STA M FOR D PE OPLE
Vic Millington Railway Artist Words by Harjit Gammon
H
aving caught a fleeting glimpse of a lovely railway poster being carried by someone at an antiques fair, Harjit Gammon set about tracking down the artist; a former rail guard, whose idea of a fulfilled retirement is something of a busman’s holiday - painting scenes of his beloved railway. Vic Millington has painted prolifically ever since he first went on the railways, though his love affair with art started back in childhood, which he spent happily drawing trains and playing with Hornby models (which he now restores). An idyllic, contented life, many might say. A man of modest means and happily for him modest needs, Millington was, he says, “born in the days when life was still all in black and white”. He took up painting, encouraged by an artistic mother, along with other enduring pastimes, in a pre-computer era (which he has determinedly shunned) when such hobbies widely received approbation for their self improvement and enjoyment qualities. “Throughout my younger life my artistic mum encouraged me to draw,” said Vic. “So in 1967 I enrolled for evening classes at Mundella School (Leicester) and was introduced to acrylic watercolours. But after two lessons I decided to teach myself.” In the years to follow he developed his own individual, atmospheric style, which was beautifully showcased in a book capturing memories and observations of a lifetime devoted to the railways, and in his evocative railway posters, which hark back to the era of grand railway travel. However, despite painting for decades, he has only recently been persuaded to make his work available to the public, though he receives many offers to buy. A chance encounter with a biscuit tin, adorned with his work in an international airport, finally made him re-evaluate his own talent. To the best known of his artwork on the side of Harrods’ biscuit tins Vic can also proudly add international acclaim and recognition in Japan, where his art has gained awards at important competitions. He loves the art and culture of his Japanese partner Fumiko’s country and recounts how, on learning of his first success there he asked what the prize was.
62
“I was politely told: ‘No prize, just honour’. That, in Japan, is priceless.” He works in the kitchen of his diminutive Medieval home, overlooking a courtyard lovingly cluttered with railway memorabilia, with his drawing board ingeniously squeezed across the deep stone sink. Each painting, reminiscent of railway posters from the heyday of rail travel, takes him a week or more to complete, and is painstakingly worked to a high standard. Vic travels to the places he paints, all of which are on his beloved railway. Each painting is completely original, and often features figures from the fifties, “a simpler more innocent time,” he says, in the scene. The railways are almost literally in the blood of this dedicated rail man, who started his career, in what used to be an honourable profession, in the steam era on the GCR at Leicester and finished it 38 years later on the GCR at Marylebone. Both his paternal and maternal great-great-grandfathers, their brothers and sons, worked for the railway, stretching back to the 1840s. So, when aged 17, after leaving Gateway Boys Grammar School, Leicester, Vic joined the signals and telecommunications department at Leicester Central in 1961, it seemed a rather natural and
fitting continuation of a long family tradition. In 1969 the recently married young Vic moved to Cornwall; becoming a signalman at Goonbarrow Junction on the Newquay branch. It was during this period; Vic’s passion for painting took a new turn. He won a BR poster competition, which resulted in a commission for 25 views of the then current Western Region to be hung in the general manager’s suite at Paddington. He was also commissioned to produce posters of the newly introduced HST (High Speed Train) for display nationwide. After an idyllic time on the railways in Cornwall, he returned to his Leicester roots in 1990, following the sad break-up of his marriage. Several railway jobs followed, including roster clerk at Peterborough. They were “happy days”, he says, as he reflects on the “delightful” and “perfect” time he spent on the railways.
• For enquiries about his work and posters, priced at £60, contact: railwayposterart@gmail.com Further examples of his work, including Stamford, Oakham, Ketton & Uppingham stations can be seen at: www.vintagecountryliving.com
STAMFORD LIVING JANUARY 2014
62 PEOPLE copy.indd 1
18/12/13 14:55:03