Obituaries 169

JAMES I.C. BOYD

The death occurred on 20 February of James Ian Craig Boyd. Born near Manchester in July 1920, he was sent to the Downs school at Colwall, Herefordshire in 1932 and found there to his great delight a 9¹/₂” gauge miniature railway maintained and operated by the boys. This and family holidays at Port St. Mary in the Isle of Man gave him a love of minor railways which remained with him for the rest of his life. At the Downs he met a like-minded boy from Portadown, and it was on a summer visit there that he first became acquainted with the Irish railway scene in 1933. A further visit in August 1939 saw he and his friend travel the short first mile of the Clogher Valley Railway to Caledon from where they returned to Tynan on foot. This introduction to the Irish narrow gauge was extended a few days later to a much longer journey from Strabane to Burtonport only days before the outbreak of WW2.

In 1956 a forthcoming title Saga by Rail was offered to his readers. What must surely be a record for any author, this work was finally published exactly fifty years later in two volumes, the first dealing with Ireland. His other Irish works include a Bradford Barton picture album on the Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway, and his best work without doubt, a fine history of the Schull & Skibbereen Railway. The Boyd family spent summer holidays in West Cork for nearly fifty years, sailing in Castle Haven and around Roaringwater Bay, tramping the routes of abandoned railways, and recording the lifting of the Bandon lines in 1962.

In addition to his many books Boyd was a prolific writer of articles for Railways (later Railway World) and this writer remembers being captivated by an article on his visit to the Cavan & Leitrim section in June 1949. This was followed the next year by Once Daily - Once Monthly, his journey on the West Clare and Tralee & Dingle lines. He also contributed a very readable long running feature article Glimpses of the Narrow Gauge.

There can be no doubt that James Boyd contributed more than anyone else to the collective history of narrow gauge railways in these islands, and in the case of the Welsh lines, was undoubtedly responsible for the interest created in their revival.

AMD

John Charles Gillham was born in Ealing on 5 July 1917, where he resided for all of his long life. After a short time as a solicitor's clerk, he served an apprenticeship at the Chiswick Works of London Transport, subsequently becoming a draughtsman there. Later, he worked in the same role with rail fastener manufacturer Pandrol.

John was a long time member of the Irish Railway Record Society. He was a regular attender at and contributor to the meetings of the IRRS London Area from January 1962.

magisterial Great British Tramway Networks was co-authored by JCG and the late W.H. Bett.

John was sprightly man with a sharp mind and a great sense of wit, always ready to advise and help others in their research and writings. Transport enthusiasts will greatly miss him. He died peacefully in his sleep on the 22 March 2009 at the age of 91.

Dublin member Niall Torpey died on 9 February 2009 after a lengthy and courageous battle with a debilitating illness.

Niall was a Chartered Engineer by profession and worked for many years with the National Standards Authority of Ireland, the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards, latterly a division of Enterprise Ireland.

Niall was particularly expert in bridge matters and provided the definitive account of Irish railway bridges in his paper on that subject to the Society, published in JOURNALS 153, 154, and 155.

He was also an active member of Engineers Ireland (The Institution of Engineers of Ireland) and the Institution of Structural Engineers, to which he also contributed technical papers.

Following retirement from formal work, Niall joined the Committee of the SOCIETY, where he took over the important role of Premises Officer from Paddy O’Brien, but sadly, increasing health issues required him to stand down after a relatively short period.

Niall is survived by his wife Tina and children, Niamh, Gráinne and Colm, as well as by his elder brother Brian, to whom sympathy is extended. He will be much missed by Dublin members, especially the Tuesday night discussion group in which he participated for so many years.