Govia Thameslink Railway colleagues raise charity cash in memory of Chigwell dad

Govia Thameslink Railway engineers have raised thousands of pounds for Cancer Research UK in memory of a much-missed colleague.

Selhurst Repair Shop colleagues Jon Dye, Tom Mills, and Justin Lanigan recently presented a cheque to Jackie Lawrie, manager of Cancer Research’s Beckenham shop, following a huge charity football tournament involving several GTR fleet depots.

In total, £7,290 was raised in memory of Symon Harris, who had worked at the Selhurst depot for around 20 years and died suddenly of cancer in September last year at the age of 55. The father-of-three, who lived in Chigwell, was a lathe operator and also used to be a team leader.

Overhaul manager Justin Lanigan said: “He was a proper engineer. He used to do lots of welding for us; he was a really clever guy. At over 6ft, he was a gentle giant. He was a big fella who never had a bad thing to say about anyone. He never complained about being ill. Losing him was a complete shock to us. It rocked the whole depot quite badly.”

The fundraising tournament took place in November at Elmers End, near Croydon, with about 40 players and 50 spectators. Colleagues from depots in Hornsey, Brighton, Selhurst and Battersea were all involved. The event was also supported by colleagues at Three Bridges, Monument, Go-Ahead House in Croydon and workers from Siemens. The winners were the Selhurst Repair Shop colleagues.

Production leader Tom Mills said: “It was a big success to get all the depots together. Everyone chipped in. It was a really good day overall and we did Symon proud. There was no way we couldn’t win it!”

Following the success of last year’s tournament, organisers are hoping to stage another one this year.