HERSTON HALT VOLUNTEERS SUPPORT AIR AMBULANCE HELICOPTER APPEAL

Dedicated volunteers who help maintain and develop a community railway halt on the outskirts of Swanage are supporting a Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance appeal to raise the final £1 million for a second life-saving helicopter.

Two large advertising boards have been installed at Herston Halt which was built in 1983 by the Swanage Railway so it could extend its fledgling heritage steam train operations out of Swanage station to the one mile mark at Herston in 1984.

Since 1984, several generations of dedicated volunteers have worked tirelessly to maintain and develop the community halt - located off Washpond Lane – which now looks very different to the primitive wooden platform of more than 40 years ago.

Swanage Railway Trust Chair Frank Roberts said: “The Swanage Railway is delighted to support such a vital and important emergency asset as the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance which, like the Swanage Railway Trust, is a registered charity.

“In operation for 25 years, every life-saving mission flown by the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is funded by generous public donations.

“When every second counts, the air ambulance brings the hospital to the patient and is often the difference between life and death. You never know when it may be needed.

“The beautiful Isle of Purbeck – through which the Swanage Railway runs its steam and diesel heritage trains – as well as its dramatic Jurassic Coast are visited by tens of thousands of tourists every year with roads across the area often heavily congested during the summer months.

“The dedicated volunteers supporting the Herston community halt feel it is very important that they play their part in supporting such an extremely worthy cause as the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance,” added Frank who has been a dedicated Swanage Railway volunteer for more than 40 years and a director of the Swanage Railway Company which operates the heritage trains.

Tracy Bartram, Communications Manager at the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, said: “We are incredibly grateful to the team at the Swanage Railway for the wonderful support they have shown to our charity.

“By placing these lovely boards at Herston Halt, and with the backing of the local community, they are helping us raise awareness of our vital work and our latest ‘2ndHeli’ fund-raising appeal which aims to raise the final £1 million needed to buy and equip a second air ambulance helicopter for the people of Dorset and Somerset.

“This partnership with the Swanage Railway is very special to us and we hope it will continue to grow over time.

“Their kind generosity will help us reach more people, raising awareness of the fact that our charity relies on public donations and without that support our service would not exist. What an incredible and supportive way to make a difference,” added Tracy.

Herston Halt welcomed its first passenger steam train from Swanage on Good Friday, April, 1984, when the new halt was at the end of the relaid heritage line.

For more than 40 years, the British Army’s Royal Corps of Signals has supported Herston Halt with its soldiers carrying out working parties to develop and improve the facility for the public.

In 2009, a major project was carried out to replace the old 1983 wooden platform with a longer concrete structure and, since then, further improvements have been made to Herston Halt.

Donations to the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance appeal can be made on-line at dsairambulance.org.uk/2ndHeli.

Anyone interested in finding out more about volunteering on the Swanage Railway should contact volunteer recruitment and retention officer Lisa Gravett on 01929 475212 or email [email protected]. Details about volunteering can also be found at swanagerailwaytrust.org/volunteering.

Story and photographs by Andrew P.M. Wright,
Swanage Railway official photographer and press officer.