PLATFORM 6
Written by James Ward
Back in March, I had an idea of spending full day at Waterloo station. I’d take a day off work, get the same train I normally get each morning, but rather than continuing my onward journey, I’d stay in the station all day and then get the same train I normally get to go home.
It didn’t quite work out as planned and I only spent half the day at the station. Little did I know however, just how significant my timing would be. I took the 31st March off work and, though I knew that there were plans to “improve” the station, I hadn’t realised the station would change so quickly. The next day, the Sloe bar closed. Over the next few weeks, the Proteus retail units which ran along the centre of the concourse were dismantled one by one. This video captured a moment in history:
A long mezzanine floor of retail units is being built along the length of the wall facing the platforms. 1,860 square metres. 17 new “retailing opportunities”. You can’t stand in the way of progress. There’s no point living in one style and dying in another.
As part of the redevelopment, the retail units which used to surround the steps down to the Underground opposite platforms seven and eight (Cranberry, Upper Crust, Thresher, Tie Rack and TM Lewin) have also been removed. During this process, a fragment of an old poster has been revealed above the steps:
Someone was being invited to visit something (ending in “e”) which used to be somewhere near platform six (I’m guessing it’s “opposite platform 6”, or possibly “beside platform 6”, but opposite seems more likely) and whatever it was offered instantly. But who was being invited to visit what near platform six and what was available instantly?
There’s something written in small red lettering along the bottom of the advert. On the left it says “Promoted by Ian Fletcher” and then on the right it says “[something] Children, Pembridge Hall, Pembridge Square, London, W2”.
Pembridge Hall is an independent school for girls:
The school is a non-selective day school for girls aged 4 to 11 situated in Notting Hill, West London. The school opened in 1979 and was originally run by a religious order of nuns. In 1983 it moved to 18 Pembridge Square. In September 2002 it was sold to the Alpha Plus Group and in 2003 expanded into number 10 Pembridge Square and became a three-form entry school. The Alpha Plus Group Board carries out the corporate governance responsibility for all of the schools and colleges in the group.
Nuns? Anyway, let’s assume we’re looking at something from the early 1980s. It sort of looks like it’s from that period, it has that kind of Preedy brown lettering, and I need to start somewhere.
I started looking on Google for photos of Waterloo from the 1980s. I found these beautiful pictures from 1987:
My train normally leaves from that platform.
This one is good:
You can almost see something by platform six, but I don’t think it’s the same thing as in the torn advert.
Both those pictures come from this collection of photos which is part of a quite incredible website, Nosher.net and features a remarkable wealth of images from the last thirty years or so:
Perhaps in fifty or a hundred years’ time, people will look at these photos with the same curiosity as we do those of Victorian times: a brief glimpse of how life was, of strange people, strange fashions or strange activities that were once considered harmless (even though it currently remains legal to photograph almost everything in the UK). The photos are from various sources, from scans of varying quality through to a couple of gorgeous Pentax digital SLRs – the *ist D and the K10D. They’re simply a documentary of an average existence.
“Simply a documentary of an average existence” – that is a wonderful phrase.
I also found this brilliant set of photos:
There are lots of other fantastic photo sets on Steve White2008’s Flickr stream.
These photos are beautiful, but they still haven’t help me solve the mystery. I remembered the video to West End Girls by the Pet Shop Boys. There’s a bit where Neil and Chris walk through Waterloo station. It was a long shot, but maybe that would offer some sort of clue:
I like Neil’s coat.
Unfortunately, even though they walk right past platform six, there’s still nothing which helps me.
One day, I’ll find out what used to be opposite platform six. I won’t give up until I do.
EDIT: A very slight update.
JAMES WARD: I LIKE BORING THINGS 
I was just about to mention the video to West End Girls (my favourite record ever), but then I got to the end of your piece, and you already had. The 1980s WHSmith logo in the second photo was what reminded me of the video.
Not being from London, I had always assumed (wrongly it would seem) that the station in the video was King’s Cross, but it certainly looks like Waterloo now that you’ve said.
Unfortunately, I cannot help you with what was opposite platform six, but I hope you find out soon, and that it’s not too much of an anti-climax.
Pet Shop Boys did a song called King’s Cross, so that might be why you assumed the West End Girls video was filmed there, but it’s definitely Waterloo.
This is a tough one, purely because someone’s natural instinct would be to Google all the relevant information – but obviously, there probably is very little, if anything at all, to link the poster and the event/shop/thing to the internet. Ie: no one will have put any info about this online. I think you should take another day off work and ask the older Waterloo staff memebers.
*members.
I suspect that it’s something to do with Mencap – which between 1955 and 1981 was called the National Society for Mentally Handicapped Children, and was at some stage during that time based at Pembridge Hall.
See e.g. the first half of page 2 of this: http://jech.bmj.com/content/31/3/local/advertising.pdf
Oh, wonderful. Yes, the “[something]” infront of “Children” looks like “Handicapped”. So it’s not later than 1981 in that case. But what could Mencap, or an earlier incarnation of, be offering which was so instant?
