Here is a copy of a Facebook post I made on the Norwich Thorpe Station and Ipswich Staff Facebook page - a private group that includes both current and former members of railway staff, of all grades, who work , or used to work, along the line and on board the trains between Ipswich and Norwich. Pearl became extremely well-known to so many of the staff over the years through her commuting, and I hope that the comments here give you just a flavour of the high regard in which Pearl was held by members of her 'Railway Family', In fact, she was thought so much of that she was once invited as a guest to the wedding of one of the members of the station staff at Diss - the only commuter who got an invite!


From Facebook :

Not something we normally do here I know, but sad news has come through of the passing of one of our former passengers, Mrs Pearl Wakefield. Many former station staff at Diss and Norwich and on-board crew members may remember her as one of our longest-serving commuters from Diss to Norwich.  Pearl, though not afraid to speak her mind, was, in my experience, unfailingly kind and courteous to staff despite the vagaries of the service sometimes, and she truly appreciated the efforts made by the staff on her behalf. She continued commuting on a limited basis well into her 80s, in later years sometimes accompanied by her beloved cat in its travel box. Pearl had been residing in care and suffering from Alzheimers since 2020, and passed away on Thursday February 2nd at the age of 97.


RIP Mrs Wakefield.


Nicola Dack
Bless her! She was always a pleasure to talk to! RIP x

   
Rebecca Jarratt
Pearl, what a wonderful lady you were ❤️‍🩹
I’ve missed her visits to Norwich to have her hair set and the lovely chats we had 😢
She will be missed xxx


Gary Parkins
Oh bless her. A real gem. R.I.P. x


Chris Pearson
As soon as you mentioned her cat I knew who you meant!Sad news bless her.

   
Issy Gibson
It was an honour to know Pearl. She was such a special lady, so very kind, one in a million. x


Kelly Froud
Thank you for sharing this, we'd often wondered at Diss what happened to Pearl when we stopped seeing anything of her a few years back. She was such a lovely lady and it always cheered us to see and chat with her.
   

Rachel Russen
Oh this is so sad, what a wonderful lady she was. R.I.P Pearl xxx ❤❤❤


Kelly Marie Mayes
Oh I loved Pearl 🥰 and her kitty 🐱
She was a lovely lady with good humour too 🥰🥰 rip you wonderful soul xx

 
Angela Morgan
I remember her from all those years ago, very sad news .

 
Hugh King
She was a lovely person. God Bless Her.

 

Elaine Martin
Lovely lady, spoke to her quite often, R.I.P.
   

Marquis Oliver McQueen - Mencias
I remember her. She was such a wonderful person. RiP 🖤