Adrian
May 8, 2023
by mark rankine
I first met Adrian back in 1989, when he joined the YTS/RTS Traffic Trainee scheme at Luton he was a quiet little chap with a funny ginger crew cut, after getting to know Adrian, it soon became clear he wasn’t so quiet and was really something of a practical joker, we had worked together on numerous occasions throughout our time on the scheme and soon became good friends.
In the early 1990 he joined the Revenue Protection Team at Bedford and became a Senior Ticket Examiner and then Revenue Protection Inspector again we were back in the same team.
During that time we had many memories, such as the weird Lady that chased him up the train to complain at Elstree who was so vociferous, Adrian locked himself in the loo just to get away from her!
A few of us in the team would go to the beer festival at Bedford Corn Exchange which was always an interesting experience as youngsters, being half cut on strong beer by teatime!
Adrian and I went to a Wales v Scotland Rugby game at Wembley, Adrian was so very excited and looking forward to the game, I wasn’t feeling great at all that day and spent the whole game in the Wembley sick bay leaving Adrian to watch the entire game on his own start to finish, which I don’t think Adrian was too impressed about, sorry about that mate.
1993 saw introduction of Penalty Fares on the Thameslink Route, the day Penalty Fares were introduced, Adrian and myself were sent out on a photoshoot, checking trains and standing at St Albans barriers the pictures appeared in the local press and in the Thameslink Staff Magazine.
Being a Revenue Protection Inspector he had a number of successes capturing long term fare evasion, in his time at Bedford we had worked on numerous cases together with the British Transport Police on the Thameslink Route.
He was a really popular member of the team with having a few nick names given to him such as “Charlie Drake” because of his likeness to the English comedian, actor, writer and singer. “Yesh” because of the way he pronounced yes sometimes.
As I mentioned Adrian was a bit of a joker and could have made a career out of the impressions he did, on many occasions he had the team laughing at impressions that he used to do, some of colleagues others of celebrities, I often had a few of them tailor made from Adrian, it was all good fun though.
Adrian moved off to Scotrail based at Euston for a few years but we never lost touch with each other, eventually he returned to Thameslink, in the Safety Team. Safety soon became his forte and his area of expertise many Managers and staff appreciating his training sessions and sound advice.
Adrian you will be truly missed by many far and wide, you will never been forgotten and never will be.
We didn’t get to do our walking at the weekends in the end as we promised, but I know you’ll walking beside me in spirit the next time I walk through Steppingley Road Field listening to the skylarks above.
Rest in peace my dear friend.
In the early 1990 he joined the Revenue Protection Team at Bedford and became a Senior Ticket Examiner and then Revenue Protection Inspector again we were back in the same team.
During that time we had many memories, such as the weird Lady that chased him up the train to complain at Elstree who was so vociferous, Adrian locked himself in the loo just to get away from her!
A few of us in the team would go to the beer festival at Bedford Corn Exchange which was always an interesting experience as youngsters, being half cut on strong beer by teatime!
Adrian and I went to a Wales v Scotland Rugby game at Wembley, Adrian was so very excited and looking forward to the game, I wasn’t feeling great at all that day and spent the whole game in the Wembley sick bay leaving Adrian to watch the entire game on his own start to finish, which I don’t think Adrian was too impressed about, sorry about that mate.
1993 saw introduction of Penalty Fares on the Thameslink Route, the day Penalty Fares were introduced, Adrian and myself were sent out on a photoshoot, checking trains and standing at St Albans barriers the pictures appeared in the local press and in the Thameslink Staff Magazine.
Being a Revenue Protection Inspector he had a number of successes capturing long term fare evasion, in his time at Bedford we had worked on numerous cases together with the British Transport Police on the Thameslink Route.
He was a really popular member of the team with having a few nick names given to him such as “Charlie Drake” because of his likeness to the English comedian, actor, writer and singer. “Yesh” because of the way he pronounced yes sometimes.
As I mentioned Adrian was a bit of a joker and could have made a career out of the impressions he did, on many occasions he had the team laughing at impressions that he used to do, some of colleagues others of celebrities, I often had a few of them tailor made from Adrian, it was all good fun though.
Adrian moved off to Scotrail based at Euston for a few years but we never lost touch with each other, eventually he returned to Thameslink, in the Safety Team. Safety soon became his forte and his area of expertise many Managers and staff appreciating his training sessions and sound advice.
Adrian you will be truly missed by many far and wide, you will never been forgotten and never will be.
We didn’t get to do our walking at the weekends in the end as we promised, but I know you’ll walking beside me in spirit the next time I walk through Steppingley Road Field listening to the skylarks above.
Rest in peace my dear friend.