Then there were 4
Initially the idea to run charter trains to raise money for St. James' Church developments was Ian Stocks'. He was at the time Church Warden with a huge responsibility towards raising the estimated £150,000 to modify the building. Being a boiler inspector, Ian had maintained his love of railways looking at steam locomotive boilers. He had the idea to run a charter train but needed help.
His sister Meryl Rishton and husband Ken were obvious choices as were friends Merle and George Grunshaw. This band of friends was the initial SJDT Committee.
On the first ever SJDT to Canterbury and Dover Eric Bond and his 2 children, Duncan and Laura were travelling somewhere near the back of the train. Duncan & Laura disappeared "to see Uncle George" at Preston and were not seen again until Crewe when they said excitedly "Come on Dad we can go and help!". So it was that Eric was given a book of raffle tickets to sell and never looked back since. The Bond's were subsequently invited onto the Committee. Then there were 4 couples.