Oxford rail station falls silent in tribute to employee Steve Cross, 38

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Oxford Mail:

Oxford rail station falls silent in tribute to employee Steve Cross, 38


Steve Cross

Oxford's railway station was brought to an emotional standstill yesterday as staff, family and passengers remembered a ^top bloke^.

Father-of-two Steve Cross, 38, from Cowley, who worked on ticket barriers at the station for eight years, died of a suspected heart attack at his home on Saturday.

Rail staff, British Transport Police officers and passengers observed a minute^s silence as the station came to a standstill at 11am yesterday.

Mr Cross^s family including his two daughters, Sophie 11, and Amy, 8 and his mother Deborah Kingsman, crowded around tributes by the barriers left in his memory.


Colleagues congregate at Oxford railway station yesterday to remember Steve Cross

Duty station manager Kevin Knight said: ^He was a top, top bloke. We will miss him so much. It won^t be the same at this station. He was a real joker and a genuine good friend. He loved his football and his takeaways but his two girls were all he ever mentioned. We were out with him on Friday night for a colleague^s leaving do and to wake up seven or eight hours later to that call was absolutely devastating. The small consolation is that he spent his last few hours with his closest mates.^

Mark Cooper, 38, from Cowley, was Steve^s best friend of 26 years. He said: ^He was loved in every circle he was in. We did everything together, he always said me and my brothers were the brothers he never had. I was at his house two days before. It^s horrible.^


Tributes left at the station

Candles and flowers were laid out on the floor and his coat was hung up with hundreds of tributes messages pinned to it.

The 38-year-old joined the staff at Oxford station in 2006 and had just started his ninth year as part of the team.

Simon Holden, First Great Western service delivery manager and a close friend, said: ^It^s left a huge gap in this station, it^s left a hole we will never be able to fill. Passengers loved him as well as the staff and I^ve even had emails from directors of other rail companies expressing their sadness. This station is like a family and I^m overwhelmed by the kindness of the people here today.^

Kate Olma, was trained by Steve on the gate before moving on to Didcot Parkway six months ago. She said: ^I feel very sad for his girls, Steve was an awesome person. He was the first person who trained me and he gave me his experience. I^m happy I worked with him, he was really generous and kind and always open and honest. The whole station and everyone who worked with him is heartbroken.^


Oxford railway station comes to a standstill yesterday as staff, family and passengers remembered Steve Cross, who worked on the ticket barriers at the station but died of a suspected heart attack on Saturday

The service information screen at the station, which sees six million people through its gates every year, was filled with a picture of Steve and a statement on behalf of the team. It read: ^Steve was a founding member of the gate line team and has been a tower of strength to all colleagues for the past eight years. His ready smile and banter proved to be a morale booster on numerous occasions. When the going got tough Steve was there.^

Mr Cross^s family thanked First Great Western and those who turned out to pay their respects for the marvellous support.

May I offer our condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Steve Cross, from the Coffee Shop forum.  Chris from Nailsea. 

[Western Pathfinder]

+1 RIP Steve Cross.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Oxford Mail:

Touching scenes as family unveil plaque to Oxford station worker Steve Cross

Family, friends and colleagues gathered at Oxford station to unveil a plaque commemorating a ticket barrier man who died earlier this year.

The plaque has been put up where father-of-two Steve Cross stood for the best part of a decade before his sudden death in January. It was officially unveiled yesterday by his two daughters Sophie, 12, and Amy, eight, alongside his mother Debra Kingsman.

Ms Kingsman said: ^The girls are so proud of their daddy. It^s a lovely tribute to him and this will always be here for them to come and see. I am so proud of him too and First Great Western has been so supportive to us ^ I want to thank the company. The idea of the plaque is very moving and it^s fitting that it^s here where he stood for so many years.^

She added: ^So many of his friends and work colleagues came along ^ it^s very touching."

The plaque in memory of the lifelong Liverpool fan was thought up and paid for by duty station managers Warren Bartlett and Kevin Knight, and station manager Richard Fry.

It read: ^Steve Cross First Great Western Oxford Gateline 2006-2015. Father, Friend, Work Colleague, Gentle Giant. Always in our Hearts."

The last part of the plaque stands for the Liverpool Football Club song You^ll Never Walk Alone. Two renditions of the song were played at his funeral in January.

Mr Knight said it would provide somewhere to remember his colleague. He said: ^He was one of a kind, you won^t find many like him. We thought it would be nice to have it right in spot where he worked, all of his gateline colleagues thought it was a brilliant idea.^

He added: ^We wanted to do something and have something permanent here for Steve, especially for his family and the staff. I hope that on anniversaries and birthday his girls could lay flowers there.^

Mark Cooper, 38, from Blackbird Leys, was a close friend of Mr Cross for more than 20 years. He said: ^It^s still quite raw in people^s hearts and First Great Western has given us a lot of support. He was liked in every circle he was in. The plaque says ^Gentle Giant^ and that was him all over.

Railway chaplain Chris Newport said before the unveiling: ^We need to celebrate the life of Steve and it^s clear that First Great Western staff loved him as a worker and colleague. I know that he is looking over now and smiling at such a wonderful occasion.^

A collection has raised more than ^2,000 for a trust fund for his daughters.