After Severn Valley Railway locomotive driver Keith Hall died in June this year, a close friend and colleague, Rod Derry, wanted to do something in tribute. At the request of Keith’s family, he set about raising funds in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA), after witnessing the devastating effects of the illness on Keith.
‘I saw a great friend, who was supremely fit and active, destroyed by a cruel illness,’ explained Rod. ‘So much research is needed before the outlook for sufferers will improve. Keith died a few months short of his 80th birthday, and we lost a fine engineer, a mentor and friend.’
Rod arranged for the collection to take place during the SVR’s recent Autumn Steam Gala, using collection boxes and buckets supplied by the MNDA. He enlisted the help of many colleagues across the railway, raising more than £1,500.
Phillip Clayton of the MNDA’s Herford and Worcester branch visited the SVR’s Kidderminster station, to receive the funds raised from the managing director, Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster and Rod.