A Unique Job

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 126, 22 February 1938, Page 5

A Unique Job

Britain’s Only Railway Saleswoman (By Fenella.) ’‘Dominion” Special Service—By Air Mall. London, February 4. TN an office beside No. 1 platform at x Paddington Station, London, there works a girl with a unique job. She is Miss Audrey Shirtliff, Britain’s first railway saleswoman. About 18 months ago the Great Western Railway had a bright idea. They thought that a woman’s advice and point of view would be invaluable in arranging outings for women’s organisations and schools, and Miss Shirtliff, herself an experienced traveller, was given the job. “It is exceedingly interesting and full of variety,” she told me when I paw her this week iri a little room high up above the station, with the noise of shunting and engine-whistles as background music for our interview. She is dark and slim, with a friendly smile, which must be a great asset in her job. “One day I may have to visit a duchess to arrange an outing for some women’s political organisation, and the next I will discuss a mothers’ treat over a cup of strong tea and a bun in a working man’s kitchen.” “What are the most necessary qualifications for your job, do you think?” I asked her. “Adaptability and tact,” she said. “And, of course, a clear grasp of detail. Sometimes people write and ask me to give them a choice of several outings, with particulars of fares, times and catering arrangements, and it takes hours of research and inquiries before I can answer the letters. We have a great many beauty-spots on our line, such as Windsor, Stratford-on-Avon, and Oxford, and all kinds of attractions for different types of trips, the river, lovely country, historical places, and also big works and factories which cater for parties of sightseers. “I arrange a great many educational trips of all kinds, for ' both schoolchildren and also students at technical colleges. Sometimes they go to a big town the Midlands, such as Birmingham, and we arrange tours of different works or factories for them each day. “Then there are outings from the country to ■ London, and I arrange for them to see things like the Tower and the changing of the guard. All the children love visiting the Science Museum, where they can watch the models working.” Twice every year there is a board meeting at. which Miss Shirtliff is the only woman, which she finds rather nerve-wracking, but “the men are all charming to work with,” she told me. “My job is more or less what I make it,” she told me. "I worked it up from the start, and it has, I think, enormous possibilities. None of the other railways has yet taken up the idea of a woman to arrange women’s outings, but they probably will in time. “When I first started, I had a certain amount of publicity in the Press, because mine was such a unique job, and I had dozens of letters as a result. Some of them were from the Dominions, saying what a good idea it was, and hoping that something of the same sort might be started in Canada and Australia. “But some were from commercial firms, asking me to be an agent for face-creams or powder, as my job must bring me into contact with so many women.” As I left the busy I thought how wise the Great Western had been to appoint someone as charming as Miss Shirtliff to “sell” their thousands of miles of line to the women of Britain.