Waterloo: Longest serving railway worker retires

Don Buckley, 82, is finally retiring almost seven decades after starting working for South Western Railway (SWR) at the age of 14.

Recently he has been working three shifts a week helping blind, visually impaired and disabled passengers at Waterloo station in central London.

Over the course of his dedicated service, Don helped customers and also gave his "unrivalled" knowledge of the capital to the public needing directions around the city.

After his illustrious career, he was given an official send-off at an event at Waterloo station yesterday (Wed).

During his time at the station, Don witnessed the last steam train leave Waterloo in 1967 and a cinema in the station which was in operation up until 1970.

He also saw the great train robber Buster Edwards setting up a flower stall outside following his release from jail in 1975 and scenes from James Bond's Skyfall and the Bourne Ultimatum action films being shot.

In recognition of his time pounding the floor of the busy station, Don was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Rail Business Awards two years ago.

But his decades-long service nearly never happened, as Don started working at London Waterloo by accident.

When he first arrived in London from his home in County Kerry, Ireland, in 1953 aged just 14 he jumped in a taxi and asked the driver to take him to "the big station in London".

He expected to be taken to Euston, but arrived at Waterloo, which in modern times before the pandemic dealt with more than 650,000 passengers a day.

Too young to be working on the trains, Don started his career as a station message boy and stayed working at the station 68 years later.

On his retirement, Don said: “I have loved working at Waterloo for all these years. The station may have changed a lot since the 1950s, but it’s still such a special place and I feel so lucky to have had so many wonderful experiences working here.

“The people are what make the station special and I will miss my colleagues and customers immensely. While all good things come to an end, Waterloo will always have a very special place in my heart”.

Chico Coulibaly, London Waterloo regional manager at South Western Railway, praised Don as a "much-loved" member of the team.

He said: “Don is a well-respected and much-loved member of our team. His wealth of knowledge about the railway, Waterloo and London is unrivalled, and he will be dearly missed by colleagues and customers alike.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank Don for all his years of service and the significant contribution he has made at Waterloo. We wish Don all the very best for his retirement.”