Tales from the Four Foot Eight and a Half! I have chosen this title (with due deference to A A Milne) as a way of recording the stories of men and women who have worked on Britian’s railways and, in particular those whoese time was spent on former Great Western lines. I would
like to express my gratitude to them all for telling their stories My Life on the Railways in The Valleys
The life story of Percival Hanniford who Swapped the Sunshine of Jamaica for a Life in the Valleys of South Wales In November, Gareth Derry, Transport for Wales Safety Operations Team was given the privilege to interview Percival Hanniford, following an initial talk that he had with about moving from the Caribbean to the Valleys of South Wales and gaining employment on the railways. This was done as part of Black History Month. For Mr Hanniford, who is now 91 years old, coming to Britain was a brave step to take and here he tells about how it happened, how his life and that of his family changed, he recalls many stories about his life on the railways and the friends that he made.. Gareth Derry: Thank you for talking to me today. Coming to Britain in the late 1950s was a very bold step to take. How did it happen? Percival Hanniford: In 1958/59, there was a programme on our local radio in Jamaica every Sunday afternoon, saying, “If you want to come to Britain, listen each week to this programme and we will tell you all about the country.” They did just this, telling us not only the good things but also the bad things but highlighting the fact that there were lots of jobs available in Britain as it recovered from the War. My wife and I used to listen every week and, at that time I had a job but shortly afterwards, the Company went out of business. I was looking for alternative employment when I turned to my wife and said, “That sounds like a good opportunity”, but she did not think we could afford it. GD: What happened next? PH: My wife had two brothers living in England, so I asked her to write to them asking for their view on the situation. She did this and they 70
GREAT WESTERN STAR MAGAZINE
Mr Percy Hanniford
wrote back and said, “Come if you want to but it’s not a bed of roses!” So, having discussed it over and over, I took up the offer and we came to Britain in 1961/62, eventually settling in Cardiff. We could not afford to bring our four children with us, so we left them with our parents. I did not find work at once but my brother in law said to take the local paper – The Echo – for three pence and look through the jobs. Eventually, by the end of 1962 I saw an advertisement for a job with British Rail as a Guard – I thought that this must be as a soldier guard! It was my sister in law who explained that this meant a job on the railway! GD: How did you find things when you first arrived? PH: As I said, it was in 1961/62 when we arrived and 1962 was that extremely hard winter. I did not like the weather – it was so cold and such a change from the hot climate in the Caribbean! Remember that it was 1962, the year of the very cold weather and heavy snow. The River Taff froze so solid that you could walk across it. British Rail shut down and engines were abandoned where they stopped, is some cases for up to two days! Despite it not being as easy to get a job as we had been led to believe, never then or at any time in my career on the railway did I ever encounter any racism. At that time there were people from many different nations who had moved to Britain after the War to get employment. It was a rough time.
January/February 2021
