David Perrin

David Perrin was born in Boston in Lincolnshire and spent his childhood there. After leaving school, David went to work, at what is now British Telecom. His career there spanned some thirty years; through to early retirement at the age of 49. He then took the opportunity to give full rein to his three passions of painting, North Wales and railways.

David married Carol, who also worked at BT, in 1986.

David had great talent as an artist. He had an incredible ability to paint mechanical things just as they were. David's early works were copies of his father's photographs of railway engines. After they married, Carol and David started to visit railways such as the Great Central with prints of his paintings and there was no shortage of customers. It was around this time that David entered a competition run by the Railway Magazine to win a footplate ride on Linda at the FR Co.. David won the competition, but the staff at the FR always felt that they had won first prize, as he subsequently joined their ranks of FR volunteers and put in many hours of work. He produced a wide variety of paintings of NG locos, prints of which were sold through the FR shop, and some appear on FR and WHR Christmas cards.

He became involved with Lilla and was often seen preparing her for 'Slate Shunt' or other duties. David made us smile with his approach to a flooded inspection pit at Boston Lodge. Where others might have grumbled, David found a way to get around a problem with a smile and a bit of fun along the way.

David will be remembered for his paintings, his work with the Lilla team, his personality, and the fortitude with which he bore the effects of his illness.

See also

• Lilla