1932 Who's Who in Railways: Name W
Note: This is a sub-section of 1932 Who's Who in Railways
Persons - A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
WALKDEN (Alexander George), General Secretary, Railway Clerks' Association. Born in London in 1873, he was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, and entered the service of the Great Northern Railway as a Clerk in July, 1889, serving in various departments in Yorkshire, Cambridge, Leicester, Nottingham and Peterborough. He left in June, 1900, to take up his present position, and in that capacity gave extensive evidence before the Board of Trade Committees of Inquiry into Railway Superannuation Funds and Railway Agreements and Amalgamations, also the Royal Commission on the working of Railway Conciliation Boards. He visited Belgium, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 1912 to inquire into the working of State Railways in those countries, and on behalf of the Trades Union Congress, stated the case for the Nationalisation of British Railways to the Prime Minister and the President of the Board of Trade. Mr. Walkden is a member of the Railway Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Transport.
WALKER (Sir Herbert Ashcombe), K.C.B., M.Inst.T., General Manager, Southern Railway. Born in London in 1868, the son of a medical practitioner, Mr. Walker was trained with a view to following the same profession, but for family reasons, abandoned medical studies, and entered the railway world. This was in April 1885 when, as a clerk, he commenced in the office of the District Superintendent of the London and North Western Railway at Euston. There he remained for two years and a-half, to be transferred to the office of the Superintendent of the Line, over which Mr. G. P. Neele presided. Having passed through the departments dealing with the working of trains, he was, in. January, 1889, appointed Outdoor Assistant to the Superintendent of the Line. After four years' experience in the latter capacity he was promoted to the position of Assistant District Superintendent in the North Wales Division, the headquarters of which are at Chester. Ten months later he became Assistant District Superintendent of the Southern Division, extending from London to Stafford. Nine years later he became District Superintendent, and soon afterwards was directed to visit the United States, with a view to ascertain how far and in what, if any, respect American traffic methods could be advantageously introduced in British railway practice. In October, 1909, he became Assistant to the Superintendent of the Line, and in July, 1910, Outdoor Goods Manager for the southern half of the London and North Western system. Mr. Walker was closely concerned in the working absorption by the London and North Western of the North London Railway in 1908, and it fell to his lot to reorganise the whole of the arrangements of the latter. He had much to do with the Conciliation scheme of 1907, and was generally so well informed concerning the working of the scheme on the London and North Western system, that he came to be regarded as its chief spokesman when important matters called for outside inquiry. He succeeded Sir Charles Owens as General Manager of the London and South Western Railway on January 1st, 1912. At the outbreak of war he became Acting Chairman of the Railway Executive Committee, and continues with the Railway Advisory Committee associated with the Ministry of Transport. On January 1st, 1915, he was knighted. During 1923 he was a Joint General Manager of the Southern Railway, and from January 1st, 1924, General Manager. He is Chairman of the General Managers' Conference of the Railway Clearing House for 1932.
WALKER (R. B.), A.M.Inst.T., Traffic Manager, Midland and Great Northern Railways Joint Committee. Mr. Walker succeeded Mr. W. Marriott as Traffic Manager to the Joint Committee on January 1st, 1925. He started as a Junior Clerk in the General Manager's Office of the then Eastern and Midlands Railway which subsequently changed into and forms the major portion of the Joint Line. After serving in various positions in the Traffic Manager's office, including that of Personal Clerk to three Traffic Managers, viz., Messrs. Alfred Aslett, G. R. Cursors and W. Cunning, he was given the position of Principal Traffic Assistant to Mr. W. Marriott in 1919. Mr. Walker served for a period in France during the war.
WALLACE (F. C.), Secretary, Great Northern Railway, Ireland. Mr. F. C. Wallace commenced his career with the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) in 1899 in the Secretary's Department, Belfast, of which office, in 1908, he became Clerk-in-Charge. In 1919 he was transferred to Dublin, and appointed Chief Clerk to Mr. J. B. Stephens, who then became Secretary and Assistant General Manager. On July 1st, 1926, Mr. Wallace was appointed Secretary to the company.
