Tributes to modest man Michael Brockington who saved Stratford’s railway line from closure
TRIBUTES were paid this week following the death at the age of 95 of life-long railway campaigner Michael Brockington who was credited with saving the Stratford to Birmingham line from closure.
It was his swift action in 1969, as Herald accountant, that led to the Court of Appeal halting the closure by placing an injunction on the British Railways Board (see panel below).
Michael was born on 7th September 1929, the eldest son of Ernest and Evelyn. Ernest, an accountant, had served in the Royal Navy in the First World War and had survived a torpedo attack on HMS Zulu in 1916.
In 1919 they moved to Welby Road, next to Hall Green Station, on the North Warwickshire line, now known as the Shakespeare Line, where Michael developed his interest in railways.
After attending King Edward VI School in Camp Hill, rather than go to university, he trained as an accountant.
He met his wife-to-be, Sheila Davis, in 1950, at a church youth club in Shirley. On 5th April, 1952, the couple travelled on the last passenger trains from Stratford Old Town station to Fenny Compton and back on the Stratford and Midland Junction Railway. They were married at St James’ Church, Shirley, on 20th March, 1954, and honeymooned at Weston-super-Mare and Bournemouth, travelling by rail, of course.
Michael joined the Herald as an accountant in 1965 and he, Sheila and their four children moved to Masefield Road, in Bridgetown. They moved to Welford in 1973.
In 1967, with the rumours of rail closures and rail cut-backs, including the North Warwickshire Line, Michael was approached by the secretary of the Stratford Chamber of Trade and the then mayor, Cllr Philip Walker, to become the secretary of the Stratford Transport Action Committee (STAC) to cover all means of transport.
In April 1975, the Herald became a limited company, George Boyden and Son, and Michael was appointed financial director.
In 1988 he resigned from the transport action committee having served 21 years but four years later joined a new committee, the Stratford Rail Transport Group, to campaign for the reopening of the six-mile Stratford to Long Marston railway, where it would join the freight line to Honeybourne.
Michael retired from the Herald in 1995 and Sheila retired from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre membership department, where she had worked for 22 years, the same year.
Sheila had a serious stroke in June 2010. In July 2014 she was diagnosed with dementia, and sadly passed away on 6th January 2015.
Michael was a keen campaigner and activist, getting involved in local affairs and in particular seeking to get traffic speed measures adopted in Welford. He contributed articles each month to the Welford parish magazine
He regularly contributed articles to local and national newspapers, mostly on the subject of transport planning and railways. He was passionate about railways and steam line preservation and was a shareholder of a number of heritage steam lines including Lynton and Barnstable and Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Steam Railway.
Michael died in Warwick Hospital on 10th January. He leaves four children – Jacqueline, Karen, Andrew and Nicola – ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He was very much loved by all his family, a kind, modest man with a great sense of humour.
In a statement this week, the Stratford Line Rail User Group, said: “Michael Brockington’s impact on the Stratford and south Warwickshire community, particularly in the 1960s, is immeasurable. His swift action in 1969, which prevented the closure of the Stratford to Birmingham railway line, stands as a testament to his dedication.
“However, Michael’s contribution towards Stratford and south Warwickshire is more profound and stretches over more than 50 years. In the 1960s, Michael engaged with Stratford Town Council and formed the Stratford and District Transport Action Committee, which the mayor chaired with Michael as its honorary secretary.
“Despite the widespread contraction of British Rail’s passenger services, Michael’s determination to preserve the through passenger services at Stratford with Cheltenham, Gloucester, Worcester, the South West and South Wales via Honeybourne was unwavering. Even as these services were withdrawn, the route remained operational for freight and as a diversionary route. Michael’s steadfast support and advocacy for the railway never wavered, even during what was a challenging and disheartening time for the railways.
