A man thought to be Britain’s longest-serving railway employee has retired from his job at Waterloo Station after 68 years of service.
Don Buckley, 82, has worked at Waterloo since 1953, when he came to London at the age of fourteen. He has been working three days a week helping disabled passengers and people who had problems with seeing around the station.
He arrived from County Kerry in Ireland in the 1950s, ending up at Waterloo by mistake. When he got to the UK he asked a taxi driver to take him to “the big station”, meaning Euston. The driver took him to Waterloo instead.
Don was too young to work on the trains so was given a job in the station. Nearly seven decades on he was still there.
Among the many scenes and events that took place at Waterloo over his tenure, Don saw the last steam train leave the station in 1967, the great train robber Buster Edwards setting up a flower stall outside after getting out of jail in 1975 and scenes from Skyfall and the Bourne Ultimatum being filmed. He also remembered cinema in the station which ran until 1970.
Don was given an official send-off by station staff at the start of the month.
Commenting on his years at the station, 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, regional manager for the station, 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.”