Sidney Read - The Signalman

1
Sidney Read - The Signalman

• I left school at 14 and joined the railway in
  1933 as a bellboy. My first uniform had that
  many buttons that my nickname became Buttons.
  A pile of block books was provided for me to
  stand on because I wasnt tall enough to reach
  the telephone.
• When I moved to Hallaton Station in 1938 the
  stationmaster was Mr Gittins and the porter
  signalman was Nutty Smith. We kept the
  platform clean and tidy, trimmed the lamps, sold
  tickets, opened the signal box when necessary and
  looked after the general public. It was our job
  to load and unload livestock onto the cattle dock
  and supervise the weighing of trucks on the
  weighbridge.
• A well and pump situated at the top of the
  railway cottage gardens was the only source of
  water for the station. It was my job every
  morning to pump water for the station, the
  toilets and finally to fill the tank in the
  Station Masters house. It took 600 pumps of
  the handle just to supply the station!

I left Hallaton Station when I was 21 to join the
Royal Engineers and fight in the Second World
War. On my return nearly six years later, the
job at Hallaton that was promised would be
waiting for me, had gone to somebody else and I
was sent to Ashley and Weston. I retired from
British Rail in 1984 after 50 years service. My
grandson inherited my railway topcoat, a cause of
much hilarity to his school mates my railway
cap has been to many a fancy dress party but my
daughter has kept my buttons as a souvenir of
my life on the railway.
2
Nat Horsley - The Platelayer

• William Henry Horsley, (Nat) was born in 1905 and
  lived in Eastgates with his wife Lillian and
  daughter Sue.
• Nat, who served in the RAF, joined the railway at
  Hallaton as a platelayer after the war and worked
  on the line until the station closed.
• This picture shows him on his motorbike,
  decorated with white ribbons ready for his
  wedding.
• Sue remembers her father teaching her to ride her
  bike along the New Road beside the platelayers
  hut.

3
Eric Ghent - The Engine Driver

• Eric Ghent was born in Hallaton and worked on the
  railway for 45 years. As a driver he travelled
  regularly through Hallaton to Melton Mowbray.
• He vividly remembers Hallaton Gentlemens
  lavatory as having one of the most beautifully
  decorated pedestals on the branch line.
• He also remembers Bill Kirkham, also an engine
  driver from No.2 Station Cottages, taking on the
  responsibility of looking after his neighbour Sid
  Reads chickens whilst on holiday. Bill, on
  returning from night duty at 4.00 am decided, as
  it was a lovely morning, to let the chickens out
  and go to bed. When he later returned to feed
  Sids chickens the fox had killed the lot!

Eric, second left, with friends on the French TGV
at Chatillon Depot, Paris in November 1991.