Scot visits Indian railways to trace roots

A resident of Scotland visited the South Central Railway (SCR) headquarters here in search of his ancestral roots.

Nicholas Graves Monday met P.K. Srivastava, general manager, SCR at its headquarters in Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad, and requested him to provide details of his great grandfather.

Way back in 1932, Nicholas Graves' great grandfather James Theadore used to work as a 'Loco Fitter' in Nizam State Railways, Lallaguda, Secunderabad.

Theadore was born in India Dec 15, 1897. Nicholas brought with him a 'pension book' of Theadore and presented to the general manager.

Nicholas said his grandmother Phyllis Margaret Champion is the daughter of Theadore. Born in Secunderabad in 1920, she got married to Percy James Champion working in British army in India.

They married Aug 29, 1938 at St. Josephs Church, Lucknow. However, just before the start of World War II, the couple migrated to England in 1939.

Srivastava appreciated the efforts of Nicholas Graves and expressed all his cooperation to trace out the roots.

Nicholas Graves was in the city to attend the Indian Railway Fan Club Association convention.