Southern and Friends give grandfather an emotional reunion

A grandfather welled up with emotion as he was reunited with his old teddy bear and other long-forgotten toys that had been unearthed during Southern Rail’s renovation of Bishopstone station, near Seaford.

Guy Wright, 54, of Newhaven, spotted his childhood treasures on the local TV news as they reported how contractors had discovered the strange hoard behind wooden shutters that had been unopened for over 30 years.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw it on the news,” said Guy. “It’s all there but forgotten about. As soon as I saw the picture on the television and the tuck box with my name on it, I knew it was mine and it all came back to me.

“My dad sold newspapers, fruit and veg from a shop he opened at the station in the ’70s. A lot of my childhood was spent there and a lot of stuff was stored there too. We used to waterski, as a friend of ours who owned the petrol station on the seafront was into it, and the waterskis were there. There’s my skateboard too.”

Guy heard on the news how the Friends of Bishopstone Station (FOBS) are working closely with Southern on the project to return the Grade II-listed building to its former Art Deco glory.

Guy’s daughter, Danielle, contacted Barbara Mine, FOBS’ chair and founder member, through Facebook. Barbara immediately offered to meet them at the station. Two of his granddaughters joined them.

Barbara said: “When Guy walked in and saw what we had it was like he was going back into his childhood. And then he spotted the bear. It was quite emotional – for both of us!”

Guy added: “It was lovely to go see it and say to my granddaughters, ‘That’s Grandad’s teddy bear’.”

With architectural guidance and financial support from the Railway Heritage Trust, Southern and its parent company Govia Thameslink Railway, is restoring Bishopstone as part of its network-wide, multimillion-pound station improvement programme.

The train company is developing detailed plans to refurbish the unusual octagonal booking hall, with guidance from FOBS, who are supported by the Southeast Communities Rail Partnership (SCRP). The refurbishment plans include transforming the old parcel office where Guy’s things were found into a community space that FOBS can let out to local groups.

Guy added: “It was derelict before my dad opened it as a shop and it’s nice to see that it’s being reinvigorated. I think it’s lovely. It used to be such a community thing for the people who lived there and the people who used to commute from there to Victoria.”

Southern Customer Services Director Chris Fowler said: “This is such a moving story to have emerged from our renovation of this Art Deco, Grade II-listed station. It's good to know that we've been able to help Guy recover his childhood treasure.”

Harry Sievewright, SCRP’s Community Rail Line Officer, said: “The project to regenerate Bishopstone Station has been ongoing since 2018. The old parcel office is an area we wanted to develop as a ‘social hub’ for the local community and we are grateful to both GTR and the Railway Heritage Trust for helping fund the project. It is amazing to find such interesting and rare artefacts, but not surprising in a way, as the area has been disused for such a long time. The station probably has more secrets yet to uncover.”

ends