It might be a generational thing, but when you get to know someone because of a shared interest, you often do not know too much about the person, since you rather selfishly chase answers for the mutual interest. Thus when someone dies, you often find out some surprising facts, which then make you regret not questioning more outside your remit.
I was lucky, I know, to have known Maurice Boddy for about 10 years before his sad demise in late 2023. That was a result of having helped Malcolm Crawley produce his book for the Society on GNR tenders. After Malcolm’s death, I took the trouble to see if Maurice would help me too, and he was good enough to enter in to long term correspondence.
Some weeks after the funeral, I noticed that Maurice’s Doncaster Works website had been taken down. David, Maurice’s son, then contacted me to let me know the very sad news that his Dad had died.
David and I discussed the considerable research that Maurice had undertaken since the 1950’s, and he agreed that the GNRS would be the best place to host all of his Dad’s material. It has taken us some time to consider the appropriate way to highlight this masterly research and archiving, which means that you can for instance understand boiler usage throughout the life of the GNR from 1848 until 1922.
Many GNR enthusiasts might well feel they know Maurice Boddy’s name from either his participation in the book Stirling Singles which was co-written with Kenneth Leech, but he also was a researcher and assistant on the RCTS series Locomotives of the LNER, and also provided help and assistance to Norman Groves for his Great Northen Locomotive History series. His knowledge of Doncaster was, therefore, more complete than many.
We are lucky in one way that not long after he lost his wife in the 21st century, Maurice took the trouble to write some of his memories down, and David Boddy has kindly allowed us to view a copy. This allows us to provide a thorough account of Maurice’s life.
He was been born in Leeds in 1932 to a family of somewhat older parents, who had lost two earlier children. His father was the editor of an internal newsletter for the Leeds Tram Car company for whom he was originally a traffic clerk, but was moved to Head Office due to the success of the journal. This allowed the family to move around Leeds quite a lot, during which Maurice had a decent education for the time.
He dated his interest in railways and steam to the age of 12. It is worth knowing that this was a man who at the age of 8 was able to travel though Leeds to choir practice alone, something we would probably not consider these days.
Maurice was keen after the war to enter railway service as soon as he could, and managed to convince his headmaster to allow him to leave school some weeks early to take up a position he had been offered as a clerk in the District Area Goods Office in 1948. He quickly showed promise and was promoted to a personnel role within the Goods Department.
Once reaching 18, Maurice was called up for National Service, which he undertook in the RAF, mainly at Kinloss in Scotland, where he was a radio mechanic. He became a Leading Aircraftman, with a speciality in radar, which would help him in later life. During his RAF service he was able to travel around quite frequently, especially on the railways, trying to make the most of his time there.
At the end of his National Service, he returned to the railway as a clerk in the goods cartage section. This I guess undertook the collection and delivery of the various items being moved still in those days by rail under the universal carriage obligation on the railways. He then moved to the mind-blowingly boring job of shipping clerk, providing the invoices for every piece of freight moving on the former LMS section. He started looking for a more interesting position, eventually moving into the Traffic Control Department, from which point he started to rise through the ranks. This was perhaps a trigger for his marriage, which he could finally afford. In April 1954 he married Margery, with whom he built a relationship of over 60 years, and they had two children. He also did something that is now almost unheard of, buying as his first home a new build semi-detached house for £13,000. Being diligent, he strived to pay this off within less than 12 years.
Maurice spent almost 12 years in the LMS Region Traffic Centre out of Leeds. Like most railwaymen, he had some interesting experiences, whilst learning his trade. He was able to upgrade his pass for free train travel to one which allowed his wife to also travel without charge.
Around the end of his deployment in Leeds he was offered the chance to undertake computer training, which led to the next promotion. He was transferred to the then NER region of BR, and started as a computer programmer working from City House in Leeds.
This new project in BR led to many promotions and much moving around, sometimes permanently, others temporary, until in the 1980s he ended up in York. In 1988 he took early retirement after a career of almost 40 years, including the important thing, an all-regions BR train pass.
Later life meant much travelling with his wife, until in 2016, she sadly passed away after some years of ill health. Maurice then lived on his own in York until 2022 when he moved to Cheshire to be nearer his children. He still travelled widely, and at 90 when last I saw him, he was a tall sprightly man who did not look or sound like someone of that age.
Maurice’s impact on those of us who study either the LNER or GNR
It would seem that sometime in the late 1950’s or early 60’s Maurice joined the RCTS and was involved in publishing a book called Loco Stock Book 1960, for which he researched both new engines and those scrapped in the period 1954 to 1959.
An updated version was published in 1963, by which time, as a published author, he was asked to participate in the production of the “Green Books of the LNER”. This became part of a labour of love spread over about 30 years, during which time he gleaned more and more data about what went on in the loco department at Doncaster, and felt that since the records were being destroyed, he should also investigate the pre-grouping parts too. As a result of an anomaly discovered with regards to certain Stirling Singles, he was introduced to Kenneth Leech, who was once again considered to be the “doyen” of GNR enthusiasts, although “KHL” was not a fan of Ivatt. Having first communicated with KHL in 1961, they considered producing a book on all Stirling engines, but eventually, with a push from O. S. Nock, this became the Stirling Singles book, which had KHL and Maurice as co-authors.
I wish I had known about him at this time, since he was able to access all the drawings available at Doncaster Loco Drawing office, including the tenders. Sadly as he moved around in life, many of these drawings got dispersed or destroyed, if only!!!!! I happen to know that at least one tender drawing which we do not have was offered to York, after the museum was set up, but they refused to accept it, so it was destroyed. That Is why the online collection is so important.
Later Maurice and KHL helped provide Norman Groves with much useful information for his four-part series for the RCTS on Great Northern locomotives. The interesting thing to me is that Kenneth Leech was quite convinced that the tender behind No 1 was a Sturrock, and yet Norman Groves clearly stated it was not. Now you wonder where the trouble began.
Talking of Singles, many may not know of the role played by Maurice in organising the saving of the tender now behind Single No 1. Once KHL had noticed it at the ex-sludge centre at Conington, Maurice, who was still working at BR at the time, was able to negotiate the circuitous route towards retrieving it.
During my time knowing Maurice, he kindly answered my questions, some of which may well have seemed rather ignorant and stupid, but he knew I had not been a railwayman, so was careful and considerate. Sadly, his knowledge of tenders was not as deep as we both would have liked. However, his help and experience helped me with a number of kits I have designed of GNR locomotives.
Thanks for being an old-fashioned gentleman Maurice, I am glad I was able to know you quite well.
Paul Craig