Barrow Boy book launch to take place at Bridlington Railway Station

The book tells the stories of the barrow boys and girls that used to ply their trade at seaside resorts along the coast, transporting holiday makers luggage from railway stations to hotels in their home made barrows.

Author Denise Dunnington brings together memories from the former barrow boys and girls and interweaves their stories with fascinating details of local railway history and of the growth of seaside resorts.

Helped greatly by research from Faith Young, the idea for a book followed the YCCRP’s unveiling of their Barrow Boy statue at Bridlington station last year.

The statue, which was funded by Yorkshire Coast BID, Community Rail Network, Bridlington Town Council and the YCCRP was made by local sculptor Stephen Carvill and has become a much loved and visited attraction at the station.

Many former barrow boys and girls turned up at the unveiling event and all had interesting stories to tell and memories to share.

Interest was such that the YCCRP wanted to capture these memories and keep them alive for future generations in the form of a book,

Thanks to help from Mr Carvill, the book contains a chapter about the creation of the statue, detailing all the stages from concept to installation.

Community Rail Officer Rachel Osborne said: “We are proud to be able to help celebrate this important piece of social history, first with a statue and now with a book.”

The event is free and everyone is welcome. Copies of the book will be available to purchase after a short talk on the day.