• Betty commuted to school in Cheltenham from Gretton Halt • Gretton Halt closed in 1960 with no trace now remaining
Betty Rout, ‘101 and a half’, took a train journey back in time when she recently visited the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR).
As she settled comfortably into her cosy compartment on the steam service from Cheltenham Racecourse to Broadway during a very wet day, she explained that she used to take the train from Gretton Halt to go to Pates Grammar School in Cheltenham, a place she earned with a scholarship.
Betty, then Betty Agg, said: “I and my three brothers lived with my parents at Gretton Fields so I used to cycle to Gretton Halt to catch the 08.00 local service to Cheltenham St. James. It was about three-quarters of a mile and uphill, so I was quite puffed by the time I got to the Halt. I would usually leave my bike in a wooden shed at my great uncle’s cottage nearby: do you know, we used to pay 2d a week for the privilege!
“If I was running late I would just chuck the bike in the hedge and my relatives would retrieve it for me. Then I would run up the steps [on the Malvern side of the line] and cross the track to get to the other platform, to catch the Cheltenham train. Of course, we weren’t supposed to go over the lines, we should have gone all the way under the bridge and up the other side. But crossing the tracks – making sure a train wasn’t coming – was a lot quicker!
“I would get into terrible trouble at school if I missed the train!”
Gretton Halt was located at the top of the embankment, on the west side of the bridge that carries the railway over the Winchcombe road. The Halt comprised two rudimentary, narrow timber-built platforms with a corrugated iron ‘pagoda’ shelter on each platform. It opened on 1st June 1906 and closed with the end of local services on 7th March 1960.
As the GWSR train steamed through Gretton, Betty pointed out of the window. “The Halt was about there!” she exclaimed. There is no sign of it now, having been demolished more than 60 years ago.
Betty went on to explain that the train service usually comprised a single ‘auto-coach’ either propelled when heading north, in which case the driver controlled the train from a small compartment at the front of the leading coach, or pulled when heading south, by a small tank engine.
“There were I suppose, about eight of us, boys and girls, who caught the service to Cheltenham St. James. There were already some of my school friends on the train and we collected others on the way. We had season tickets which were paid for by the school. I admit we got up to mischief on the journey – after all, we were growing girls and boys,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “When the train arrived at Cheltenham Malvern Road it used to then reverse into St. James’s Station, which was a lovely important-feeling terminus.
“When we came home, we caught the 4.55 service which had a couple of ordinary coaches, a bit like this one,” she explained, looking around the compartment. “When we got back to Gretton Halt, I just went down the steps to my great uncle’s house to get my bike.”
Betty also used the train service during weekends and school holidays, perhaps to go shopping or visit the cinema.
After Betty left school, she worked for the Cheltenham coach company, Black & White Motorways and continued to commute to the town from Gretton Halt.
During the war, travel could be slow and disruptive.
“The railway carried an awful lot of military trains, troop trains and goods trains carrying army equipment. They took priority over local services,” she pointed out. “There were times when we would catch the early evening train home and it would be diverted into the sidings at Bishops Cleeve to allow military services to pass. There were a couple of occasions when we stayed there until around 8pm before our train was let out to continue its journey.”
In 1942, Black & White Coaches suffered a serious blow when part of the coach station and several coaches were destroyed thanks to enemy bombing. The company then operated from temporary facilities until the coach station was rebuilt in 1951.
Betty met her husband, Steve Rout, during the war at a dance in Winchcombe, going on to have two sons, Christopher and Robin, Robin accompanying her on this train trip.
Sgt. Major Steve Rout served with distinction, was mentioned in despatches and decorated.
Sadly, Betty’s Shurdington home was broken into at around midnight on 28 June and her late husband’s six medals and uniform patches along with other valuables were stolen. She heard the disturbance and confronted the thieves who said ‘sorry’ before making off. The story has gained widespread local news coverage.
“I was so sad to lose Steve’s medals,” she said. “They aren’t really worth much money but are quite distinctive. I just hope that the thieves return them anonymously. I wasn’t scared and I’m not put off living here,” she added defiantly.
The police are appealing for any information about the ‘cowardly’ burglary that might lead to the return of the medals.
However, after her train trip on the GWSR, which departed from Cheltenham Racecourse station in heavy rain, Betty said how much she enjoyed the trip, re-living the journeys she made during her school days.
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