Top
Tom Harding (wearing glasses)
alongside the Queen, Prince
Charles and Prince Philip as
they are greeted by George
Thomas (later Lord Tonypandy),
former Speaker of the House
of Commons (back to camera)
Above
Tom Harding – looking after
the famous
| |
At 93, Tom Harding, a Mason for more than
50 years, is as sharp as when he dealt with
Royalty and other VIPs on the famous luxury
Pullman cars, where passengers were served
their meals at their tables – no first or second
sittings in restaurant cars for them.
Now living in the Masonic Housing
Association home at Prebendal Close,
Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, Tom still
has vivid memories of his childhood. He was
born the year the First World War began,
and was brought up in the desperately poor
area of Neath in south Wales, and so came
to London, aged 14, to seek work.
Little did he know then that he would
rub shoulders with some of the world’s most
powerful and famous people – royalty,
statesmen, film stars and other celebrities.
He recalls: “There was only one
telephone in the village and that belonged
to the local doctor. To see a motor car was
a luxury. It is difficult to explain that to
people today.”
Tom recounts how he came to work on
the railways. “When I left Neath the whole
village turned out to see me off. I had a board
round my neck with my name on it and
I was met at Paddington station and found
work in various hotels and restaurants.
“One of the places I worked at was the
Butler’s Head in the aptly-named Masons’
Avenue in the City of London. We would
work there in the evening, often at Masonic
events, for an extra sixpence plus a meal.”
Tom joined a club in Soho which was
largely a meeting place for people seeking
work, and vacancies would be posted on a
board. He met one man who, through ill health,
had to give up his job on the Pullman
cars. Why not apply for his job, the man
suggested?
After being taken on for a trial period, not
knowing when he would be asked to leave,
Tom adds: “It so happened I stayed 44 years.”
And, he has a large illustrated memento in his
flat signed by the many senior railway figures
who came to his farewell party.
But he had never forgotten his attendance
as a waiter at Masonic festive boards, and in
the 1950s became a Mason himself with Sprig
of Acacia Lodge No. 3318 at Barnet in the
Province of Hertfordshire, of which he is
now an honorary member. Then, in 1979, he
moved to Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire
and joined a Lodge there. In addition, he was
in Mark, Royal Arch, Mark Mariners and the
Knights Templar.
But all this time he was travelling on the
Pullman cars, on trains now legendary for
their luxury such as the Brighton Belle, the
Golden Arrow, which went from Victoria
via the boat train to the Gard du Nord in
Paris, and the Orient Express. His time on
the Pullman cars ran from 1934 until his
retirement in 1979.
During those years he met many famous
people. “You read about them and saw their
photographs in the paper, but being with
them was an amazing experience. With the
Royal family you were there as a servant
of the Crown.”
Among his fondest memories are shaking
hands with US President Harry Truman
and meeting President Jimmy Carter, and
receiving a menu card from Haile Selassie,
known as the Lion of Judah, then Emperor
of Ethiopia. Foreign royalty included King
Baudouin of the Belgians and Queen
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. Other VIPs
he met included General (later President)
Eisenhower, Anthony Eden, then Foreign
Secretary but later Prime Minister and
another occupant of 10 Downing Street –
Neville Chamberlain.
He would often, as the chef, prepare meals
for these VIPs, and later ran the luxury cars
himself. He adds: “You were never supposed
to ask for autographs, but I did break that rule
once. Churchill was in a carriage and had
thrown a number of papers on the ground.
I picked them up and handed them back
to him. Then I asked for his autograph.
‘Certainly not’ said Winston and returned
to his work.”
Sadly, but with pride, he recalls how many
years later he looked after the Churchill
family when Sir Winston’s body was carried
in a Pullman as part of his journey back to
Bladon, in Oxfordshire, where he is buried.
But one of his most memorable occasions
was when he arranged for five Pullman trains
to escort the numerous VIPs to the
Investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of
Wales by the Queen at Caernarvon Castle
in 1969.
|
Next Page