WALLACE (W. K.), M.Inst.C.E., Chief Stores Superintendent (Euston), London Midland and Scottish Railway. Mr. Wallace's railway career commenced in 1900 on the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway, when he became a pupil of the late Mr. B. D. Wise, M.I.C.E., continuing with the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway after it became the Northern Counties Section of the Midland Railway. Under Mr. Malcolm Mr. Wallace had wide experience, particularly on the civil engineering side. He had charge of the construction of the bridge over the River Bann and the deviation of the Midland Railway (Northern Counties Section) main line authorised by the Midland Railways Act of 1914. Upon the retirement of Mr. Malcolm at the end of 1922, Mr. Wallace succeeded him, this appointment being continued with the London Midland and Scottish Railway. His present appointment dates from September, 1930.
WARDLE (John), M.Inst.T., Commercial Manager, Metropolitan Railway. Mr. Wardle is the first holder of the position of Commercial Manager to the Metropolitan Railway, which dates from September, 1913. This department deals with the commercial side of the railway, including advertising and publicity, and all questions connected with the obtaining of new passenger, goods, and other traffic, and other sources of revenue. Born in 1874 at Kearsley, near Manchester, he spent eleven years on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, passing through all departments In the Goods Manager's Office, both indoor and outdoor, eventually becoming, for four years. Secretary to the Goods Manager. In 1900 he was appointed an assistant to the Secretary of the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada, and while holding this position he accompanied the President, Sir Charles Rivers Wilson, on an inspection tour through Canada and the United States; following this two years afterwards by a six months' tour to all the great American centres. Four years later he was appointed London Manager of the Traffic Department of the Grand Trunk Railway; and at the end of twelve months became a partner in a railway and steamship business. In 1908 Mr. Wardle accepted the position to organise and take charge of the Parcels and Goods Department of the Metropolitan Railway, which culminated in his appointment as Commercial Manager. In 1917, as a war measure for some five or six months Mr. Wardle was lent to the British Government by the Metropolitan Railway. He held the Directorship of the Cold Storage and Inland Transport of Food Department. He afterwards organised the transport arrangements for the Government at the Ministry of Information, and was Director of Transport until the closing of the Ministry at the end of 1918. WEBB (Lt.-Col. G. A. C.), D.S.O., Chief of Police (Scotland), London and North Eastern Railway. — Col. Webb was Chief of Police, Great Northern Railway, prior to amalgamation. From 1923 to 1926 he had charge of the Western Division of the Southern Area, and received his present appointment in the latter year.
WEDGWOOD (Sir R. L.), C.B., C.M.G., Chief General Manager, London and North Eastern Railway. Sir Ralph Wedgwood succeeded Sir Eric Geddes as Deputy General Manager, North Eastern Railway, in August, 1919, continuing to act also as Chief Goods Manager and Passenger Manager. At the end of 1921, on the retirement of Sir A. K. Butterworth, he became General Manager. His present appointment dates from January 1st, 1923. Born in 1874, Sir Ralph Wedgwood graduated at Cambridge University and entered North Eastern Railway service under Sir George Gibb in 1896. In 1898 he was transferred to West Hartlepool and served in the Dock Superintendent's Office for some time, latterly as Assistant Dock Superintendent. He returned to York in 1901 as an Assistant in the office of the General Traffic Manager. On the reorganization of the staff in 1902, Sir Ralph Wedgwood was appointed District Superintendent at Middlesbrough, but in 1904 left that department to succeed Mr. C. N. Wilkinson as Secretary to the company. This position he held only for a short time, being at his own request re-transferred to the Traffic Department. In 1905 he was appointed Northern Divisional Goods Manager, with headquarters at Newcastle. In connection with a rearrangement of the work of the Goods Department, he was, on October 1st, 1911, appointed Assistant Goods Manager, with headquarters at York, and shortly after, on the appointment of Sir Eric Geddes to be Deputy General Manager, he became Chief Goods Manager. In February, 1914, on the retirement of Mr. Philip Burtt, he was appointed to control the work of the Passenger Department, while retaining his position as Chief Goods Manager. At an early period of the war, Sir Ralph Wedgwood volunteered for Army service, and with the rank of Major, R.E., acted as D.A.D.R.T. in the Transport Establishment in France; but in July, 1915, he was transferred to the newly formed Ministry of Munitions, his rank being that of temporary Lieut.-Colonel. In October, 1916, he was appointed Director of Docks under the Director General of Transportation in France, with the rank of temporary Brigadier General. On June 4th, 1917. he received the C.M.G., and in the following June the C.B. Sir Ralph Wedgwood, during his time in France, also received the decoration of an Officer of the Legion of Honour, and a Commander of the Belgian Order of the Crown. He returned to the North Eastern Railway in June, 1919. Sir Ralph Wedgwood was chairman of the Goods Managers' Conference of the Railway Clearing House for 1920. He received the honour of knighthood in 1924.
