Friday Talk: Memories of Blandford: The S&D, the Railway Hotel and my family

Mike Beale is a chartered civil engineer who worked for 20 years with British Rail and a further 13 as an international railway consultant. He has an interest in all aspects of industrial and transport heritage, particularly railways. Until 2016, Mike was a Trustee of the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust, an organisation of which he has been a member since 1974, and was Chairman from 1985 to 1991.

Although Mike now lives in Wiltshire, his family’s links to Blandford and the Somerset and Dorset Railway span four generations. His grandfather Thomas Victor Beale spent all his working life on the line, following in the footsteps of his own father who joined the S&D in 1880. Thomas Victor moved from Highbridge to Blandford in 1907, and in 1916 married Edith Pratt, whose parents Frederick and Elizabeth were the Licensees of the Railway Hotel. Mike’s father was born in Blandford, but moved to Bath to join the S&D as a locomotive cleaner and fireman before realising his childhood ambition of becoming an engine driver. Mike, who was born in Bath, remembers with affection his visits to his grandparents in Blandford.

Blandford Station staff in February 1923. Mike’s great grandfather and grandfather are on the left in the front row.

Mike’s talk will explore his family’s links with both the town of Blandford and the railway which served its transport needs for over 100 years, and had a profound impact on its social history.

Admission to the talk is £5 for museum members, £8 for non-members.

Drinks and homemade food will be available from 6.30 pm, and the talk will start at 7.30 pm.

We have a wide variety of talks about our history and heritage from a range of expert speakers lined up for Spring and Autumn 2022. These will take place on Fridays (usually, but not always, the last Friday of the month) at the Parish Centre in Blandford. Please see our Events Calendar for the dates and details of other talks.