​Incredible weekly Thameslink trip by 97-year-old maintains 55-year friendship

Once a week, 97-year-old Jimmy Anderson makes the journey by bus and Thameslink train from his flat in Wimbledon to The Charterhouse, one of London’s oldest almshouses, to see his friend of 55 years, 92-year-old Stanley Underhill.

Jimmy is almost blind, but miraculously still able to get around. Stanley suffers from terrible back problems and so can rarely leave his almshouse, situated near to Farringdon station.

The Thameslink route between Wimbledon and Farringdon is absolutely vital to Jimmy and Stanley’s friendship, as it allows them to see each other, just as they’ve been doing for more than half a century.

Now this journey, their amazing friendship and Stanley’s astonishing history as a victimised homosexual who came out only recently, is being captured in a short film.

Producer Dave Allison said the film is “a labour of love documenting a deep and long-lasting friendship”.

He added: “The ‘incredible journey’ that Jimmy makes every week is symbolic of their great friendship.”

The friends, who share a close, Platonic relationship, have stayed in touch despite decades of turmoil during which Stanley tried to “cure himself of his homosexuality” through extreme measures including exorcism, electro-shock therapy and testosterone injections, as well as Freudian analysis.

Although Stanley always tried to keep his sexuality a secret, he was eventually forced to quit his profession as an accountant when his office colleagues discovered he was “a queer”.

Such victimisation caused Stanley to contemplate suicide, but he found the courage to “press on” and became a friar in the Society of St Francis for five years. He was then ordained by the Church of England, serving as a priest for the rest of his working life.

Most recently, a suggestion by Stanley’s counsellor that he should write an autobiography has led to the publication of his memoirs, entitled Coming Out Of The Black Country, the Black Country being where he was born and raised.

Stanley has at last found a sense of peace and redemption after years of internal conflict and bouts of depression. “Writing the book was a catharsis,” Stanley said. “I am now able to accept who I am.”

As well as a bus ride to and from Wimbledon station, Jimmy’s weekly journey involves walking slowly with a stick either end of the 36-minute Thameslink train ride. “The trains are so much better now and the journey’s quicker,” he said.

Tom Moran, Managing Director of Thameslink and Great Northern, said: “This is such an amazing and inspiring journey – I’m delighted we’ve been able to play a role in helping maintain this enduring friendship.”

Jimmy, who was a civil servant with the MoD, says their shared interest in the Church was the bedrock of their lasting friendship.

Asked why the two have stayed in touch so long, Jimmy said to Stanley: “I have always valued your friendship. You have been a sounding board as I have been to you, when something has been bothering you or bothering me.”

Stanley added: “I realised I could never have a partner and marry. I thought the only alternative was to make good friends. Otherwise you are going to be very lonely.”

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