A FOUNDING father of the Llangollen & Corwen Railway, Bill Shakespeare MBE, has passed away. Latterly serving as the line’s president, Bill died on September 20, just two weeks short of his 96th birthday.
A true preservation pioneer, Bill had been involved in the railway from its creation as the Deeside and Flintshire Railway Preservation Society in the late 1970s. He gave a lifetime’s dedicated service to the railway as a volunteer and served as chairman of the Llangollen RailwayTrust (LRT) between 1976 and 1998. He was awarded an MBE for services to the railway upon his retirement as chairman and continued to support the LRT in an honorary role as president right up until his passing.
Former LRT chairman Gordon Heddon, who worked alongside Bill for many years said:“Bill was‘Mr Llangollen Railway’. He successfully steered the railway through some very difficult times in the past. Iam so glad he was able to be at the Corwen station opening to realise his long-held ambition. Rest easy, my friend.”