Tributes for welfare officer Wes Gordon who counsels railway staff

WHEN there’s a death on the railway, Wes Gordon’s first thought is not of train delays. It is of the family who lost someone, the train driver and the railway staff.

Wes Gordon has been working as a welfare officer on the railway for more than 40 years. Among his job is counselling railway staff and families when there's been a death on the train line. Picture:Rob Leeson.

WHEN there’s a death on the railway, Wes Gordon’s first thought is not of train delays.

It is of the family who lost someone they love, the train driver who saw the end of a life and the railway staff who pushed through horror to get commuters home.

“I think society just looks at the railway and thinks it’s a service and they don’t look to the driver, the staff,” the welfare officer said.

“We all feel together when someone’s hurt, we all feel it.

“I think railway people are heroes.”

But those in the industry think Mr Gordon is a hero and have nominated him for a Pride of Australia Award.

For more than 40 years he has been helping the people who keep Victoria moving.

He has counselled tens of thousands of railway workers through hardship at home or work, commuters who saw something they wished they didn’t, and grieving families.

It is not uncommon for the 70-year-old to be pulled up by people whose faces he cannot remember to thank him for help from decades past.

“I’ve seen some sad things and I’ve definitely shed a few tears,” Mr Gordon said.

“But it’s a real privilege to watch people go though a process and come through happy, that’s a real bonus for me.”

Metro chief executive Andrew Lezala congratulated Mr Gordon on his nomination and called him “an asset”.

“In what can be a difficult and confronting role, Wes has been a reliable and stoic contributor to our business, offering support and reassurance to our staff and their families when they need it the most,” he said.

To nominate a local legend go to heraldsun.com.au/prideofaustralia

Nominations close at 5pm tomorrow