On Saturday evening, 29th August, there was a party for members and friends, with a Pig Roast and a buffet. It was well attended and good fun, but the shortage of young working members was noticeable. In the cinema coach, there were extracts from Guy Heap's 16mm films being shown.

To remember all those youngsters busily dealing with the Wembley shed, in awful conditions, brought home the fact that we are now dreadfully short of the 16 to 26 age group, of which there were dozens back then! All of them are now in their fifties and sixties. A sobering thought!

On Sunday it was a party for we "oldies", who had been there for the first open days, and to my dismay, I appeared to be the oldest! The birthday cake was beautiful and Bev and I were asked to cut the first slice; Bev because she is the present Membership Secretary and me because I was the first QRS one. I took over from Ivan Start when QRS and the LRPS were amalgamated.

Photo:
Dave Potter - The celebratory cake

The day was pure nostalgia and there wasn't enough time to speak to everyone. Bev and Dave had done an excellent job hunting through old membership lists. Quite a few people they had to trace were no longer members. There were three I did not recognise, but all the others I did! It was wonderful to see them again and to remember back to the pioneering days, which is what the 1970's were.

John Carter told Bev that the next meeting was to be in five years time, starting earlier in the morning so we all have time to have a good natter! Those were the days and we should keep in touch with the members who did the ground work, which has produced today's Buckinghamshire Railway Centre.

Photo:
Dave Potter - Anthea Hanscomb and Bev Potter cut the 40th birthday cake

Notes:
The text in this Quainton Railway Society publication was written in 2009 and so does not reflect events in the 5+ years since publication. The text and photographs are repeated verbatim from the original publication, with only a few minor grammar changes but some clarifying notes are added if deemed necessary. The photos from the original publication are provided as scans in this internet version of this long out of print publication.

Reference:
Our Fortieth Birthday Celebration August 2009 - Anthea Hanscomb - Quainton News No. 102 - October 2009