Derwent Valley chairman applauds ' fantastic' volunteer recruitment day ahead of lockdown

WITH volunteers being the heart and soul of heritage railways, the chairman of the Derwent Valley Light Railway in North Yorkshire is hailing a" fantastic" inaugural recruitment day that saw 10 potential new volunteers coming through the gates.

Craig Benton said:" lt was a fantastic day, and much to our surprise many people attended. The feedback was also fantastic, and a big ' thank you' to all who helped out on the day, great teamwork as usual:'

The event was held on March 14, so just beating the coronavirus lockdown, and after assessing the event, trustee Allan Briggs has told members of the railway he was hopeful that some of those who attended may become volunteers. Indeed, such was its success that it has been decided to hold two a year in the future.

The day, which was advertised on local radio as well as other media, included displays, outlining plans for the railway, in what roles volunteers were sought, a tour of the site, and train, cab and brake van rides.

Members have also been told of the death of a former long- time volunteer at the age of 100, plus a Second World War Normandy veteran who was a frequent and much- loved visitor. The centenarian was Des Telford, of whom roster clerk Trevor Humbey said:" His best skill was electrical wiring and installation, and he would do a job and say that it was temporary and he'd do it right in a few weeks, but it looked fine to us. He was a perfectionist, and a gentleman:'

The war veteran was Ken Smith, who died on April 13 at the age of 95.

A popular supporter of the railway who often wore his various medals with great pride, Ken served with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry as a signaller in the Normandy campaign of 1944, where he landed on Gold Beach on June 6.

After fighting his way through Belgium and Holland he was repatriated following serious shrapnel injury, and friend Nick Beil by, writing in the spring issue of the Derwent Valley Light Railway Society news, said: "Ken could never understand why people thanked him for his service, and this was exemplified on his visits to the railway, of which he was immensely proud and grateful:'

The railway is a restored stretch of a line that ran 15 miles from York Layerthorpe to Cliffe Common near Selby, which opened in 1912 for mainly agricultural traffic, although passenger trains ran until 1926.

It defied absorption in the 1923 Grouping and Nationalisation in 1948, and remained independent until closure in September 1981, by which time it was one of the country's last operational privatelyowned standard gauge railways. The motive power in its latter days was two Class 04 diesels bought from BR.

In 1990 preservationists took over a half- mile stretch of the line within Murton Park on the eastern outskirts of York, the home of the Yorkshire Museum of Farming, and two years ago they celebrated the silver jubilee of the launch of its regular passenger service. One of the former Class 04s that worked the line until closure, D2245 ( Derwent Valley Railway No. 2), has been preserved and is now based at the railway.

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