End of the line for Derek after 40 years

For Mr Hillman, it is the stand-out moment of a career spanning more than 40 years on the railways.

It is also a career that is now at its last stop as Mr Hillman – whose voice is recognisable from the train announcements at Wolverhampton railway station – is retiring.

It was back in the 1980s that he met Her Majesty and he remembers the nerves bubbling up on the day,

"I was nervous because I didn't want to do anything untoward," laughs the 66-year-old from Wednesfield. "The Queen opened a church in Milton Keynes and she was on my train as we left London to go back up to Wolverhampton – stopping at Milton Keynes along the way.

"It was a very nice day and one I'll always remember which gives me great pride.

"Not many people can say they have worked on the same train which the Queen was travelling on. I remember standing in a line as she came out of the train. I was so nervous but it was the same for the other workers on the train. It's just one of the things that will stay with me forever."

But it wasn't all glitz, glamour and royalty, Derek spent some of his career dealing with unusual items left behind by passengers. He recalls: "I've seen many items left on the train – skateboards, bikes, laptops, you name it – but false teeth I would say is probably one of the most unusual items I've seen.

"I just found it on one of the seats, grabbed a napkin and handed it over to lost property. It's amazing to see what people leave behind on the train – things you'd think you'd never leave without."

Derek is now looking forward to working on his garden and enjoying his favourite hobby of fishing during his retirement. He has worked at Wolverhampton's main train station since 1985, being in the ticket office for the last few years, but has worked on the rails for more than four decades in total.

And it all started thanks to an advertisement that appeared in the Express & Star back in 1970 back while he was working at Beatties department store. Derek spotted the advert for freight guards at the Bescot Yard, Wednesbury and Cricklewood in London.

A week later after applying for both jobs, Derek was offered a job on the spot at the Wednesbury site and since then he has never looked back, serving and helping rail passengers from all over the country.

"Looking back now seeing that advert in the paper changed my life and gave me a career spanning more than 40 odd years which I've fully enjoyed," he says.

"I never once worried about going to work. I enjoyed it and have no regrets. Unfortunately, you always remember the bad things as well. I think I know of about half a dozen people who have lost their lives on the train jumping on to the track.

Derek changed jobs in 1985 when he became a passenger guard at Wolverhampton. A few years later, he switched again to become a Revenue Protection Officer at the same station.

Mr Hillman then worked in the reception office at Birmingham New Street from the mid 1990s before returning to his home city in 1998 to become Station Supervisor – a role which made him top man at the site. At the start of the new millennium, after problems with his hearing, Derek then took on a role at the station's ticket office which was to be his last role in the railway business.

His voice was heard regularly at the station with him sharing the duty of announcing what times trains were coming in.

Derek, who is married to Kathleen, 67, and has two adopted daughters Cheryl, 36 and Katy, 31, said it was the right time to retire but admitted he was going to miss his job and the daily joy of meeting passengers.

"I really loved working on the trains because you go to different places and meet people with so many backgrounds," he says. "I'm going to miss the people I worked with but I'm hoping to see them when I go back to the station with my family.

"I think when you're once a railwayman you are always a railwayman. It's something that gets in your blood.

"After working for so many years it feels weird now not to have a job. But now I feel the time is right to retire."

David Whitehouse, manager of Wolverhampton railway station, added: "Derek's going to be a big loss to the team.

"He is a great character who was much loved by all the team.

He's put his heart and soul into everything he has done and we wish him a long, successful retirement."