On their recent annual summer visit to Glossop we were proud to welcome a party of the former evacuees to the station. The visit was part of a three day stay organised by the indefatigable Chris Brooks, secretary of the Lowestoft Evacuation Committee, accompanied by his wife Janet.

At the station the evacuees caused an understandable stir of emotion amongst travellers when it was realised who they were. A poignant moment. The group also looked at the new display about the Lowestoft evacuation, created by Paul Marsh, in the Waiting Room. A duplicate of this is now installed at Lowestoft Station. Photographs were duly taken and we are very grateful to David Jones at The Glossop Chronicle for publishing a story and feature. Also thanks to High Peak Radio and Emma for interviewing Chris.
The evacuees visited friends and places special to them whilst here including trips to Bakewell and Castleton. A memorable meal took place one evening at Wren Nest Carvery where the evacuees burst into song with renditions of many well known World War Two songs! Their singing went down so well that management asked if they could return for Christmas!
On their final day Sheila Webster of Glossop, widow of a former evacuee, presented the evacuees with original LED bottle lamps as mementos of their visit. We look forward to seeing our Lowestoft friends again soon!

GREATER ANGLIA TRAINS are now exhibiting a copy of our evacuees display in the booking hall at Lowestoft station. It is a duplicate of the permanent display which can be seen in the Waiting Room at Glossop. Our thanks go to Martin Halliday,  Partnership Officer for East Suffolk Community Rail Partnership, for making it possible and organising the various permissions required for the display. 
It is anticipated there will be a formal launch at Lowestoft of the display in the near future further cementing the link between our two stations. In the meantime, a small group of former Lowestoft evacuees will be visiting Glossop for three days next week as part of their annual reunion.

IN OTHER NEWS, FoGS has been shortlisted in two categories for the annual ACoRP awards. The nominations are in the It's Your Station category and one for our own Chairman, Neil Williams, in the Outstanding Volunteer category. The results will be announced on October 4th at the awards evening in Glasgow. 

LOTS OF TEDDIES and families were on the move last Saturday on the rescheduled Teddy Bears Picnic organised by the Friends groups at Glossop, Hadfield, Guide Bridge and Hattersley.
The main picnic was at Hattersley where Babs had an array of attractions including West Indian food, a bouncy castle, an RLNI stall, well-being tests and a tombola. The Mayor of Tameside formally visited Babs, helpers and visitors at 10.30. At each of the stations there was a Welcome Table with soft toys and sweets.
To encourage visitors to move between the stations Northern had kindly provided free train travel for the duration of the event. This proved a very popular offer and we were delighted that several children made their first trips by train on the day!! A royal-themed hunt the teddy on the Teddy Bear Trail, cleverly designed by Paul Marsh, saw teddies and children on the move.
We would like to say a big thank you to Northern for this support and in particular to Vicky Cropper for all her help and assistance. The colouring sheets proved popular. Also a big thank you to the drivers and guards for joining in the fun. Many an announcement saying "This is a teddy bears special" was heard! We also appreciated the visit from Rebecca, Northern's Train Crew Manager, who visited all the stations talking to the children and families on the trains.
Each of the Friends groups and Northern staff received some great feedback and comments as well as donations at all stations. Thank you to everyone for your support - it was a lot of fun!