Karen Harrison

After graduation, Harrison had plans to work as a barrister specialising in labour law and human rights. She died May 2011 before completing her studies. Her funeral was held in the college chapel, with a eulogy given by her tutor Louise Gullifer.

After moving to Marylebone depot she rapidly advanced through the ranks of her trade union, having joined the train drivers' union, ASLEF, on her first day on the railway. Karen Harrison became the first woman to hold various positions in ASLEF, culminating in 1995 when she was elected to the highest position a lay member can hold: presiding over ASLEF's annual conference (The Annual Assembly of Delegates) during which time she was an active trade unionist and political campaigner. However, a bout of meningitis ended her train driving career as she was declared medically unfit to drive trains. Being on the then Economic League employment blacklist, her future job options were extremely limited, but she was able to find employment as a full-time officer for the trade union UNISON. She was extremely successful in representing Union members at employment tribunals, more than holding her own against professional barristers. Her proud boast was that she never 'lost' a tribunal. This gave her a taste for the law prompting her to take up legal studies as a mature student.

Harrison, the daughter of a Customs officer, was born in Glasgow and raised in London, attending St. Michael's Convent Grammar School, Finchley. She left school at sixteen, working at London's Marquee Club during the heyday of punk rock before applying to British Rail in 1977 with the aim of starting an apprenticeship as a 'Secondman' which, at the time, was the first step to becoming a train driver.

Karen Harrison (16 November 1960 – May 2011) was the first woman in Britain to be appointed as a train driver, during which time she was an active trade unionist and political campaigner.