It is with great sadness that we announce the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Alison Stansfield.
Alison was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, daughter of Mary and Derek. With her brother and sister, she spent her early years moving around Africa following her father’s early career as a doctor in the colonial service. Returning to England, she lived in the Lake District, where she enjoyed the great outdoors and was awarded a gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.
After completing A levels, she went to Leeds University, graduating in 1979 with a degree in modern languages. She started a teaching career with studies at Nottingham Trent University and at schools in Long Eaton and Ilkeston. During this time, and being married to a railway civil engineer based in Derby, she was exposed to ‘the permanent way’ and became involved with the Nottingham and Derby Section of the PWI at a very tender age. Concepts such as loose sleeper relaying, Quadlight, Dynamic Track Stabilisation and Stoneblowing were household language.
In 1982, she left teaching ‘temporarily’ to follow her husband, David Johnson, to the USA for a secondment to the Association of American Railroads in Chicago and Pueblo, Colorado – the home of the world’s largest train set at the time. There she established another set of friends, many of whom also have Derby roots. Temporary life became permanent with the arrival of three children, Graham, Colin and Simon, and settling down in Matlock.
Her ‘real’ involvement in rail began in 1989, when, with her three children under six years old, she became the unsung back-office hero of a fledgling company, Laser Rail Ltd. This became her fourth child! Laser Rail was an unusual company – developing computerised systems for an industry that thrived on pencil and paper and provided a unique challenge.
Alison was integral to the company’s development. Supporting the technical work required the development of processes and systems, managing clients, being there for the staff as they grew to over 85 employees and became a major name in the rail industry with its ground-breaking ClearRoute software, amongst other products.
As Operations Director, Alison oversaw many of the company’s milestones, including two premises moves and ISO 9000 accreditation. She became one of the first Chartered Directors through the Institute of Directors and was involved in a number of international business development expeditions, including Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, China, Argentina and Chile. In particular, working on both sides of the Atlantic meant that Alison’s customer facing role in the UK exposed her to many people in the industry who have become lifelong friends.
In later years, Alison ran the London office of the business where it was expanding into metro activities. She moved from Matlock to London and began an enduring relationship with the London Section of the PWI in her own right. Through this, she went on a number of PWI expeditions and became well known to members of the Institution across the country. When Laser Rail was sold to Balfour Beatty in 2007, Alison continued to work for the combined company for a number of years, integrating the two company’s systems.
Following this, Alison set up her own consultancy business, Barbro Consulting, providing business coaching for start-up companies. She also became involved more strategically with the PWI, where, appointed as Marketing Director in 2010, she again played an integral role in organisational growth and development. Alison was a fundamental driver behind the Institution’s journey from a niche membership organisation to a Professional Engineering Institution. In addition to her strategic role, and after retiring from it, she spent many happy hours editing the Institution’s Journal and proofreading several of the Institution’s text books.
Alison had some enviable characteristics. She was largely unflappable, infuriatingly so on occasions. In times of stress she remained unbelievably calm. But she will probably best be remembered for her eternal optimism. Her strong belief that she could conquer anything meant that she even eventually beat the cancer she fought bravely for a number of years, and which was not the ultimate cause of her untimely demise.
Her positivity, warmth and charisma, along with her sharp business mind, will remain her legacy within the rail industry for many years from now. She appointed the team that today continues her work managing the PWI marketing and journal production, and she mentored those team members in such way that her aspirations for the Institution remain a priority. As well as this, one of her three sons, Colin, is Managing Director of DGauge. So, while she will always be greatly missed, there is no doubt that her involvement in rail endures.
A TOAST TO ALISON
Due to social distancing restrictions, many of Alison’s close friends, colleagues and even some family members were sadly unable to attend her funeral during lockdown.
Therefore, a public and informal gathering is being organised for 2021, where anyone affiliated with Alison is invited to join others who wish to celebrate her life. More details will be announced in due course.
DONATIONS
Any donations made go to the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) Support Network which helped Alison and her family at the end of her life: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/alison-barbro-stansfield
THE BARBRO AWARD
In honour of Alison’s passion for people’s journeys and ability to better themselves as individuals, the PWI have formed the Barbro Award in her memory.
This award will be given to the person who has shown outstanding professional or personal development each year. We will announce more details about the criteria and nominations process in 2021.
