Foden tractor as the backcloth. RH 771 Relaxed discussion before going home between a retired French engine driver born in Angouleme and the very best stamp of a patrician Englishman completely at home with one another. Andre and Ben. RH 772 This is the summer of 1980 when Jacques Vidal of Troyes, a very remarkable man still going strong as I write on 20/5/2008 aged 90. He had been an apprentice on the C de F de L’Est starting in 1932 aged 14: then fitter, leading fitter during the war in which he served in the Resistance Fer: later appointed Foreman Fitter on shift work. He then went to Abysinnia as Head of the Workshop in Addis Ababa but his Wife, Jeannine, could not take the climate and he had to return to France. He restarted on the SNCF and was successively cleaner, chauffeur de route(when I met him in 1961), eleve mecanicien, meru, chef mecru and then returned to the Troyes Workshops as Chef d’Ateliers. Here he is at Eastnor Castle: he was without doubt a Patriot but his greatest hero is Winston Churchill to whom he listened during the war. He never forgets his visit to Eastnor and I shall never forget the drive from the station at Ledbury through the streets but Jacques and myself crammed next to James H-B and James C-F behind us. Jacques had been in the cab for about 15 seconds and suddenly pronounced with great emphasis “MACHINE COMPOUND”. He missed nothing.. James C-F is on the left, Peter Brandt on the right and a woolly friend in the middle. RH 773 Here is Lisa and Peter Brandt and Nicholas with James, Jacques, James C-F and Ben and the old Foden yet again as the backcloth. RH 774 Two super profiles in conversation- one very French and the other very English- one who never dreamed of visiting an English castle as a guest nor meeting an English family like the Bathurst’s: both had much in common and were completely at ease with one another. Incidentally, 763-774 were Stewarts Lane engines when I was there and we will conclude with 791-795 which were also ours! Happy memories! RH 775 Another family group at Eastnor Castle: the family Peter Brandt, Lisa, Peter and Nicholas with James and Elizabeth and Ben H-B and Jacques Vidal in the cab where he belongs. RH 776 At ours with Jacques on our own Huyton seat before it went to our James and Irene in London. RH 777 We are somewhere on the “Norf Kent” with Bert Hooker and Jacques’ memorable journey long, long, after the days of steam(1925) to Charing Cross and Sammy Gingell’s “Norf Kent Splash”. It could be Dartford maybe? RH 778 By this time, Jacques had got used to our EP brake of which the brake application positions were the exact opposite to the French Westinghouse. His first application however had brought the luggage off the racks but after that all went well. Bert Hooker in his penultimate year of service was extremely happy at Slade Green where it took more than two years to work through the roster! His father had started there in SECR days, in 1915. The present day men were the friendliest crowd with whom he had ever worked, many of them being ex “B.Arms Barstards” from the Old Kent Road. This applied to SECR sheds as a whole as well I know. FINALLY THREE MORE “ONE-OFF VISITS” TO THE RH&DR RH779 At New Romney and ready to leave for Hythe with Peter Catt and our old friend Marcel Dewevre, the then Chef Mecanicien at Calais: he always had that enigmatic smile and he had been a Chef since 1949 having had it tough in the war. On one occasion, he was protecting his derailed train which had been tipped over by the Resistance. He was found laying detonators by the Germans and after they had finsihed with him, he was all but left for dead. He was at Amiens at the time as a fireman. Both he and Peter are smoking Marcel’s small cigars for he would not touch Les Gauloises RH 780 One of the few photos at Dungeness for I think that we were on a service train on both these occasions with just two visitors.: no I am wrong, it was a special train(see 781) but we went to Dungey just the same! James C-F, Peter Catt, George Barlow, Henri Dutertre and Marcel., a happy group against the Southern Maid. RH 781/2 Tom Miller’s family( but where is Tom such a good man to us all and to the RHDR) Marcel, Bert Hooker just arrived form London, James, Henri and GAB(781) and RH(782). At Hythe with the Southern Maid and the special Calaisian headboard. RH 783 Henri very much in charge of Southern Maid and very much the Mechanicien. RH 784 “Lucky Miriam” She was George’s Wife and here she is with her arms round her husband and Henri and nearly off the ground. Johnny Wootton and Peter Catt are in the