norman topsom 2808

A PORTRAIT of a former railway chargeman has been relocated following the refurbishment of the ticket hall at Twyford Station.

About a dozen Great Western Railway staff joined commuters for the unveiling of a portrait of Norman Topsom, a lifelong Henley resident, on Thursday at lunchtime.

The work, a commissioned piece by Twyford artist Terri Jones, had been moved from its former location on a platform to protect it from sun damage.

It was first installed in 2015 when Mr Topsom retired from his role after more than 50 years working at the stations in Henley, Twyford and Reading.

Mr Topsom was born in Henley and started working at the old town station when he left school in 1962.

He later moved to the parcel depot at Reading but spent most of his working life as chargeman at Twyford Station.

Pat Reade, duty station manager for 38 years, arranged for an inscription on the portrait, stating “our friend and Twyford station master” which has been re-framed, and hung adjacent to the ticket desk following a £250,000 refurbishment of the ticket hall.

Work included redecoration, installation of open-plan windows and new flooring, seating and doors. The space will also accommodate the move of Puccino’s coffee shop, which is currently located on the platform, for safety reasons.

Mr Reade gave a short speech during a presentation and cake-cutting ceremony inside the ticket office joined by Neil Gunnell, of Henley Trains, station administrator Alice Tilley, Tom Addison, who mans the ticket office, railway mission chaplain John Roe, and customer services staff Ray Manka and George Vadakkan.

Mr Reade said: “Norman was my boss and he is a legend.

“We thought, ‘his photo has got to come in and go on the wall’ to give it a bit more pride of place in the ticket office.

“Norman was popular here at the station because of his humanity and sense of humour, his sense of purpose and acts of care.

“The passengers all loved him and his relationship to the station was really good.

“Legend had it, Norman would walk down from Henley if the trains were not running and do what he could to help people and sometimes sleep in the office.”

Colleague Mike Swift said: “Norman has left a legacy that we all have to live up to here which has not been easy because he was well liked by the people of Henley and Twyford and to live up to his reputation has been difficult.

“Everybody compares what we do to what he used to do.

“It was his station and he was station furniture. He worked hard to get to know the passengers and made friends with them. You would have thought the station was from the Fifties because of its cleanliness. He did the hanging baskets at the station.”

Mr Swift said the portrait was a “good reminder” of the station’s history.

“Norman got an MBE for his services to the railway. The place where the portrait was before is now a door so we thought we could bring it inside and protect it. It’s now in a picture frame instead of a poster frame so now people can clearly see it.”

Mr Topsom, of Gainsborough Hill, said he felt happy to see the portrait in its new location.

“I know it’s me, but there’s a lot of thought behind it. I’ve got a copy of it at home.

“It’s lovely that Terri painted it in the first place. I spent the last 28 years of my career here and it was a lovely job.”

He added: “The staff and customers I’ve met through the years have made this job worthwhile. It was a real pleasure to come to work.”