Blue plaque for Britain’s first black train driver

[John Ashworth]

Blue plaque for Britain’s first black train driver unveiled at King’s Cross

Wilston Samuel Jackson, who died in 2018, dedicated his life to railway despite facing racism during career.

A blue plaque has been unveiled commemorating Britain’s first black train driver at King’s Cross station in London.

Wilston Samuel Jackson, who died in September 2018 at the age of 91 and had “dedicated his life to the railway”, was honoured during a ceremony attended by his relatives and industry leaders at the station on Monday.

Born in Jamaica, Jackson began maintaining trains shortly after moving to London in 1952 as part of the Windrush generation. He went on to become a driver a decade later and had a long and successful career on the railway, including driving the famous Flying Scotsman locomotive and The Elizabethan...

With the typical ignorance shown about railway matters by lay journalists, the article includes a photo of Jackson driving 60082 "Neil Gow" with a caption saying he is "driving famous locomotive Flying Scotsman", which of course was number 60103. While he may well have driven 60103, it is likely that he drove named trains such as the Flying Scotsman and the Elizabethan.