background at New Romney facing Hythe. RH 785 Josef Six came with Lucien Fasquelle on the last French trip to Romney in 1976 and they are with John Snell who was to become General Manager for many years and in the background is the Krupp Pacific whose name is cannot remember at the moment. I think it was “Der Rosenkavalier” but I am not sure until I can check it.. We are standing at New Romney. RH 786 The Romney had sorted out that old German Krupp and it became an excellent performer. This is George Barlow and a splendid portrait of the calm and immensely satisfied Josef Six. RH 787 Another lovely picture of the three contestants including Lucien who was Edmond Godry’s choice as the very best of the Calais Senateurs. Those in charge all had their ace-men and they never agreed! Which was good. RH 788 In 1975, we had Jean Querlin, Paul Bomy, Michel Robillard now a Mecanicien just in time to get some steam driving as did Paul Bomy whilst Jean had been Chef Mec at Boulogne and then came to Calais when Edmond moved up.as Chef de Depot. He retired in 1979 and we saw him off with Denise in the Senior Officers mess at BRB Marylebone chartered for the occasion. Here they are with that ”Sammy Gingell” of the RH&DR, Eric Copping who was ex BR Colchester and loved the Romney as much as he loved a ”Little Sprint” as old Sam used to say. The engine is the ”Typhoon”, Eric’s regular and at Romney ready to depart. NB 789 is the best photo for those who like the whole of the engine RH 789 The same group at Hythe soon after George Barlow had retired although he put his overalls on later in the day! RH 790 Paul Bomy on the platform at New Romney maybe a picture of interest to ear specialists as he was the only man I have ever met who could walk about with his outer ears safety tucked into the ear itself! The picture shows this spot of magic. Looking at the picture, I cannot see how it was done RH 791 Another very cheerful picture of the same folk. RH 792 The send-off at Romney before the group returned to Calais from Hythe and Folkestone. I am not sure of the names of the two RHDR folk at each end but perhaps somebody will put me right someday! GAB, Eric, Paul, Michel, Jean. Peter Hawkins and John Snell. Peter must still have been General Manager and John is Operating manager. RH 793 Where are we? Somewhere on the ex LNWR by the look of the signal-box: we have an Edge Hill driver and second man on the old Wigan Baby Sulzer D 5206, Driver Bob Sankey and Passed Fireman Dixie Dean still going strong. Anyhow, we have Andre Corbier second from the right with two of his Controllers for he is Head of the Permanance at Amiens, ie Chief Controller for the Amiens District. Otherwise, L-R is Johnny Connolly, Bill Cooper who has come out of retirement for the ride, Bob Sankey, Ken Lord, the two SNCF controllers, Danny Whelan, Dixie, Andre and Bill Coffey, Traffic Inspector vice Bill Cooper. RH 794 A French visit to Liverpool on a small scale. Edmond Godry still Chef Mecanicien in 1971 accompanied Jean Ringot, The Mayor of Calais and a mecru at Calais. Amongst many other things, I took them to see the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, quite an occasion and we took them out in the inspection saloon another day for a tour of the Liverpool Division. Danny Whelan, David Lowry, a friend for way back, Edmond, Jean Ringot, our pilotman from Birkenhead, I would think for George Fitzpatrick being an Edge Hill man knew everywhere on their side of the Mersey. Then Ken Lord, Peter the Dutch cook of the Civil Engineers dept , George Fitzpatrick in the extra Link at Edge Hill and a splendid railwayman, his young mate and Bill Coffey. RH795 Henri and Lucien came to Liverpool about 1977 to go to Anfield nor where they disappointed as most of the Calais men in those days supported Liverpool and maybe Man United as a second choice. There they are at Euston with Driver Cyril Lewis of Edge Hill and they were most impressed with the journey An 86 was a much better prospect when matched against the 72000 diesels they drove between Calais and Amiens. They were magnificent machines. I travelled on the 81s and 85s but never the ”Supersonics” which were kept off the expresses, class 84. MISCELLANEOUS NEGATIVES 796-917
796 With his famous bike on which he always came to work 797/8 are standing on the platform being photographed, 798 being the best. 799 Clipping a lady’s ticket at the barrier. He was, of course, well known by all the Western Section Motormen some of which had started at Stew Lane and had even fired for him.
Download 0.62 Mb. Share with your friends:
|