Ian Drewery was on a routine train journey home from visiting his son in Swindon when everything suddenly stopped. The 69-year-old collapsed without warning as his Great Western Railway service approached Reading in September 2025. What happened next, he says, is the only reason he is alive today.

The train was halted at Reading Station, where staff rushed a defibrillator on board. Among the passengers was an unidentified GP who immediately began CPR.

On a return visit to thank the responders he could find, Ian reflected on the chain of events that kept him alive. “I was in the right place at the right time, to be surrounded by the right people,” he said.

One of those people was Veronika Rogers, part of the GWR crew that day. She remembered kneeling beside Ian and refusing to give up. “I told Ian: ‘I do not let you go. You are going to make it, you will be here with me.’”

At Reading Station, staff member Jack McIntyre recalled how quickly everything unfolded. “Veronika alerted me on the platform and it was quite extraordinary the way she came out and alerted all of us,” he said. “We got the defib, got on the train, give it to the GP that was on the train and they worked on him. It is just extraordinary that he is here today.”

South Central Ambulance Service said the GP’s early CPR almost certainly saved Ian’s life.

Meeting the staff who helped him was emotional. “It’s really good to be here, to meet the people that were involved in saving my life,” Ian said. “That lady, she give me such effective CPR and I would not be here today were it not for her.”

He is now hoping the GP will come forward so he can thank her in person. “If she’s listening or sees this, I truly would like her to get in touch with the BBC so we can arrange to meet,” he said.

For now, Ian’s gratitude is undimmed. A stranger’s quick actions in a moment of crisis turned a train carriage into a place of rescue — and gave him back his future.