Railway Ancestors

At a recent meeting of the South Dorset Group of the Somerset and Dorset Family History,  David  Hawkings suggested various sources of information which might help members uncover details of their ancestors, who had worked on the nation’s railways.  David, a retired engineer and the Vice-President of the Society, had been surprised to find that although much had been written about the design and running of the rolling stock, little had survived about the people who had worked in this major British industry. The four former private railway companies, viz. the Great Western, the Southern, the London, Midland and Scottish, together with the London, and North Eastern Railways were formed in 1923 from a great number of much smaller companies, of which he has now listed a total of 989.  At the time of this amalgamation, the majority of the staff records were destroyed, although the Great Western preserved the archives of many of the workers who transferred to the new organisation.  This information may now be found in the York Railway Museum. 

However David was not satisfied with this situation and pursued his quest at the Government Record Office at Kew.  Here he found large quantities of documents relating to railway administration, which although  strictly not staff records, nevertheless provided valuable clues as to who was doing what in the industry.  Thus records of the accountants contained pay lists with names and signatures of employees.  Boards of Directors explained whom they had recruited to senior posts, and gave details of the tenants who were housed in the railway terraces to be found adjacent to most stations.  Tribunals investigated mistakes and accidents, imposing penalties, and making recommendations  Thus an unfortunate Mr Webber was fined ten shillings from his one pound salary, for overlooking the fact that the train had not been attached to his engine. 

Tony Johnson

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