Book tracks life of a railways giant
A Shropshire author has written the first full-length biography of railways giant Sir Sam Fay, who has been described as one of the greatest British railway managers of all time.
Fay also played a key logistical role during the Great War after being tasked with managing the railways, roads, and canals, which meant he was also involved in organising troop movements, ammunition, supplies, and bringing back the wounded.
John Greaves of Bucknell, who is 88 and is the son of a railwayman, says that since retirement he has fulfilled a long-held goal of writing biographies and historical accounts of subjects for whom he has developed an admiration, or noticed an absence of a proper record of their lives.
"This has involved writing five books," he said.
The first was about Sir Edward Watkin, who was chairman of half a dozen railway companies, and built the Great Central Railway, from Manchester to London Marylebone.
"Sir Sam Fay became the general manager of the GCR in 1902, to its absorption into the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923," said John.
"His biography is long overdue, especially in view of his activities beyond the railway job, and in particular his work at the War Office from 1916 to 1919 as Director of Movements - railways, roads, canals and docks.
"There was considerable material on both these gentlemen. Much research was needed in the British Library and the National Archives at Kew, and in Manchester Archives.
"The target readership for both books is primarily the railway fraternity, but also as filling a gap in the social history. All the books have been written to the highest academic standards, under supervision at Durham and Manchester universities, to stand as reliable historical resources.
"The Sam Fay book contains his reminiscences of working with the High Command, both militarily and politically, and the personalities involved, which are uniquely topical at the moment as we are recalling the First World War.
"Researching it was exhausting and expensive, but very enjoyable."
John's father worked for the Great Central and its successors until his death in 1955. John, who is a member of the Royal Historical Society and writes under his full name John Neville Greaves, worked as a clerk and training manager in the LNER hotels and catering department from 1945 to 1958.
"I have been a railway enthusiast from a very early age."
He went into accountancy in Manchester before being ordained a Church of England priest in 1961, working in Salford, Manchester and the Diocese of Durham.
Sir Sam Fay has been published by The Book Guild Publishing. It is softback and costs £12.99.
