Tuesday Treasures - June 2020

TUESDAY 30 JUNE

This Isambard Kingdom Brunel, London School of Economics (University of London) silver medal, was presented to W G Chapman in 1908.

The medals were awarded to those students who gained three First Class passes in approved exams within four years of study. The silver design was crafted using the original die-stamp donated by the GWR to the Railway Dept of the LSE.

The scheme was endowed by Lord Winterstoke a GWR Director in 1907/08. According to Rosa Matheson's ‘The Fair Sex - Women and the Great Western Railway’, of 176 medals won, 76 were awarded to GWR staff.

Both sides of the medal are illustrated, and the ribbed edge is engraved ‘W G Chapman 1908’.

Chapman, then of the General Manager's Office staff was the first GWR winner along with two non-GWR students. A full report of his award appeared in the Great Western Staff Magazine of 1909.

W G Chapman went on to write many of the publications for ‘Boys of All Ages’ that were produced by the GWR publicity department. The medal was generously donated to the Great Western Trust by his great nephews.

TUESDAY 23 JUNE

The GWR was famed for its wide ranging pursuit of publicity, a particular element being the series of very popular books by their employee WG Chapman on all things GWR pitched for ‘Boys of All Ages’. They included details of locomotive construction and in an era when boys were genuinely stimulated by engineering and technology of which railways were in the vanguard, the GWR also actively exploited that latent interest by contributing to the numerous Boys periodical magazines, comics and books.

This example is the cover of the Modern Wonder The Pictorial Review issued every Wednesday for 2d. That is the pre-decimalisation coinage, when 12 pennies made a shilling and 20 shillings made a pound!

The image was a GWR official one from Swindon, and this edition included a full depth article on the construction and testing of new GWR locos entitled ‘The Birth of a Railway Giant’ acknowledging content lifted from Chapman’s book ‘The Cheltenham Flyer’.

Boys being boys of course the magazine also covered diverse ‘exciting and stimulating’ fact and fiction topics, including a mystery tribal dance, The Royal Artillery, Denmark’s first indoor Swimming pool and ending with a Flash Gordon cartoon!

Dated July 22nd 1939 however, it is a sobering reminder that very grim years very soon lay ahead.

The Great Western Trust Collection at Didcot includes a great number of non GWR official publications like this example, showing that GWR publicity spread far wider into the youthful domain than might be appreciated.

TUESDAY 16 JUNE

As we prepare to resume activities on 4 July, we feature an item that has pride of place in the Museum and that visitors can admire when we re-open.

The original Engine Shed at Didcot naturally forms the perfect home for our acclaimed collection of GWR built or designed Steam Engines. To compliment those ‘full size’ examples, the Great Western Trust collection includes a number of exceptional, fine detail model locomotives.

The example illustrated in the two photographs (taken outside the Museum & Archive building) is a 5 inch gauge, live steam model which won a Gold Medal at 2007 Model Engineering Exhibition. It was made entirely by Mr M C Dean and as it was built from scratch, it took him no less than 17 years to complete, beginning when he was 64! Under the closest scrutiny, the detailing is breath-taking no doubt because Mr Dean was never going to hurry a work of sublime craftsmanship. We can reveal that even the scaled padlocks on the locomotive tool boxes have scale keys to open them!

The engine itself was the first one designed and ordered by William Dean, in 1880, when he first became GWR Head of the Locomotive & Carriage Dept at Swindon, to experiment as a 4-4-0T with certain design features. After early modification, as you do with experimental designs, it became as the model, a 2-4-0T and ran successfully until withdrawal from Chester in 1924.

There is more than coincidence in the shared surname Dean. His forebears include William Dean’s brother!

Mr Dean most generously donated this fine model to the Trust in 2014 so that it could be enjoyed by our countless visitors of all ages. It has pride of place within our Museum, as Mr Dean wished, and has drawn high praise and admiration.

TUESDAY 9 JUNE 2020

In 1985, this splendid item was generously donated to the Great Western Trust by Miss Stevenson on behalf of her late brother William Humfrey Stevenson who wanted it preserved in Didcot. He was the great nephew of Ann Lowsley (nee Humfrey) the daughter of Edward Humfrey its original owner.

Its existence reflects the great impact the arrival of the Great Western Railway had upon the Didcot community. Four local farmers, John Holliday and John Lowsley of Hagbourne and Eligh Caudwell and Edward Humfrey of Blewbury agreed that once the railway was established at Didcot they saw a business opportunity! They each subscribed £250 (worth today around £25,000) towards construction of a Corn Exchange in Didcot town. This would avoid costs and inconvenience of farmers travelling elsewhere for such business. The building was completed in 1857 and was located next to the Didcot Station frontage (where today there is the short term car park and taxi rank).

So successful was their venture that from the profits of its first year of operation, they each had a pocket watch, suitably inscribed to record the undertaking. Whilst the standard watch face of 12 numbers could accommodate ‘Corn Exchange’, ‘DIDCOT MARKET’ fitted and better recorded its unique location! The watch back, has the letters ‘EH’ engraved, for Edward Humfrey.

In World War 2 the building became a general market, run every Tuesday by auctioneers A W Neate of Newbury for local food produce. Before its demolition, it was the Didcot Station car garage, operated by one Monty Dipper.

The Trust is honoured to hold this remarkable item as just one example of the GWR’s positive impact on Didcot.

TUESDAY 2 JUNE 2020

The London Division news journal was issued to cover staff recreation, new developments and general railway interest. This British Railways Western Region edition from July 1961 is very relevant as it includes an article on a ‘Supper and Social at Didcot’ held in aid of the Didcot Railway Benevolent Fund at the Didcot Staff Hostel. The highlight was singing to the piano accompaniment of 92 year old Jim Gardner who in 1883 at the tender age of 14, had joined the GWR at Didcot, working for 6 months without pay, but going on to retire after 46 years service! His son was then signalman at Didcot West End Box!

A career on the railways was still an attractive one justifying the cover picture of a recruitment event in Ealing Town Hall. Aren’t those schoolboys smart and very attentive?

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