Comerford Way in Winslow, Buckinghamshire … celebrates Denis Anothny Comerford (1908-1994), the last railway signalman at Winslow Station (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
In recent months, I have changed the main image at the top of this blog to a photograph of me at Comerford Way and the street sign in Winslow in Buckinghamshire, 16 km (10 miles) south of Stony Stratford, and I have adapted the name of Comerford Way so that it has become the name of this blog.
Winslow is half-way between Stony Stratford and Aylesbury, and Comerford Way is a pleasant area near Station Road. Engineers are close to completing work on the section of East West Rail from Bicester to Bletchley through Winslow, and they expect to start running a rail service between Oxford and Bletchley through Winslow by the end of this year (2025).
The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in her speech yesterday, gave the green-light to plans for Britain’s answer to Silicon Valley, including major developments between Oxford and Cambridge designed to boost the economy by £78 billion. These include the new east-west rail link and upgraded roads linking the two university cities and Milton Keynes in what has become known as ‘the Oxford-Cambridge Arc.’
As she said in her speech yesterday, it takes 2½ hours to get from Oxford to Cambridge by train at present and ‘there is no way to commute directly from towns like Bedford and Milton Keynes to Cambridge by rail.’ The rail links between Oxford and Cambridge has three stages, with initial services from Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes due to begin this year.
The works being completed include a brand new station at Winslow, new platforms at Bletchley and other infrastructure work between Bicester and Bletchley, including signalling and cabling.
The new train route promises faster and easier access to Oxford and offers me opportunities to get to Oxford early in the morning or to stay on in the evening to enjoy church, academic and cultural events. In time, I hope, there is going to be a direct link to Cambridge too.
Winslow is just half an hour from Stony Stratford, and on a visit some time ago I came visited Comerford Way, off Station Road. At one time, I thought this modern housing development took its name from an area known as Great Comerford. But I learned there that Comerford Way takes its name from Denis Anothny Comerford (1908-1994), who was the last railway signalman at Winslow Station.
Denis Comerford worked at Winslow station from 1937 until 1968, when the railway line and the station closed and he was made redundant. During those years, he lied at No 11 Station Road. Nearby No 63 was once the Station Inn, and Station Road became the second most populated street in Winslow. Comerford Way, which keeps alive the memory of Denis Comerford, is a new housing development at the east end of Station Road in Winslow, at the junction with McLernon Way.
Denis Comerford receives a watch and a handshake after many years as a signalman in Winslow station
As I began to learn a more about Denis Comerford and his life in Winslow, and to find glimpses of his life in Winslow, I wrote how I would like to learn more about his family, his family background, his early days in Derby and his life story.
Denis Comerford was born in Chesterfield and grew up in Derbyshire. In research in recent weeks, I have been able to trace back five generations to one of the branches of the Comerford family living in
Ballinakill, Co Laois, at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Denis Comerford’s family later lived in the Templemore area in Co Tipperary and Fiddown, Co Kilkenny, and many members of the family emigrated to New South Wales, Australia, in the late 19th century.
Denis Comerford’s own father was a direct descendant of:
Edward Comerford (1769- ), was born in 1769 in Rosenallis, Co Laois. He married
Dymphna Delaney (born 1758) in Aghaboe, Co Laois. They lived in Ballinakill, Co Laos, and Edward and Dympna Comerford were the parents of:
1, William Comerford (
ca 1805-1870), of whom next.
They may also have been the parents of:
2, Patrick Comerford (1801-1870) of Dundalk, Co Louth. He was born in 1801, baptised in 1802, and was the ancestor of the Comerford family of Dundalk, Co Louth.
The first-named son of Edward and Dympna Comerford was:
William Comerford (
ca 1805-1870) was born in Ballinakill, Co Laois,
ca 1805. He married
Mary Talbot (1805-1887). William Comerford died in Co Offaly in 1870; Mary died in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, in 1887.
They were the parents of five children, three sons and two daughters:
1, John Comerford (1829-1905), of whom next.
2, Jane (born 1832), born in Templemore, Co Tipperary, 1832; she married
John Maher (1824-1889), and lived in Chorlton, Lancashire.
3, Denis Comerford (1834-1892), leather merchant. He was born in Templemore, Co Tipperary, in October 1834, and lived in Umarra, New South Wales, Australia. The passengers on the
Abyssinian, the ship Denis and his brother Thomas travelled on to Australia in 1862, included
John Comerford of Bagenalstown (Muine Bheag), Co Carlow, aged 23, stonemason. He married
Emma Stapleton (1843-1915) in Sydney in 1869, and died in Umarra on 2 October 1892. They were the parents of six children, five sons and a daughter:
•
1a, William Comerford (1872-1956), born in Maclean, New South Wales, on 18 July.
