How Vic’s family remember him

A SELF-CONFESSED eccentric who practised as a dental surgeon, Vic Mitchell was an inventor, author and railway preservation pioneer.

Vic was born in 1934, growing up in Hampton in London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, the son of a dental surgeon and, unusually for the period, his mother was a photographer.

After schooling in Hampton, he attended Guys Hospital, London, for medical study and training as a dental surgeon. In 1951, after his school exams, he and friend Alan French went to volunteer on the newly-preserved Talyllyn Railway, the world’s first railway to be operated by volunteers, setting a trend that is now emulated all over the world. In the process, he made the front page of the Daily Express which caused consternation in his father’s surgery: “I thought your son was training as a surgeon, and he’s on the front page of the Express labouring on a railway.”

Soon afterwards, he and Alan visited the nearby Ffestiniog Railway, having learned of its existence on cigarette cards featuring the unique double Fairlie locomotives, and riding in a wagon from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Tan-y-Bwlch by gravity. This action later incurred the wrath of Tom Rolt who was leading the Talyllyn revival, as he sternly told the youths: “There is only room for one preserved railway in Wales.”

Vic later joined the board of the Ffestiniog Railway Society as a director, holding its meetings in the now-demolished locomotive superintendent’s office at Euston station. He also took part in the planning of the society’s special trains of the mid-1950s, one of which involved GWR 4-4-0 No. 3440 City of Truro.

Career

Vic juggled studies at Guys with the Ffestiniog Railway and his fiancé Barbara, whom he married in 1958. He completed National Service at RAF St. Athan, proudly avoiding the officers’ mess, saluting, married quarters and other military conventions, choosing instead to live with Barbara in a nearby field in his caravan, and later in converted farm buildings.

He and Barbara settled near Midhurst in West Sussex in December 1962, and he practised as a dental surgeon in and around the area, his house being externally adorned with railway lamps from recently closed local railway stations.

Vic founded Mitchell Mouldings in 1967, which pioneered the setting of titanium in acrylic. He housed Mitchell Mouldings in the old station buildings at nearby Nyewood, using the former stationmaster’s bedroom as his office. It was a result of this innovative work that generated an offer of a very lucrative role with ICI; Vic was elected to the Institute of Patentees and Inventors following his invention in 1972 of a pioneering dental handpiece which delivered all the tools a dental surgeon needed in one device. The illuminated probing handpiece, to use the correct title, was presented at the Exposition de Innovation in Geneva in November of that year, winning gold for Great Britain, and later featured on BBC TV’s Tomorrow’s World.

The Duke of Edinburgh was introduced to him as he displayed his newly-invented composting lavatory at the National Centre for Alternative Technology in 1974, which was exported in large numbers to developing countries. Again he pioneered; this time the process of anaerobic digestion.

In 1981 Vic became an unlikely steam survivor, operating a pair of Fowler ploughing engines for dredging lakes until 1984.

He founded his most long-running enterprise, Middleton Press, by accident when he and his friend, Keith Smith, compiled a commemorative book dedicated to the 25th anniversary of closure of the railway line to Midhurst in 1981, which Vic self-published as Middleton Press (MP), named after his house, Midleton Lodge. He either wrote, edited or published 457 books and was still at the helm of MP until he fell ill at the end of 2020.

Vic and Barbara celebrated 50 years of marriage in 2008, and a special train was organised at the Ffestiniog Railway, with England 0-4-0STT No. 4 Palmerston carrying a commemorative headboard (‘The Half Century’) specially prepared by the craftsmen of Boston Lodge works.

Experience

Vic enjoyed a turn on the shovel during the water stop at Blaenau Ffestiniog. It was the first time he had fired an England type locomotive since firing for Ffestiniog names Allan Garraway and Bill Hoole. The latter was an ex-main line driver with a reputation for lively running. Vic recalled later: “Thankfully he was very patient with me’.”

Vic was a kind, generous and loving family man, and enjoyed hosting events on his garden railway. He is survived by his younger brother, two daughters, five grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. Vic truly was one of a kind.

Independent rail operations consultant Andy Castledine’s wife is Vic Mitchell’s granddaughter.

The Daily Express afforded national exposure to the Talyllyn Railway’s revival, although this picture is clearly posed. Vic Mitchell and his friend Alan French were the only two volunteers that day, and supposedly working with them is Tom Rolt. There were no safety vests, hard hats, safety boots, glasses, or even gloves in those days! MIDDLETON PRESS

Vic Mitchell’s wife Barbara agreed to dress in traditional costume at a Ffestiniog Railway publicity event. All went well until a local newspaper reporter started interviewing her in Welsh! MIDDLETON PRESS

Two of the latest volumes in the Middleton Press Ultimate Rail Encyclopaedia, each providing a valuable ‘one stop shop’ source of reference on the lines in question for enthusiasts and local historians alike.