WENTWORTH SHEILDS (Francis Ernest), O.B.E., M.Inst.C.E., Docks Engineer, Docks and Marine Department, Southern Railway. — Mr. Wentworth Sheilds had held the position of Docks Engineer to the London and South Western Railway since 1909. Born in 1869, he is the second son of the late Mr. F. W. Wentworth-Sheilds, M.Inst.C.E. He was educated at St. Paul's School and Owens College, Manchester. He was then engaged on a number of notable engineering works, including the Salford Docks of the Manchester Ship Canal, and dock extensions at Southampton, 1892-6, as Assistant Engineer. He was Resident Engineer, 1896-9, on the construction of the North Cornwall Extension Line, London and South Western Railway; on the construction of the " Bakerloo " Tube Railway, 1899-1901; on the construction of the Trafalgar Graving Dock and deep-water quays at Southampton, 1901-5, and on the building of the Isna barrage in Egypt, 1905-7. He was then appointed Chief Engineer for the design and construction of the White Star Dock, and the widening of Trafalgar Graving Dock at Southampton, being appointed Docks Engineer to the railway company in 1909, as already mentioned. Mr. Wentworth Sheilds was President of the Institution of Structural Engineers. 1916-18, and a member of various technical committees. In 1919-20 he visited Calcutta at the request of the Port Commissioners to advise and report on the lay-out of new docks. In 1914 he was awarded the George Stephenson Gold Medal of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and in 1921 was "Vernon Harcourt" Lecturer. In connection with his present appointment he is one of the representatives of the Southern Railway on the Southampton Harbour Board.
WHARTON (Ernest), M.Inst.T., Mineral Manager, London Midland and Scottish Railway. Appointed Mineral Manager, London and North Western Railway, in 1919, Mr. Wharton had had experience for 28 years in London and North Western service, embracing several leading positions, including' those of District Goods Manager for the Warrington Division, and District Goods Manager for the Birmingham district. In 1920 he was made an Assistant to the General Manager, becoming Assistant to the General Manager (Staff) on the amalgamation of the London and North Western and Lancashire and Yorkshire Railways, 1922. After holding the position of Assistant Mineral Manager from 1923 until 1926, Mr. Wharton succeeded Mr. A. W. Allen as Mineral Manager on June 1st, 1926.
WHEELER (G. H.), M.B.E., M.Inst.T., Commercial Assistant to Traffic Manager, Southern Railway. Mr. Wheeler entered London and South Western Railway service in 1897. For some years he was employed in various sections of the office of the Superintendent of the Line, and on the outbreak of war was transferred to the Military Department dealing with the movement of troops and supplies. In June, 1917, Mr Wheeler became Assistant to Major G. S. Szlumper, then Secretary to the Railway Executive Committee, and on Major Szlumper's appointment as Docks and Marine Superintendent at Southampton in June, 1919, Mr. Wheeler became Secretary of the Committee. In December, 1919, following the resignation of the Railway Executive Committee, Mr. Wheeler was appointed Secretary to the Standing Committee of General Managers. He was appointed Traffic Manager, Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway in 1922. His present appointment dates from March 31st, 1930.
