Thomas Brassey was a civil engineering contractor who constructed railways, bridges, tunnels and locomotives as well as harbours and London's sewers. He is estimated to have employed more than 80,000 people worldwide and is remembered as an honourable and fair man.

Brassey was born in 1805 in the parish of Aldford near Chester where he attended school. He began his career as trainee land surveyor on Thomas Telford's Shrewsbury to Holyhead road. He became a quarry manager on the Wirral and with experienced gained in civil engineering set up his own construction company based in Birkenhead that became known as the Canada Works. Amongst many contracts Thomas Brassey was responsible for the construction of Chester and Shrewsbury railway stations and the Cefn Mawr Viaduct as part of the Chester to Shrewsbury railway.

At the time of his death in 1870 Thomas Brassey had built one third of the railways in the UK and 1 in 20 miles of the world's network across most continents.

The Thomas Brassey Society was formed in November 2019. At present there is no permanent memorial that commemorates the work of Thomas Brassey and the major contribution that he made to railway engineering worldwide. The Society has already raised sufficient money for the installation of an Information Panel at Chester railway station. We are now seeking to erect a statue to honour this remarkable civil engineer.

This particular fund raising appeal is to carry out Stage 1, Preliminary Design, for a statue to be located in the area of Chester railway station. Your support will be greatly appreciated.

Steve Langtree....Chairman. Peter Bolt....Secretary