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In recent years the society has erected a number of plaques and memorials concerned with Sir Nigel Gresley and his work.
In 1992 a plaque was placed in the floor of Great Hall at the National Railway Museum, York, at the end of one of the turntable tracks. This was where, on the night of 29th April, 1942, one of the Gresley class A4 Pacific locomotives, No. 4469 Sir Ralph Wedgwood, was destroyed in an air raid. The plaque was unveiled by Sir Martin Wedgwood, the grandson of Sir Ralph.
Francis Carnwath, of English Heritage and Tim Godfrey, grandson of Sir Nigel Gresley, unveiled the Blue Plaque at King’s Cross station 24th September 1997.
On 29th July 1998 the society installed a large sign beside the East Coast Main Line to mark the spot where, on 3rd July 1938, Mallard secured the world speed record for steam traction, at 126 mph. The record still stands. The sign is just south of milepost 90¼, on the Up side. Its cost was funded partly by the Society, and by individuals and railway industry companies.
On 3rd July 2001 the Society unveiled a handsome plaque at Waverley Station, Edinburgh to commemorate the fact that Sir Nigel was born in that city, in Dublin Street, in 1876. The plaque is on one of the interior walls of the booking office and waiting room. It was unveiled by Mr Tony Roche, that year’s President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Sir Nigel had been President of that Institution in 1936.
On 5th April 2016 the Council of the Gresley Society plus 60 invited guests, and a great many more people, gathered on the concourse at King’s Cross Station, to witness the unveiling of our statue to Sir Nigel Gresley, on this the 75th anniversary of the great man’s passing.
Following an opening introduction by our President John Cameron, the guest of honour, Sir Peter Hendy, Chairman of Network Rail was invited to speak before carrying out the unveiling ceremony which raised much applause. There then followed speeches by Sir Nigel’s eldest grandson, the late Tim Godfrey, and Hazel Reeves who had been responsible for the excellently proportioned and lifelike statue.
After the formalities were over the guests, who also included Sir Nigel’s grandson Ben Godfrey, the late Sir William McAlpine, Vice Presidents Peter Coster, the late Richard Hardy and the late Peter Townend retired to The Parcel Yard where an excellent buffet lunch was served.
On 17th October 2016 a Blue Plaque was unveiled by David McIntosh at St. Anne’s on the Sea railway station. It was organised by the Lytham St Anne’s Civic Society and Tony Ford of the Friends Group of St Anne’s station, in recognition of Sir Nigel Gresley and his link with the town, as he married Anne Fulger of St Anne’s when he was based in Lancashire.
On the 19th June 2017, the anniversary of Sir Nigel’s birthday, the Gresley Society fulfilled a long held dream, first voiced by our founder the late Ramsay Ferguson, to unveil a plaque at the place of the great man’s birth. Here is Director of Rail at Transport Scotland, Bill Reeve IMechE along with President John Cameron and Chairman Philip Benham at the unveiling at 32 Dublin Street. Looking on is Prof. Leon Pompa who is the present owner and resident.
On 7th October 2017 another plaque was unveiled this time at Hadley Wood where Sir Nigel lived between 1923 and 1929. The event was organised by the Gresley Society in conjunction with The Hadley Wood Rail User Group the unveiling was carried out by TV personality and one time Member of Parliament for the area Michael Portillo.
On 19 June 2025 Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, unveiled a plaque at the entrance to Doncaster station to commemorate one of the country’s greatest railway engineers, Sir Nigel Gresley, who was also born on this day in 1876.
The plaque and information board is situated close to an existing display which includes the names of many of the Gresley designed locomotives built in the nearby engineering workshops and highlights the important role Sir Nigel Gresley played in the development of Doncaster as a major railway centre.
On 31 October 2025 Network Rail announced that Doncaster’s new railway training centre will be named The Gresley Institute – following a public vote, held in partnership with City of Doncaster Council, which attracted over 3,500 responses. Formerly home to the National College for High Speed Rail, the building has been transformed into a modern centre for operational training, education and development. The first training delegates began their learning on 6 October 2025 – and the centre will eventually train up to 1,000 rail industry colleagues each year. It was a clear winner with 57% of the vote in the naming campaign.