WHEELER (H.), A.M.Inst.T., Assistant to General Manager, Great Western Railway. For some years Mr. Wheeler has been on the staff of the General Manager of the Great Western Railway. He joined the service in the Rolling Stock Department at Wolverhampton in 1892, being subsequently transferred to the Traffic Department. In 1899 he entered the General Manager's office. In 1912 he was placed in charge of the conciliation section and subsequently of the whole of the staff work, being appointed as Secretary of the company's side of the Conciliation Boards and Staff Conferences. During 1920-21 he was Secretary to the Committee of General Managers appointed to deal with various staff problems. In the latter part of 1921 he became Chief Clerk to the General Manager and later, in 1926, Assistant to the General Manager.
WHEELER (H. E. O.), O.B.E., M.Inst.T., General Assistant to Traffic Manager, Southern Railway. — Born in 1878, Mr. Wheeler joined the Audit Accountant's Department of the South Eastern Railway, as it then was, in 1896, from which he was transferred to the District Superintendent's Office at New Cross. and, twelve months later, to the Office of the Superintendent of the Line, where his railway experience was chiefly gained during the course of thirteen years' service in the various sections of that office. In 1911 Mr. Wheeler was promoted to the post of Traffic Superintendent of the London District, which position he held until the death of Mr. P. Cranefield, in 1918. Mr. Wheeler was Acting Assistant Superintendent of the Line until 1920, when he was made Assistant Superintendent of the Line. He was appointed Assistant Operating Superintendent for Train Services in 1923. His present appointment dates from March 31st, 1930.
WHITE (Arthur), O.B.E., Divisional Superintendent, London (East), Southern Railway. Mr. White entered the service of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, at Streatham Hill Station in 1888. In the following year he was transferred to Streatham Common, but in 1890 went to the Trains Department of the office of the Superintendent of the Line. During the next twelve years he obtained experience in several sections, and in 1902 took over the Fare Claims Department with matters affecting ticket availability. In 1907 Mr. White returned to the operating side as Clerk in charge of Timetables, Rolling-Stock and Goods Working. In 1911 he was placed in charge of the whole of the operating sections, including the preparation of electrification schemes, and later, for a period, matters relating to rules and regulations and signalling. In 1918 Mr. White was appointed Assistant to the Superintendent of the Line. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services rendered in connection with troop movements, etc., during the war period. Towards the end of 1923 Mr. White became Assistant Divisional Operating Superintendent, London (East) Division, and in May, 1925, Eastern Divisional Operating Superintendent. His present appointment dates from March 31st, 1930.
WHITE (O. J.), Mineral Traffic, Manager, Great Western Railway. Entered Great Western Railway service in the General Manager's office in 1890. He assisted in deliberations of the Board of Trade Conferences in 1907 and 1909, and of the Royal Commission on Canals, and subsequently was placed in charge of the Parliamentary work and marine and dock arrangements. He was also Secretary to several joint conferences. In 1919 he was appointed Chief Clerk and Assistant to the London District Goods Manager, and became Assistant in the following year. In 1921 he was transferred to Birmingham in a similar capacity, going to Worcester in 1924 and to Shrewsbury in 1926. His present appointment dates from 1927.
WHITEHEAD (W. P.), Staff Assistant. Chief Engineer's Office, Euston, London Midland and Scottish Railway. Mr. Whitehead entered London and North Western Railway service in March, 1896, as an apprentice clerk in the District Superintendent's Office, Birmingham, transferring to Lichfield City in September, 1896, and returning to Birmingham in September, 1897. He then served in the goods department at Newport (Salop), afterwards being employed at Oakengates. In 1903 he returned to Newport (Salop), and in 1908 transferred to Coventry, until appointed later in the same year Relief Stationmaster for the Birmingham district. In June, 1913, he again returned to the District Superintendent's office at Birmingham, and in 1914 became Assistant Staff Clerk. In 1922 he came to London in the General Manager's department at Euston as outdoor representative, a position he held until taking up his present appointment.
