Above: Roy, on the left, as a fireman with Charlie Hopwood, his regular driver, on 19th June 1959 at Darlington with Class A1 locomotive No. 60142 Edward Fletcher.
Photograph taken by Eric Treacy, lent by Roy Veasey.
We were very sorry to receive the sad news that Roy passed away on 14th January at the age of 89.
I first met Roy in summer 1963 when my father took some photographs of him and other railwaymen on Grantham station and at the Loco. Little could they have known that their friendship was planting a seed which, some 45 years later, would begin to grow into Tracks through Grantham.
After he retired Roy wrote his memoir, ‘My Railway Life’, and when I visited him in 2008 he gave me a copy. When Tracks through Grantham took its first tentative steps he kindly consented to its publication, and ‘My Railway Life’ became the first personal account to appear on our website. There’s no doubt that it has inspired many others to become contributors to our project, and I'm sure it will continue to do so. You can read Roy's personal story of his working life on the railway here.
Roy lent his support to Tracks through Grantham in many ways. We are greatly saddened to have lost such a good friend.
Roy's funeral will be held in Grantham on Monday 5th February. Here is a link to the family announcement.
John Clayson