•
2a, Thomas B Comerford (1873-1946), born in Maclean, on 21 December 1873.
•
3a, Denis Comerford (1875-1944), born in Maclean in 1875.
•
4a, Martin Comerford (1879-1961), born in Maclean in 1879.
•
5a, Edward Comerford (1882-1955), born in Maclean in 1882.
•
6a, Mary Jane (1885-1939), born in Maclean on13 February 1885.
4, Thomas Comerford (1837-1900), born on 10 October 1837 in Templemore, Co Tipperary, and lived in Maclean, New South Wales, Australia. He married
Bridget Hurley (1844-1890) in Grafton in 1875, and died in Maclean on 4 April 1900. They were the parents of eight children, four sons and four daughters, all born in Maclean:
•
1a, William Comerford (1875-1876).
•
2a, Mary (1875-1924).
•
3a, John Commerford (1877-1953), married
Mary Ann Moloney (1877-1950) on 8 January 1908, and they were the parents of five sons and a daughter:
Thomas Bede Commerford (1908-1984);
John Joseph Commerford (1910-1967);
William Clarence (
Clarrie)
Commerford (1914-1986);
Daniel Kevin Commerford (1918-1926); and
Annie Teresa Commerford (1918-2008).
•
4a, Denis Comerford (1880-1963).
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5a, Jane (1882-1949).
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6a, Annie (1884-1964).
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7a, Bridget (1887-1942).
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8a, … Comerford (1890-1890), a son, died at birth.
5, Mary (1841-1914), of Kerang, Victoria, Australia, married
James Troy (1837-1885) in Geelong on 4 June 1870, and they were the parents of eight children.
The eldest son of William and Mary Comerford was:
John Comerford (1829-1905). He was born in Templemore, Co Tipperary, on 23 November 1829. He married
Anastatia (
Anty)
Tierney (born 1835) in 1860. He died at the age of 76 in 1905. John and Anty Comerford were the parents of at six children, three sons and three daughters:
1, Michael Comerford (1860-1879), born in Co Kilkenny on 18 July 1860, died in Borrisokane, Co Tipperary, in March 1879.
2, Mary (1867-1919), of Fiddown, Co Kilkenny, who married
Thomas Butler (1865-1937).
3, Denis Comerford (born 1869), born in Waterford on 21 January 1869.
4, John Comerford (1871-1946), of whom next.
5, Jane (1873-1932), born Pilltown, Co Kilkenny, on 4 March 1873; died in Birmingham in July 1932.
6, Statia (1876-post 1911).
The third son and fourth child of John and Anty Comerford was:
John Comerford (1871-1946). He was born in Piltown, Co Kilkenny, on 12 May 1871, and was baptised in Piltown. He was living in Gortrush, Fiddown, Co Kilkenny, at the time of the 1901 census, but soon moved to England. Two years later, he married
Mary Clifton (1868-1932) in Aston, Birmingham, in April 1903. She was born in Cuckfield, Sussex, in April 1868, the daughter of
William Henry Clifton (1836-1912) and
Mary (
Tourle) Clifton (born 1835).
John Comerford worked as a railway guard in the English Midlands. John and Mary Comerford lived in Birmingham, and the couple later lived in Tupton, Derbyshire, and Chesterfield, Derbyshire. Mary (Clifton) Comerford died in Chesterfield in July 1932. Some sources identify John with John Comerford, a former miner, who he died in Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny, at the age of 75 in September 1946, but so far I have been unable to verify this.
John and Mary Comerford were the parents of five sons:
1, John Henry Comerford (1904-1980), born in Birmingham 14 June 1904, living in Tupton, Derbyshire, in 1911. He married
Ethel Patricia Wragg (1903–1986) in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, in January 1927. He died in Stafford in 1981. They were the parents of a son:
•
1a, Michael John Comerford (1928–2009), born in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, 18 September 1928; he died in Stoke on Trent, 23 November 2009.
2, William Patrick Comerford (1906-1985), born in Birmingham 6 May 1906, living in Tupton, Derbyshire, in 1911. He married
Margaret Rose Wragg (1906-1967), Chesterfield, Derbyshire, in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, in April 1928. William died in Chesterfield 16 May 1985; Margaret died in Chesterfield January 1967; they were the parents of a daughter and two sons:
•
1a, Patricia M Comerford (1929-2002)
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2a, Philip George Comerford (1933-1998)
•
3a, Peter J Comerford (1933–2007)
3, Denis Anthony Comerford (1908-1984), born in Hasland, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, in 1908, of whom next.
