PETER ROWLEDGE

An unrivalled source of knowledge of the British wartime 2-8-0 was Peter (J.W.P.) Rowledge, whose many published works are acknowledged by this author, and have been consulted by many other writers. Peter, who lived at Newton Abbot, died in February 2016 at the age of 81, but not before setting up and running the railway studies section in the town’s library. His long railway career included a spell in charge of Crewe Diesel Depot in 1963, when one of his staff, Jack Mills, was the driver of the Class 40 diesel that was hijacked by the Great Train Robbery gang. Mills was assaulted and never fully recovered from his injuries. Peter would often remark that his claim to fame was not for authoring books on steam, but being fingerprinted by police to eliminate him from the robbery investigations.