Press Release - Talyllyn Railway Marks The Passing Of Preservation Pioneer Sonia Rolt

The Talyllyn Railway was sad to learn of the death of another pioneer involved in the early days of the preserved railway, Sonia Rolt, the widow of Tom Rolt.


Sonia was involved in the early years of the newly preserved Talyllyn Railway, often operating the ticket office at Wharf station while Tom was General Manager. She even guarded trains while pregnant with their eldest son, Richard. Her interest in the railway was to continue for the rest of her life.

Sonia South, her maiden name, was educated at Farnborough Hill Convent School, before starting a career on the stage. However, it was during the Second World War that her life was to change dramatically. This was when she became one of the women who volunteered to take the place of the working canal boat men called up for military service. Officially known as the Inland Waterways women, they were unkindly dubbed the ‘idle women’, but through their hard work and graft they helped maintain the flow of goods along the waterways throughout the duration of the war. It was during this time that she met her first husband, George Smith, one of the working boat men.

Tom Rolt and Sonia first met at a showing of the film documentary ‘Painted Boats’ in Birmingham in 1945. At that time Tom had just published his book ‘Narrow Boat’ about his life on his boat Cressy, which was to become influential in establishing the Inland Waterways Association. They were to campaign together for the future of the canals, and over the course of time their friendship became deeper.

After the break-up of her first marriage Sonia joined Tom in Tywyn. This was during the early years of the Talyllyn Railway’s operation under the auspices of the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society, which Tom had played a leading role in establishing. In 1953 they moved into the Rolt family home at Stanley Pontlarge where Sonia was to live until her death.

Her interest in preservation continued and she became involved with The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), chairing their Education committee between 1991 and 2005. She also became a member of the Gloucester Diocesan Advisory Committee overseeing the preservation and repair of historic churches. In addition she was involved with the Landmark Trust, as well as the National Trust.

Sonia’s first love though was for the canals and in 1997 she published her own book on the working canals ‘A Canal People: The Photographs of Robert Longden’, and she also became a Vice-President of the Inland Waterways Association in 1993. However, she retained a soft spot for the Talyllyn Railway, and maintained her interest even after Tom’s death in 1974.

In 2010 she made her last visit to the Railway as part of the Rolt Centenary celebrations. Clearly she enjoyed the experience, and stated to one writer that she had had, ‘The time of my life at Tywyn. We laughed so much’. She was also made a Vice-President of the Preservation Society in 1990. Her involvement in the preservation movement was rightly recognised in January 2011 when she was awarded the OBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours list for services to Industrial Archaeology and Heritage.

David Mitchell, President of the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society, commented:

“With Sonia’s death we have lost another link to those early pioneering days of the preserved railway. Sonia’s role in those events is perhaps not as well known as they should be, but the Railway owes her a debt of thanks for the support she gave at that time. We are most grateful that Sonia maintained her interest in the Railway to the very end and she will be sorely missed. We extend our sympathies to her sons Richard and Tim along with the rest of the family.”

Photo courtesy of David Mitchell.


For further information about this press release please e-mail: pressoffice [at] talyllyn [dot] co [dot] uk (subject: Website%20news%20enquiry) or phone either 0113 281 8235 or 01654 710472.