York: Railway trophy rediscovered after 104 years

Allan Lewis said he was "honoured" to be the first person presented with the urn after more than a century

A trophy presented to a railway signaller during World War One has been rediscovered after it disappeared for more than a century.

The award was given to Herbert Anderson in 1918, when he achieved the highest marks in his signalling exams.

Its whereabouts were unknown for the next 104 years until it was bought at auction earlier this year.

On Friday, it was awarded for precisely the same achievement, at the same school.

The trophy, known as Anderson's Urn, was purchased by Philippa Hartley, from Ulverston, Cumbria.

She recognised its significance when she read the inscription.

"It made me very intrigued because the date on it was 1917, I thought 'that's World War One, what were they doing awarding people with such a substantial first prize in World War One?'" Mrs Hartley said.

"It's incredible that, because of something that was presented and was dated, we can go back in time and find the history and that it can be relived."

The trophy was awarded to Herbert Anderson after he achieved the highest marks in his signalling exams in 1918

Phil Graham MBE, who has been running signalling classes at the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York for the past 35 years, explained the history of the prize.

He said Mr Anderson, from Swinton, Greater Manchester, would have been about 25 when he was awarded top marks in the 1918 signalling classes.

He would have learned the skills on a model railway set, which has been restored and is now on display at the NRM.

Mr Anderson went on to become a railway train controller for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway at Manchester Victoria.

Allan Lewis said he was "honoured" to be the first person presented with the urn after more than a century

After more than a century, the trophy was awarded to Allan Lewis at the NRM for achieving the top grade in the 2022 exams.

Mr Lewis has been working on the railways since 1969 and said it was a "real honour" to be the first to receive the prize since 1918.

"It is quite a story. I think [Mr Anderson] would be absolutely amazed, especially when the urn has maybe not seen the light for day of that length of time," he said.

Rob MacIntosh, regional managing director at Network Rail, presented the urn and said the system of signalling learned by Mr Anderson is the same one used on lines between York, Harrogate and Scarborough to this day.

"There are lots of bits of our network that still use it, but even the more modern stuff uses the same principles," he said.