Suzy McGill

Said the following about Marketing, Corporate Communications:

“Thanks to the relentless and extensive efforts of Jessica Lawrence and colleagues in the Network Rail marketing team, hundreds of thousands of young children can now enjoy learning how to use the railway safely through Thomas Tank Engine books.

Learning through play is how children build their early understanding of the world around them, so publishing a story book that captures their imagination and teaches them how to stay safe around the railway might seem like an obvious and simple thing to do, but there were many challenges that Jessica had overcome in order to make this a reality.

Thomas holds a special place in the hearts of many working within the rail sector, so ideas and views from people on what the book should be and how it should be put into the hands of small children were not in short supply!

Demonstrating continuous goodwill over a period of many months, Jessica managed this interest in a way which didn’t reduce people’s enthusiasm and support for this initiative. What’s more, she did this not only among Network Rail colleagues but also the wider industry such as British Transport Police, RDG and RSSB as well as external organisations such as the Railway Museum.

Not the least of the challenges Jessica faced was around logistics. A grand total of 400,000 books were published of the story book Stay Safe! And the sticker activity book Stand Back! Which were shipped in bulk from China. Jessica co-ordinated deliveries across eight Network Rail regions with 120 frontline staff to distribute the book to local communities, groups and nurseries.

Most of these free books are now in the hands of young children or, for those too young to read yet, in the hands of their parents. In addition, the story book has been downloaded from platforms such as Apple Book Store.

This was undoubtedly a ‘feel good’ initiative but it required exceptional and consistent effort to bring it about. Jessica’s formidable organisational capabilities and her team working style made all the difference, and I’m sure she’d want me to give at least a brief mention also to the colleagues who worked most closely with her. In particular Kathryn, Caren, Lucy and Chris from Network Rail’s Corporate Communications division.“