{"id":29030,"date":"2024-04-19T21:38:37","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T11:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=29030"},"modified":"2024-04-19T21:38:37","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T11:38:37","slug":"emr-pays-tribute-to-father-and-son-drivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=29030","title":{"rendered":"EMR pays tribute to father and son drivers"},"content":{"rendered":"

EMR<\/a> has held a ceremony to celebrate trainee driver Owen Gunn, who is following in his late father\u2019s footsteps. <\/p>\n

Darren Gunn sadly passed away due to complications of COVID-19 in 2021, after a 33 year career in rail. EMR said that he was\u00a0well respected and valued by all who knew him and his passing brought out the true railway family spirit, not only at Derby but across its whole network.<\/p>\n

A bench in Darren\u2019s memory stands proudly outside of Rickman House in Derby.<\/p>\n

Following in his father\u2019s footsteps, Owen Gunn has embarked on his own journey within EMR, starting as a customer host at the age of 18. Now, aged 21, he has qualified as an apprentice driver \u2013 a testament to his dedication and determination.<\/p>\n

EMR proudly celebrated Owen\u2019s achievement as an apprentice driver in a moving ceremony held at the bench outside of Rickman House.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Owen Gunn, Depot Driver for East Midlands Railway, said: \u201cI knew I wanted to be a train driver since I can first remember. I\u2019ve been brought up around the railway and as a child, I felt so much pride in seeing my dad drive his train at my local station.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter four years of working as a Customer Host, the role of Depot Driver came at just the right time. I feel proud and very excited, but also a little nervous as I embark on the next step working at the Derby depot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know my dad would be proud of me following in his footsteps, just as I always said I would, I can sense his big smile from here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will Rogers, Managing Director for East Midlands Railway, said: \u201cOwen joined EMR in February 2020 as a Customer Host and he has since pursued his ambition to become a train driver.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ceremony was a poignant moment, as we remembered Owen\u2019s father, our colleague and friend, Darren Gunn, who sadly passed away in December 2021 due to complications from Covid-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cDarren was a well-respected and valued Train Driver at EMR. He embodied the spirit of being part of the Railway Family and is greatly missed by those who knew him. The bench placed outside Rickman House stands in memory of Darren.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations to Owen on this proud achievement and welcome to the Driver Team at EMR.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patrick Mythen,\u00a0Depot Driver Manager at East Midlands Railway, said: \u201cDarren was a great guy who loved the railway. I managed him personally for several years and he was an absolute dream to work with. He came to work did his job and did it very well.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was such a likeable guy who had a great circle of railway family friends. I\u2019m delighted that his son Owen is joining us, he will be great. He has Darren\u2019s temperament and I know he will continue the good work that his dad started.<\/p>\n

\u201cOwen was destined to follow in his dad\u2019s footsteps and I\u2019m so pleased to be a part of his journey.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EMR has held a ceremony to celebrate trainee driver Owen Gunn, who is following in his late father\u2019s footsteps. Darren Gunn sadly passed away due […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":29031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[7,11],"class_list":["post-29030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rail-news","tag-transport","tag-usa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}