WONDERFUL years working on steam trains at Worcester during the last war are fondly remembered by Mrs Peggy Edwards, of Ronkswood.

She was among the young women who, in 1940, were eagerly recruited to key roles on the railways, taking over from men-folk called away to serve on the battlefields of Europe.

With her maiden name of Peggy Montandon, she was sent from the Worcester Labour Exchange to Shrub Hill Station in late 1940 to take up one of a number of vacancies on the railways.

She might have been given a job in the sheet sheds but, instead, Stationmaster Bright assigned her as a ticket collector to Foregate Street Station to work alongside Mrs Edith Hooper. Later, she transferred to Shrub Hill to become one of a quartet of ticket collectors with Frank Lloyd, Bill Lock and Horace Lamb.

However, there was to be a significant change of jobs some months later, thanks to railway inspector Ray Breeze.

"He came up with the idea of forming a team of lady guards so that more railmen could be released to serve in the forces.

"Thus it was that a group of 10 women guards was set up at Shrub Hill, consisting of Mrs Allen, Mrs Watson, sisters Joyce and Muriel Hobday, Trixie Bryan, Rene Gill, Lil Symonds, Iris Merriman, Christine Heath and me. Alas, only three of us are still left - me, Christine Heath (now Mrs Cull, living at Pershore) and Iris Merriman who is in the Bristol area."

Mrs Edwards undertook guard duties on all manner of steam trains out of Worcester, from Hall and Castle class expresses to small locos and "little diesels". However, she stresses that it was a particular delight to work on the Cathedral Express trains which ran from Worcester to London Paddington.

"The 8.55am Cathedral Express from Shrub Hill would arrive at Paddington at 11.45am, and I would often run up Parade Street and the Edgware Road to Hyde Park and buy Coty powder from Boots store for my friends and I. The return train from Paddington left at 1.45pm."

Peggy's guard duties also took her regularly on trains to Malvern, Hereford and Birmingham and on now long lost lines through the Teme Valley to Tenbury Wells and to stations such as Leigh, Knightwick and Newnham Bridge.

Shifts would also involve guard duties from time to time aboard the very early 4.30am train taking miners up the Severn Valley to collieries at Highley, Arley and Bridgnorth.

"There were occasions too when I had my breakfast off a shovel," recalls Mrs Edwards. "On the smaller locos on country routes, the fireman would sometimes cook bacon and the like, and call us to the footplate."

There were emotional times too when Peggy watched trains bringing wounded and shell-shocked servicemen to convalesce at hospitals in and around Worcester, and at Barnsley Hall, in the north of the county.

With her maiden name of Montandon, Peggy was widely known on the railways as "Monty".

She spent more than four of the war years on the railways but eventually had to "retire" when she was expecting her first child.

"It was a marvellous experience to work on the railways, and they were wonderful years which I would not have missed for the world. I loved steam trains, and all the drivers and men colleagues were extremely kind and considerate to us women," stresses Mrs Edwards.

In addition to being guards and ticket collectors, women were also recruited on to the railways during the war as platform and travelling porters, sheet shed assistants or as parcel office employees, one of them being Mrs Joyce Drew, of Ronkswood.

Mrs Edwards' late sister, Beatrice Montandon, was also a wartime railway ticket collector at Worcester. "In fact, she often told of an amusing incident when she stopped a man leaving the station and told him he would have to pay an excess fare as he had not used the most direct route on his journey to Worcester, as stipulated.

"He apparently didn't take at all kindly to this demand, so my sister had to summon a chap called Bert from the ticket office to re-enforce the requirement.

'Don't you know who I am?," asked the man, adding that he was Dr Griffin. Bert retorted 'I don't care if you're Dr Crippen, you're still paying!'"

Dr A.J.B. Griffin was Worcester's Medical Officer of Health for many years and a much- respected local personage!

During her years on the railways, Peggy Montandon was only able to keep in touch by letter with her "Young Man" - Henry James ("Jim") Edwards, who was serving in the Army in India. He was to spend 12 years in The Worcestershire Regiment and was in India from 1936 until 1943 when he contrived by extremely tortuous means to get home to see sweetheart Peggy.

He got assigned as an escort on an American ship taking prisoners to Australia, and then crossed the United States from one side to the other to jump aboard Queen Mary, then a troop ship, on a voyage back to England.

Jim and Peggy were married in 1944, though he had to return immediately afterwards to active service.

Alas, Jim died five years ago, and among Peggy's treasured possessions are the love letters they exchanged during the war years. She has given instructions for these to be buried in her coffin with her when she dies.

After his Army service, Jim Edwards worked for Post Office Telephones and, in his retirement years, was a ground steward at New Road for Worcestershire county cricket matches.

Peggy is naturally proud of their two children - Elizabeth (Mrs Rogers) who works in the laboratories at Worcester Royal Infirmary, and David, who went to Worcester Royal Grammar School and was Postmaster at Pershore until retirement in recent times. Peggy's railways years clearly had an impact on David who, as a boy, was a very keen train-spotter!

The family home was first in Liverpool Road and then at Astwood Road but, in widowhood, Mrs Edwards now lives at Lincoln Green, Ronkswood.

She is the only one left of the seven children of William and Annie Elizabeth Montandon. Her father served for 28 years in The Worcestershire Regiment and saw active service in the Boer War. Among Peggy's possessions are two large brass bullet shells kept as souvenirs from the South African War by her father and cut out as miniature coal scuttles.

William Montandon had the privilege of being batman to Sir John Reddie, a leading military figure.William and wife Annie lived for some years in married quarters inside Norton Barracks, but then moved to a cottage in Norton Lane where Peggy was born. However, this property was later commandeered to take Turkish prisoners during the 1914-18 War.

The next family home was in St Martin's Gate and then at Rainbow Hill, and Peggy attended the British Undenominational School and then St Barnabas School.

After his Army years, her father William Montandon went to the Austin Motor Works at Longbridge and was later a Midland Red bus conductor.