4, Bruno Philip Comerford (1910-1992), born in Tupton, Derbyshire, in 1910. He married
Rosalind Ann Armstrong (1910-1998) in Chesterfield in January 1934. They later lived in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, England were the parents of a number of children, including a son:
•
1a Terence Comerford (1937-2010), who was born in Bedford. He married
Gwyneth Price (1938-2015) in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, in July 1959, and later lived in Milton Keynes. He died in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, at the age of 72 on 13 September 2010. Their children included a daughter
Belinda Comerford (1962–2022), born in Newport Pagnell, 20 May 1962, lived in Milton Keynes, married in Ampthill, and died in Milton Keynes on 15 September 2022.
5, Francis James Comerford (1912-2000), born in Claycross, Derbyshire, 26 October 1912. He married (1)
Mary Anne Jones (1919-1949), and they were the parents of two children; he married (2)
Sylvia Hepburn (1902–1987). He died in Kettering, Northamptonshire, at the age of 87, on 6 March 2000.
Denis Comerford looking down the line at Winslow Station in the 1950s
The third son of John and Mary Comerford was:
Denis Anthony Comerford (1908-1994). He was born in Hasland, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, on 1 February 1908. He was living in Tupton, Derbyshire, in 1911. He married
Dorothy Clarke (1905-1996) in Saint Vincent’s Catholic Church, Vauxhall Grove, Birmingham North, on 2 August 1931. She was born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, on 26 April 1905, the daughter of
Horace Clarke (1879-1943) and
Emma (
Bower)
Clarke (1883-1961).
Denis Comerford came to Winslow from Derby in 1937. His father was a railway guard and advised Denis that the railways offered security in hungry times.
Denis later recalled: ‘One of my first jobs was checking Claycross tunnel, Stephenson’s masterpiece near Chesterfield. It were dark, damp and smelt of sooty old steam engines. Winslow were a step up. Mr Brudenell was in charge of the station. He was a solid looking man, always immaculate with his white collar winged and starched. It was his rule to be on the platform to meet every train. An’ he had a remarkable head for figures. He looked after neighbouring Swanbourne as well.’
In 1936, the year before Denis arrived in Winslow, the Aylesbury-Buckingham railway closed to passengers. World War II brought new demands for the railways, but improved aircraft also put Winslow directly in the firing line as bombers passed over to prime targets like Coventry. The High Street and Sheep Street in Winslow trembled under the weight of tanks as they practised manoeuvres, and troops from all corners of the Empire, and eventually the US, filled local pubs to bursting.
The Station Inn, near Denis Comerford’s home and his place of work, did a roaring trade. Heavily defended by gun emplacements, it was the pub where most servicemen stopped off as they came and went by train.
As a signalman, Denis Comerford recalled many hijinks among the young men as they waited on his station platforms. He once recalled an occasion when two Canadians were amorously pursuing a local young woman and took a short cut towards her through the couplings of a train that was slowly departing.
‘They missed death by a fraction,’ Denis later remarked, according to Robert Cook’s account.
Denis Comerford continued to work at Winslow station for more than three decades after the end of World War II. However, the station declined after World War II, and in 1963 Winslow station was listed for closure in the Beeching report, which called for the closure of all minor stations on the line.
Winslow closed to goods traffic on 22 May 1967 and to passengers on 1 January 1968; the signal box followed one month later. The closure was delayed because replacement bus services were not able to handle the projected extra traffic.
Denis Comerford received his redundancy notice from British Railways in February 1968, when passenger train services from the Oxford/Bletchley and Bedford/Cambridge Lines were withdrawn. He left the service on 10 February 1968. The letter setting out the terms of his redundancy included expressions of ‘appreciation of your many years of faithful service.’
Denis Comerford died in Winslow at the age of 86 on 20 November 1994; Dorothy died in 1996. They were the parents of two children.
Denis Comerford lived at No 11 Station Road in Winslow (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
The line between Oxford and Bletchley was closed to passengers and local goods services, and later singled in 1985.
Winslow station continued to be used during the 1980s for ‘Chiltern Shopper’ specials and British Rail handbills survive that show services calling at the station during November and December between 1984 and 1986.
The station building, by then in a very derelict state, survived long enough to see the first visit of a Class 43 on 13 February 1993, but was demolished shortly afterwards. Now, a new station is being completed in Winslow as part of the East-West Rail route between Oxford and Cambridge.
A new station has been built at the junction of Buckingham Road with Horwood Road. When the line opens, Winslow should have direct trains to Oxford, Milton Keynes Central and Bedford. The journey time from Winslow to Oxford is estimated at 27 minutes.
Comerford Way off Station Road, Winslow, close to the site of Winslow Station, keeps alive the memory of Denis Comerford. But.
Comerford Way in Winslow, Buckinghamshire, recalls Denis Comerford, the last railway signalman at Winslow Station (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Additional reading:
Robert Cook,
The Book of Winslow (Buckingham: Barracuda Books, 1989).
Updated: 21 February 2025.
