Schoolboy, Servant, GWR Apprentice: The Memoirs of Alfred Plumley 1880-1892

2017 | Biography

Alfred Plumley, son of a coachman, was born in 1874 in Somerset's Mendip Hills. Written in his old age, this memoir of his youth was discovered in an auction sale. In it, Alfred vividly describes his country childhood and first job as a serving boy at the grand house on the hill above his village. At sixteen, he decides to improve his prospects by 'going on the railway'. He is sent to a tiny village station on the Somerset coast, the beginning of a GWR career that would last for 45 years. Here, as the mighty GWR engines roll by, Alfred learns his trade under the watchful eye of the old station-master. He also experiences a temporary posting to the grim and chaotic engine yards of Bristol. Alfred writes charmingly, and always with the authentic voice of a West Country lad. His memoir has been skillfully edited by David Wilkins, who also adds just the right amount of detail to place the story in its proper historical context.

David Wilkins (Author)