HYDERABAD: A Scotland citizen, Nicholas Graves, who has come here in search of his ancestral roots, met South Central Railway general manager PK Srivastava on Monday and urged him to help him in his mission.
Graves’ great-grandfather, James Theadore, was born in India on December 15, 1897. He had worked as a ‘loco fitter’ in the Nizam State Railways at Lallaguda in Secunderabad in 1932. Graves brought with him the ‘Pension Book’ of Theadore and showed it to Srivastava for identification. Graves’ grandmother, Phyllis Margaret Champion, is the daughter of Theadore. She was born on September 19, 1920 in Secunderabad and got married to Percy James Champion, who was working in the British army in India, on August 29, 1938 at St.Josephs Church, Lucknow. However, in 1939 just before the start of World War-II, Percy James Champion and Phyllis Margaret Champion migrated to England.
Srivastava appreciated the efforts of Nicholas Graves to trace his great-grandfather’s Indian roots and expressed all his cooperation to him in his mission.
Graves was in the city to attend the Indian Railway Fan Club Association convention. Ravi and Vijaya Raghavan, members of the association, accompanied Graves on his visit to the SCR GM’s office.