Having read other comments here, and this one especially, I wondered if it could have been some sort of lottery-type fundraising booth to raise money for Mencap’s predecessor, in which you would win instantly?
To be centred properly, based on the position of the text in the last line, the first line can’t start with “visit” but maybe could be “Why not visit the” or “Just visit the” (which seems less likely but perhaps a better length), then you have “*THING WHERE YOU WIN MONEY THAT ENDS IN E*”, then “In the red booth opposite Platform 6”, or similar, and finally “You could win £10 [or whatever was a good prize back then] instantly”
That’s my entirely uneducated guesswork, anyway. Librarians or their colleagues in the often library-based Local Studies council departments in the area or in the Pembridge Hall area may be able to help further. Good luck figuring it out!
Doesn’t really help with the Platform 6 conundrum, but I can’t watch that bit in Bourne without saying ‘there is no way you can get in the roof arches of Waterloo by going through the door in Threshers’. In fact, I couldn’t walk past that Threshers without saying the same thing to myself. Sad to see it go with the redevelopment. Maybe they should have a plaque.
The “6” looks like it’s been glued on. So either it – the thing – used to be on or opposite a different platform, or there were several of them, at different stations.
It’s bugging me because I have a vague feeling I recognise it… and I think that the big word ending E is EXPERIENCE. So there’d be something above that. “Visit the [something] EXPERIENCE”.
There was a thing called The London Experience, which was a multimedia presentation (complete with an animatronic narrator) in a screening room-sized cinema at, I think, the Trocadero. Not on Platform 6 at Waterloo. But I wonder if it’s something to do with that.
The text all seems to be centred. If there’s a star also at the beginning of that line, then there isn’t much space for the missing text. It’s either one word or two short ones. Also, I’ve been Googling stuff for the last 45 minutes. Damn you, James Ward. Damn you.
I think it might be saying to take a train from platform 6? hence the change of platform. eg: leave platform 6 and arrive elsewhere almost instantly… intriguing!
What things need to have a promoter? The place I’ve usually seen a “Promoted by” on a poster is for lotteries/competitions, where it’s compulsory.
Very good point. Could it be “RAFFLE”?
I think it’s a tourist attraction that is reached by taking a train from Platform 6. The word ending in ‘e’ must be about 6 letters long, if everything is centred. For example it might say something like, “Visit the oldest (in small letters) castle… Go back in time instantly”
I thought it could be ‘theatre’ and spent two hours googling various combinations of “Ian Fletcher” and “Old Vic” or “Young Vic” but no luck. I wondered whether they had a theatre ticket booth near Platform 6.
And I agree it looks like the number has been changed (I checked it out in person this evening) suggesting a fairly portable (ticket?) booth.
I like the theatre idea. Maybe it’s ‘take the exit opposite platform 6’, onto Waterloo road and down to the Old Vic?
Ian Fletcher is a Battle of Waterloo historian. 175th anniversary thing maybe? I used to go through that station a lot and the star rings a vague bell. I’ll eat some cheese before I go to bed and maybe I’ll remember overnight.
My current idea is ‘Sea Life’ as I noticed the red/yellow font is similar to what they still use today. Then the platform instructions could be directing people to Brighton or Weymouth. There is a gap between the ‘Visit the’ and the word with ‘E’ at the end, meaning it could say ‘Visit the Brighton Sea Life’.
I don’t think Sea Life Centres date back to 1981. And back then, what is now the Brighton Sea Life was Brighton Dolphinarium. But yes, it’s a reeeeally similar font… arrrggghhhh!!!
The word ‘instantly’ could easily be something else. ‘Constantly’ perhaps.
There was a charity lottery kiosk on the station, but I can’t for the life of me remember how long it lasted.
There have been severa revamps of those steps down to the Waterloo and City line. I suspect that sign must have been covered over c.1985 which I think is when those white and orange tiles were put in to cover over the cream faience ones.
My searching has led me to Lord Brian Rix, who become Secretary-General of Mencap in 1980, and used his acting connections to organise fundraisers for the charity. It might not be a connection at all. Some sort of street theatre performance?
I have also found that Mencap appears to have been a kind of pioneer in the production of charity cards (Christmas Cards) etc. Could that be part of it?
‘Promoted by’ is compulsory on all political advertising, so it could be a local campaign office for an election, but more likely some kind of gambling opportunity. Couldn’t you find out which ad agency owns the space, and ask them? It’ll probably be CBS if it’s considered part of the underground, or I think Viacom if it’s national rail.
I doubt CBS/Viacom had the advertising contract back in 1981 (advertising was probably arranged in-house by British Rail / London Transport), and besides, it’s not a billboard, it’s a sticker on the bottom half of an electronic train information sign.
I have extended the search off Google to see if any media buyers I know could help. They tell me that the GLA had a sales team called LTA (London Transport Advertising) who sold space on public transport, so it either would have been them who sold the ad, or a company called Maiden (who no longer exist and had their remaining transport assets bought out by JC Decaux last year).
So can we find the LTA/maiden employee who sold the space? Or the guy who pasted up the poster?