Super Station Master Gets Royal Honour

Caring station master Trevor Beaven,who makes soothing pots of tea for harassed commuters,and tells them to wait at home when the train's running late - he alerts them when it's about to arrive - finally got his MBE yesterday.

He couldn't get it from the Queen earlier this year because he'd dislocated his shoulder.

It was handed to him by the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire,Sir Maurice Johnston,not in opulent Buckingham Palace...but in Trevor's beloved waiting room on the "up" platform to London at his homely little country station.

Trevor,57,is a living legend locally,where he has fussed over generations of passengers with a pride and dedication which goes way beyond the call of duty.

He doesn't only sell the tickets,he sweeps up the platforms,opens the carriage doors and makes the Tannoy announcements at the village's charming Victorian halt.

He also goes out of his way to smooth the passage of railway users by taking and delivering personal messages and pouring a cuppa from his own pot for harassed City-bound businessmen sighing with impatience as they wait for their train.

He has held up trains when passengers are running late and,on snowy days when the services are well behind time,he has been known to tell regulars "Go back home to the warm - I'll ring you when it's coming. "

The popular station supervisor is also a mine of information when it comes to unravelling the complexities of railway timetables.

Yesterday there was delight and applause from the rural community which dad-of-two Trevor has served for more than three decades when he received an MBE for services to Pewsey railway station.

Trevor,who was awarded the medal in the Queen's New Year Honours,has worked at the station for 34 of the 40 years he has been in the railway industry.

He said "I couldn't believe it when the letter arrived in the post to say that I had been awarded an MBE in the Queen's New Year Honours list.I was very surprised even to have been considered for such an award. "

Trevor,who started his career at nearby Woodborough,says everything he does is all part of his job and does not believe he does anything out of the ordinary.

"You read in the newspapers about ordinary people getting such awards but I never thought it would happen to me.I just enjoy working with people,which is why my job is ideal. "

Four years ago his station was voted Best Small Station in the West because of its friendliness and efficiency.

The chairman of the local parish council,Colin Lampard,said "Trevor is a legend in the community here.This is a classic example of the sort of person who has served his community so well and for so long,who deserves this sort of honour."