14 August 2026
RMT Press Office:
English Heritage has installed a blue plaque at the former Notting Hill home of Asquith Xavier (1920–1980), the railway worker whose determination to challenge racial discrimination helped bring an end to an unofficial ‘colour bar’ at London’s Euston Station.
The plaque marks where Xavier lived in 1966 when he stood up against discriminatory practices preventing him from transferring to a role as a train guard at Euston.
He was supported by his union representative, Jim Prendergast of the National Union of Railwayman (NUR) – predecessor to RMT – and with the case receiving national attention, his campaign exposed the existence of the colour bar.
RMT members with Maria, Asquith Xavier's daughter
RMT Regional Organiser, Primrose Jeanton with the blue plaque
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