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RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: june 2017 :: RMTnews
28
Gordon Jones has been a
familiar figure at the train crew
and shunting grades conference
for many years. He celebrated
his retirement by publishing a
book about his experiences
during 50 odd years of service
in the indust4ry entitled My Life
on the Railways.
Gordon clearly has an
extraordinary memory as he
regales us with tales of a lost
world. He recounts his journey
into the industry in 1957and
remembers his wage packets
with remarkable recall. As a
teenage van boy he is treated to
cups of tea and kindness in and
around the Liverpool area.
It is here that he joins the
National Union of Railwaymen
and begins a life long
association with the NUR then
to become RMT.
He was offered a job as a
relief porter and it is here that
he has run-ins with escaped
prisoners, fare dodgers –
including a bank manager who
lost his job! –, passengers giving
birth, fish trains coming in from
Fleetwood and saves the life of
a driver by stopping a train
colliding with a car on the
track.
As he began to learn more
about the industry Gordon set
his heart on being a guard. This
was the start of a long career
looking after passengers.
Gordon’s skills as a trained first
aider were also to come in
handy many times even saving
lives.
It is clear from his stories
that the author is very
community spirited, combined
with a life-long dedicated to the
Salvation Army, constantly and
conscientiously assisting those
in distress.
Gordon’s recollections will be
interesting and amusing to rail
workers and many will
recognise the trials and
tribulations of working with the
travelling public. For every good
deed Gordon carries out he
seems to be working closely
with the authorities
apprehending thieves and ne’er
do wells.
He also describes his travels
around the country whilst
attending various RMT
conferences in his usual off-beat
observational style and Alan
Bennett himself would be
pleased with the result.
This little self-published book
is of course a highly personal
and idiosyncratic record of life
as a guard. While many a
publishing house would reject
this work we should be grateful
that Gordon has taken the time
to write about his unique and
eventful life on the railways.
For copies contact RMT
regional office in Liverpool.
A LIFE ON
THE RAILWAYS
By Gordon Jones