In a project sponsored by the university’s Heritage Hub, Dr Mike Esbester has been working collaboratively with members of the Havant Local History Group on the Portsmouth Area Railway Pasts project. This researches the life stories of ten local railway workers from the 1870s to 1939 and relates to the wider Railway Work, Life & Death project database of accidents to railway workers, so this coproductive project has been about taking the accident or mention in the RWLD database as a starting point and going beyond it.
In cooperation with The Community Rail Partnership (Hills to Harbour) and the community organisation Creating Chaos they have recently installed interpretation posters at Havant station. These posters will be changed regularly to focus on different individuals and share research with the travelling public; it is hoped to spread the initiative to other stations. A great way to celebrate this year’s two hundredth anniversary of the modern railway!
Three of the posters in place at Havant Station
There are some amazing stories in there. Take a look at the website to see the stories of Havant and Fishbourne signalmen William Bridger and George Abbott.
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