A GREAT-GRANDFATHER who spent his life working on the railway believes he may be the oldest Great Western Railway worker still alive in Didcot.

Treflyn Morris, 93 started working for Great Western Railway in 1943 at the age of 18 in Barmouth, North Wales.

It was not until 1945 in the Second World War, that Mr Morris was told to pack his bags and relocate from his home town in North Wales to Didcot because they needed more employees to work on the railway in Oxfordshire.

Now Mr Morris thinks he may be the oldest living Great Western Railway worker.

Oxford Mail:

Mr Morris said: "Because it was war time, they told me to go to Didcot and they wanted some people there to help out.

"So, I ended up here in 1945 and I have been here ever since doing railway work all kinds of railway work.

"I started as a young porter and worked my way up through different categories, I was a guard for 27 years."

He added: “I really enjoyed it, I worked on the Railway for almost 50 years and I loved every minute of it and now I have got a good pension.”

Oxford Mail:

After working his way through the ranks Mr Morris retired from Great Western Railway in 1991 and although he enjoyed working on the railway in Didcot and he feels it is something to be proud of, he still is enjoying his retirement.

He said: “I have made the most of retiring by travelling around the continents and going cruising, I enjoyed my retirement.

"Fortunately, I have had good health all the way through. I still have my hair and I am 6ft."

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The railway enthusiast reminisced over his career and the friends he made working in Didcot.

He said: “The building down near the station was the railway staff club where we used to meet all our friends. We had snooker tables there and we played table tennis.

" It was a good club the railway club, but I think now I may be the last member."

He added: “I have been wondering if I am classified as the oldest Great Western Railway worker in Didcot. I think it is something to be proud of."

Oxford Mail:

After making a few enquires Mr Morris is almost certain he is the oldest surviving Great Western Railway worker in the whole of Didcot.

Didcot was not only the place where Mr Morris worked and grew a career it was also where he met his wife Violet and settled down to have a family.

Violet Morris was originally from Northern Ireland and coincidentally it was when Mr Morris was transferred to Didcot to work on the railway in 1945 that she was also transferred to work as a catering assistant in the town.

Mr Morris said: “Strangely enough my wife from Northern Ireland, she was transferred the same time as I got transferred to Didcot. She was transferred as a catering assistant to work in a large hospital. So that is how I met my wife.”

Mrs Morris died in April 2017 aged 89 and her funeral was held in Didcot.

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The couple were married for 66 years and had a family in Didcot where they lived for many years.

The couple had two sons Paul and Michael and they went on to be grandparents and great-grandparents.

The Didcot railway worker still holds close photographs of his career, friends, and his wife Violet. Mr Morris even still has his old CV.

He also still has a photograph of him in Barmouth where he was born in 1926 to show his journey in his career as Great Western Railway worker which led him to his wife and across the country.