“In 1975, the BRB decided that the through railway route between Birmingham and Cheltenham via Stratford, Long Marston, Honeybourne and Broadway should be upgraded with automatic level crossing barriers and the line speed raised to 75mph; the investment and work was planned to take place in early 1977 and the future looked brighter. Unfortunately, in what was to be a cruel twist of fate, a minor freight train derailment at Winchcombe in August 1976 closed the line. Once again, Michael was at the forefront of a campaign to save and reopen the railway route.
“Crucially, Michael, along with John Morgan from the Stratford Rail Transport Group, worked hard to achieve protection of the railway route from development in all the Local Plans of Stratford District Council since 1976, and this protection remains in place to date.
“In 1983, Michael assumed the role of vice-chairman of STAC, with Fraser Pithie taking over as secretary. Together, they spearheaded a successful campaign to thwart a second attempt by the BRB in 1984 to close the Birmingham to Stratford railway line.”
Mr Pithie said: ““Michael’s actions in 1969, taken at personal risk but in the public interest, undoubtedly saved Stratford railway line from closure. His selfless act has positively impacted hundreds of thousands of local people and visitors who have used the train since 1969 and continue to do so today. For such a modest yet tenacious man, Michael Brockington has genuinely made a difference to so many and, in doing so, leaves a positive legacy that benefits the communities of Stratford, south Warwickshire and all the communities served by the 18 stations between Stratford and Birmingham.”
SLRUG will mark Michael’s unique contribution towards the railways and the local community.
The story of saving a railway
IN 1963 Dr Richard Beeching published his notorious Reshaping British Railways report which presented a railway system reduced by over a third of its then 18,000 or so miles.
Dr Beeching did not list Stratford or the North Warwickshire Line (NWL) for closure. Consequently, it came as a tremendous shock to the communities along the line that on 13th May 1966, the British Railways Board (BRB) formally published its intention to discontinue all passenger services between Birmingham Snow Hill and Moor Street stations and Stratford via Tyseley and Bearley West Junction.
In response, and despite 23 alternative bus services, local rail passengers were determined to fight the closure proposal and a North Warwickshire Line Defence Committee (NWLDC) was formed. More than 1,000 people objected at a Transport Users Consultative Committee (TUCC) inquiry.
The result of the inquiry was announced in November 1966. The TUCC considered the line’s closure would cause severe hardship. Objectors were jubilant as in some of the other cases across the UK where a TUCC had confirmed severe hardship the minister of transport had gone on to reprieve the railway line concerned. But 18 months later the minister, Richard Marsh, stunned everyone by consenting to the closure of the line between Bearley Junction and Tyseley.
It was in the week before Easter 1969 that a unique twist to what now looked to be the almost inevitable fate of the NWL happened. Early in the week BRB reserved a large space in the public notices section in Herald for what would be the 3rd April issue. However, the BRB had not provided any copy for the space.
Michael, as Herald accountant, was alerted by the newspaper’s advertising staff, and he chased up British Rail for the copy. After a third telephone call and an ultimatum, BR reluctantly sent the copy over. It was formal confirmation that the NWL would close to passengers on 5th May 1969.
Michael knew that BR was trying to jump the gun. The NWDLC’s solicitor was the late Douglas King, of Wilmcote, and who practised in Birmingham. Realising the importance of the issue Michael got the Herald typesetters to pull out all the stops and print a copy of the embargoed public notice off. He then took a train from Stratford and took the copy to Douglas in Birmingham. Douglas argued that no appeal against the Traffic Commissioners’ decision had been heard. Faced with no response from BR Douglas knew he had to get before the High Court before the Easter holiday as the court in Birmingham was due to go into recess for three weeks. If he waited until after the Easter recess it would be too late as the train service would have been withdrawn.
The High Court dismissed Douglas’ case. However, there was leave to appeal. With the NWL due to close on 5th May, the Court of Appeal, sat on 3rd May and allowed the appeal, imposing an injunction on BRB preventing them from withdrawing rail passenger services.
In 2017-18, the line saved by Michael Brockington drew more than three million passenger journeys a year.
- This article is a condensed version of one written by Fraser Pithie and published on the Herald website on 10th May 2019.