Family with WWII link to historic Derbyshire station visit new memorial to their dad - a London schoolboy who was evacuated in 1940 and lived with the station master

The Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust (DHBT) has installed a bench outside the 1830s station which bears the name of Vic Nagle, a London schoolboy who was evacuated to Derbyshire in 1940 and wound up living in the house of the station master, Alfred Yiend.

News of the building’s restoration had reached Vic’s family last year but he died, aged 90, just before he was due to visit to see the results for himself, so DHBT decided to to create a permanent memorial of his connection to Wingfield – and his daughters, Jennie Dunn and Debbie Hutchinson, called in to see it for the first time.

Peter Milner, the DHBT trustee who led the restoration project, said: “Over the last three years we’ve heard some amazing stories from people with connections to the station, but I think this was the most wonderful and touching of all.”

Vic’s short time in Wingfield was a period he talked about happily with his family in later life, but it all began with what must have been a frightening moment for an eight-year-old escaping the Blitz back home.

Jennie, 62, said: “He arrived on a train from South Kensington in London, and all the evacuees were stood there in a long line. One-by-one dad saw all the other children met by local families and taken away to their new homes until he was the only one left.

“There wasn’t anyone there to meet him, and he was stood on the platform crying his eyes out when the station master came along and said, ‘You’d better come and live with us then.’”

She added: “In the end, he felt like he got the best deal of all the children. Some of the best times of his life were spent here, meeting passengers and helping out on the railway with things like signalling. He just loved the whole atmosphere of it.

“He was the youngest of seven children and missed his own family a lot, but the family he stayed with were very kind to him, he adored them and remembered it all as a really fantastic time.”

Eventually Vic’s mother could not stand to be separated from her son any longer, and came to fetch him back to London while the war was still raging.

The happy days in South Wingfield were contrasted with the experience of Vic’s London home surviving a Doodlebug which flattened the rest of their street, and the news that his eldest brother had been killed in action when his plane was shot down.

The combined effect of the period left a deep impression on Vic, and as he grew up to become a tailor and clothing salesman, he was glad his career led to a move to Leicestershire.

Jennie, who now lives in Sandiacre, said: “He was pleased about it because he felt nearer to the station. He came from London but always felt most at home in the countryside after the war. He moved to Nottingham about ten years ago and he felt glad to be even closer .

“He used to go there regularly to walk around and reminisce. He was never into railways otherwise, he didn’t want to visit other stations. This was his special place that he liked to go. It had such a huge impact on his life.”

She added: “Sometimes he’d take us, sometimes he’d go with our mum. There was one occasion he was invited in by the family who were living in the station master’s house at the time.

“Every now and then I’d take him out for a drive and surprise him by coming here. I always knew how to find the entrance even though it’s up a dirt track.

“I think the last time he visited was about seven years ago, mum was still alive. He used to take loads of photos and couldn’t understand why no one was renovating the station. He always felt very strongly that someone should be caring for it.”

Wingfield is thought to be the oldest surviving, purpose-built rural station in the UK – perhaps the world – but following its closure in 1967 it had fallen into such ruin that it was listed on Historic England’s Heritage At Risk register, so Vic was thrilled to hear that it would be saved.

Jennie said: “He moved into a care home last June, and around the same time we heard about the restoration, so we would always take him the latest photos and videos when we went to see him.

“He cried real tears. He was so happy that finally someone was going to do something about the building.”

The family also wrote to DHBT to share their story with the restoration team, not thinking it would make a big impact, but when Peter heard the tale they made a plan for Vic to get his own VIP tour before the official opening ceremony.

Jennie said: “He passed away on the day he was meant to visit last October. Although he never made it back to his precious station, he knew it was being renovated and that his wish had come true.”

The family’s connection to the station was underscored when Peter attended Vic’s funeral and heard more tales from his life and how his time in South Wingfield came up again and again.

That was enough to convince DHBT that they should add Vic’s name to a planned memorial for David Wilmot, a North Wingfield resident and rail expert who was a driving force in volunteer efforts to preserve Derbyshire’s industrial heritage.

Vic’s story is also now part of the regular heritage talks which Peter delivers to community and heritage groups who come to learn about the restoration.

He said: “I think what makes the story so special is the humanity of it. The station master’s family welcomed this scared little evacuee and gave him a whale of a time.”

Over the Bank Holiday weekend, Debbie, 66, was visiting Jennie from her home in Bournemouth and on a whim they decided to drive up to the station. Purely by chance, Peter was there giving one of his presentations to the local Women’s Institute.

Jennie said: “We’d not seen it since it was renovated and didn’t know if we’d be able to get in. We showed up out of the blue but they’d had two people drop out that day, so we could fill their spaces in the audience – almost like it was meant to be.

“We were quite overwhelmed to see the building as it is now and the bench dedicated to dad. It was very emotional. We sat there and had a quiet word with him. We’ll always feel that dad is there.

“It means the absolute world to us. Now there’s a place we can take our own children and grandchildren, a place that meant so much to him. Thank you so much to everyone who made it happen.”

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