Would you believe that steam trains were still carrying passengers when Thameslink’s oldest railway worker first started his career?
When Siggy started on the railway in 1962, tickets were handwritten, stations looked very different, and no one imagined passengers would one day be planning their journeys on a phone.
More than 60 years later, Siggy is Thameslink’s oldest station worker, although he doesn’t think of himself that way. He’s simply someone who has been lucky enough to spend a lifetime doing a job he loves.
Siggy did try retiring once. It lasted four weeks.
After spending time at home, he realised he missed the railway, the passengers and being part of station life. So he came back, and has been here ever since.
From Barbados to Britain
Siggy’s railway journey began on 7 March 1962, when he arrived in Southampton from Barbados after an 11-day voyage as part of the Windrush generation. The very next day, he started work as a cleaner at Marylebone station. Accommodation had already been arranged for him and the cost came out of his wages.
Over the next 17 years, Siggy worked his way up from cleaner to fireman, stoking steam locomotives, before becoming a chargeman supervising cleaning and shunting staff.
He later moved to Cricklewood Yard as a supervisor, became Stores Manager at Luton, and then Platform Supervisor at St Albans City in 1990. When Elstree & Borehamwood became an increasingly busy station in 2002, Siggy transferred there and has been based there ever since.
Siggy meets Prince William at the unveiling of the National Windrush Monument in London, 2022
It’s always been about the people
For Siggy, the railway is about more than trains and getting from A to B; it’s about the people.
After working at the same station for two decades, he has got to know generations of regular passengers. Siggy often says: “I have hundreds of friends and I don’t even know their names.”
He has seen familiar faces pass through the station every day, watched children grow up and, before long, seen them travelling through the station with children of their own.
No two shifts are ever quite the same. One person might need directions, another is rushing to catch a train, while someone else simply wants to stop for a chat. That connection with passengers is what Siggy has always said he enjoys most about the job.
He has also enjoyed seeing Elstree & Borehamwood station evolve. In 2019, the station reopened after a transformation that more than doubled the size of the concourse, added extra ticket gates, improved accessibility and created better facilities for the millions of passengers who use the station each year.
Siggy helped unveil a commemorative plaque during the celebrations and saw the local community come together to mark the occasion.
More than a railway career
While the railway has been a huge part of Siggy’s life, he has another passion: cricket.
He was fortunate enough to represent England Over-70s, earning 14 caps, and has continued playing into his eighties. His cricket club, BRSA Enfield, which changed to Holtwhites Trinibis in 1963, even named one end of the ground after him following a testimonial match, which he says was a real honour.
Siggy has also shared his experiences with schoolchildren and helped commemorate the contribution Caribbean communities have made to Britain’s railways.
Looking back on his journey, from arriving in Britain to spending more than six decades on the railway, Siggy is proud to help keep those stories alive for future generations.
Siggy with friends and teammates at his cricket club, which held a testimonial match for him and named the end of the ground in his honour, 2019.
Recognition he never expected
In 2020, after 58 years on the railway, Siggy received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Rail Awards. The award recognised the part of the job he has always loved most: looking after passengers.
The recognition didn’t stop there. Siggy received a Heart of Gold Award from music producer Pete Waterman for his service to passengers, and in 2024 was awarded the British Empire Medal in The King’s Birthday Honours for services to the railway and the community.
Siggy receives a Heart of Gold Award from hit music producer Pete Waterman, 2022
After receiving his medal, Siggy took it back to work to show passengers. He received plenty of hugs, handshakes and congratulations, which he says was a special moment.
Just when Siggy thought life couldn’t surprise him any more, folk legend Richard Thompson wrote a song about him for BBC Radio 2 as part of the Railway 200 celebrations. The song is called ‘Siggy’, and it was inspired by his remarkable railway career. Having his cricket club provide the backing vocals was the icing on the cake.
Still enjoying the journey
The railway has changed beyond recognition since Siggy first stepped onto a platform in 1962, but the best part of the job has never changed: the people.
Whether he is helping someone find the right train, chatting to a regular passenger, or welcoming someone travelling through the station for the first time, every day brings something different.
Siggy tried retiring once, but missed the people too much. As long as he can put on his uniform, say good morning to passengers and help someone on their journey, he will keep turning up. As he has always said: “I’ll keep going until they tell me I can’t work!”
