Marylebone barber who has been cutting the hair of Aylesbury commuters for 25 years reluctantly retires

A barber who has cut hair at Marylebone Station, assisting Aylesbury commuters for over 25 years, has announced his retirement.

Demetris Georgiou, or Chris as he is commonly known, retired on Friday (15 September), from his shop at the London station.

Three generations of the Georgiou family have cut hair at railway stations, with his father working at London Bridge station.

Among Chris’ regular customers was the founder of Chiltern Railways, the late Adrian Shooter.

Chris was cutting hair at Paddington Station, where he was based for three years, before being ‘headhunted’ by the Chiltern Railways chief to work at London Marylebone instead, only a short time after the franchise began.

Opening on 16 February 1998, this year marks 25 years of trade at the connecting train station.

Since then, Chris has been joined by his son, John, meaning that three generations have provided barber shop services to rail customers over the decades.

Chris believes that he has completed 75,000 haircuts in his time at the station.

He said: “I find the people at Marylebone station to be very pleasant, kind and a pleasure to serve. It really didn’t take much persuading from Adrian Shooter when he asked me if I would like to work at the station.

“I didn’t really want to retire, but I’m 78 now and my family have told me that I have to!

“My plans are to spend time with my wife and my oldest son, who has cerebral palsy. We will go on holiday at some point, but nothing planned yet!”

To bid farewell to Chris and John, commercial and customer strategy director Andy Camp visited the shop for one final trim, also presenting Chris with a framed pair of golden scissors that have been used at many Chiltern events since 1998, including when former Prime Minister David Cameron cut the ribbon at the opening of Oxford Parkway station in 2015.

Andy added: “Chris and John’s shop has left a lasting impression on customers and colleagues at Chiltern, both past and present. We’re sorry to see them leave Marylebone, and as a long-time customer of over 10 years, I didn’t want to see Chris retire without visiting one last time.”