DAVID SHEPHERD: BOUNDLESS ENTHUSIASM

The late David Shepherd had a soft spot for South Africa. In fact he had a soft spot for many things: most notably wildlife and his other great passion, steam preservation. I first met David at a Battle of Britain Pilot’s Association Memorial dinner at Bentley Priory in 2003. When he realised I was from South Africa he immediately told me about his thundering great ‘15F’. He asked me if I knew anything about locomotives and I said I did have some acquaintance with them. He then said: “Do you know the ‘15F’?” to which I replied: “Yes, we have three of them.” David enjoyed dining out on the story for years to come. This was a fortuitous meeting because David expressed concern about the well-being of his locomotive and I undertook to investigate its status and report back. This resulted in David asking us to move it from Mason’s Mill in Natal, where it was not particularly secure, to the Sandstone Heritage Trust in the Eastern Free State. We enjoyed subsequent visits by David and even until his last days, he constantly asked how the locomotive was. Another trip was tentatively planned for 2017, but that was not to be. One of the great delights was to see David on the footplate of a big locomotive. He literally radiated contentment. There was something about steam locomotives that got right to the heart of this kind and gentle man. He was not the only enthusiast to be so absorbed by the magic of steam, but he did so in the most unabashed and innocent way. Railway preservation can attract rancour and disagreements, but David never breathed a word of discontent. He had his setbacks in the UK, but he was philosophical about them and was always happy to enjoy the moment. Those of us involved in railway preservation in South Africa have had to navigate through some very tricky waters through the last 20 years or so. The political environment has not been particularly conducive to the development of the sector, but David was valuable because he had stature, he was a participant in the railway preservation scene because of his ‘15F’, and whenever we wanted to make a point, we were able to mention David in order to demonstrate that railway preservation was not necessarily an enterprise attracting underfunded enthusiasts, but was something that people of substance were also prepared to support in every way possible. A few years ago, he sold the ‘15F’ to the Sandstone Heritage Trust. Because he was trying so hard to raise money for wildlife he was concerned that big locomotives are, inevitably, a drain on one’s finances. His ‘15F’ is currently stabled at Reefsteamers in Germiston, where it has recently had a thorough service. We see it as something that will retain its celebrity status forever. Now that David has passed on his big South African ‘15F’, which he had owned since 1991, it will remain the flagship for his memory in Africa, alongside his wildlife achievements which will never fade due to the work of the foundation which he created. Wilfred E. Mole, Sandstone Estates (Pty) Ltd, South Africa