Nine Elms Locomotive Shed

IVOR LAWS

Mike Laws has written:
It is with considerable regret that I advise you of the passing of my father, Ivor Laws.
Despite suffering from a couple of serious complaints we were able to attend the August reunion for the past 4 or 5 years, something that he greatly enjoyed. As I worked in the CM&EE Dept and then the SW DMO I also knew many of the people that he engaged in banter with which often revolved around how the "lads" had changed since he had last seen them. The last two years had seen a marked deterioration in his mobility so we needed to use a wheelchair as he could only cover very short distances on foot - many thanks to all those who took the time to speak to him as it was quite a physically demanding exercise for him but each time he said he was glad he'd made the effort.

The funeral ceremony was on Tuesday 29th November at 12 noon at Easthampstead crematorium, Bracknell.

Mike Laws has also added the following:

As an aside, and leading on from one of your contributors recent comments about Pathe News, imagine back in 1969 going on holiday to Brighton and deciding to visit the cinema in the evening. Mum, Dad and I did just this when on comes Pathe News and there are Dad and I 20 feet tall on the screen; enough to make you drop your ice cream!

A couple of weeks earlier we'd gone to Twickenham where Flying Scotsman was assembling its train to tour the USA which was also a media launch for the trip. Dad saunters up to the loco and says to the Eastern Region crew "wanna come off?". You couldn't see them for dust and we ended up in charge of the loco with quite a few members of the Bracknell Railway Society in the cab as well. A short while later there's a film crew there asking questions and taking some footage. This I found on the Internet and shows a very youthful Ivor and an embarrassing skinny lad (me) holding onto the handrail.
British Pathe News clip

The idea was that the loco was static until the relief crew arrived and then shunted back from the bay platform 1 at Twickenham into the headshunt in the St Margarets direction and then run back into the bay platform as a pseudo departure for the press that had early deadlines to meet. Only later did the ensemble shunt across to the Down line to head off round via Hounslow to the NLL. During this shunt move several of us were shepherded into the observation car with, I believe, Trains Inspector Munday who was filmed walking through the train but the footage cuts off just as he loses his sea legs as we crossed a rough piece of track. This may only have been at walking pace but the light fittings swayed alarmingly, a few bits fell off the table and the Inspector's hat nearly fell off - they didn't repeat the move.

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