WILKINSON (H. L.), M.Inst.T., Assistant Superintendent of the Line, Great Western Railway. Mr. Wilkinson succeeded Mr. Minster e s London Divisional Superintendent in September, 1917, his present appointment dating from January 1st, 1922. He entered Great Western Railway service in the District Goods Manager's Office at Bristol in 1890. Two years later he was transferred to the Divisional Superintendent's Office in that city, and in 1896 he removed to the London division, where he filled several posts in the Divisional Superintendent's Office. For some years he was a Relief Stationmaster, and for three years occupied the position of Assistant Stationmaster at Paddington. In 1910 he was appointed Chief Clerk to the Superintendent of the Cardiff division, and returned to Paddington as Mr. Dunster's Outdoor Assistant in 1911.
WILLIS (Frank H.), M.Inst.T., Secretary, Southern Railway. Second son of the late Judge Willis, K.O., Mr. Willis was educated at Haileybury College and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, taking the degree of B.A. in 1893. He entered the Inner Temple in 1894, and was called to the Bar in 1897. Two years later he joined the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, in the Goods Manager's Department, dealing specially with rates and legal aspects of rates disputes. Under Sir Francis Dent, when Goods Manager, Mr. Willis was closely associated with several important cases. He appeared before the Russell Rea Commission in 1909, and was preparing a proof for submission to the 1913 Royal Commission on Railways, when the war put an end to its sittings. He succeeded Mr. Igglesden as Goods Manager in 1920. He was appointed Indoor Commercial Manager, Southern Railway, in 1923. His present appointment dates from March 31st, 1930.
WILSON (A. R.), Cartage Manager (Southern Area), London and North Eastern Railway. Mr. Wilson was educated at Brentwood Grammar School, joining London and North Eastern Railway service in May, 1929, as Motor Assistant to Mr. Todd, the late Cartage Manager. Prior to that he had been connected with road transport, except for a period of service in France during the war, and had obtained considerable experience with general road transport, including the maintenance, operating and costing sides. During the four years immediately prior to joining the London and North Eastern Railway he was connected with E. W. Rudd, Ltd., haulage contractors, of London and Leicester, and was a director of several of their subsidiary companies. He thus obtained an advantageous knowledge of traders' requirements and viewpoints, and of road transport practice in regard to maintenance and operating supervision, as well as statistical and accounting systems. His present appointment dates from December, 1930.
WILSON, (Edward A.), O.B.E., Chief Civil Engineer, Metropolitan Railway. Mr. Wilson entered Great Eastern Railway service in 1892, as a pupil to his father, Mr. John Wilson, then Engineer-in-Chief, and after a varied experience in maintenance and construction, was appointed Engineer in Charge of New Works, afterwards becoming Assistant Engineer. In 1910 he succeeded Mr. Harry Jones as Divisional Engineer at Ipswich, and in 1914 volunteered for service with the Forces, and left for the Western Front with the Railway Construction Troops. During the years 1917 and 1918 he held the positions of Engineer-in-Charge of railway construction and maintenance on the lines of communication, Chief Railway Construction Engineer, and finally became Controller of Transportation Maintenance. During his military career he attained the rank of colonel and gained the Military Cross, and was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. Whilst with the Forces Mr. Wilson was appointed Divisional Civil Engineer at Stratford. He was appointed to his present position in July, 1921.
WILSON (James), Solicitor (Scotland), London Midland and Scottish Railway. —Mr. Wilson served his apprenticeship in law with Dr. David Murray, of Maclay, Murray & Spens, the legal adviser of the former Glasgow and South Western Railway Company. He attended the law classes, including the classes in International Private Law and in Procedure, at Glasgow University, and qualified as a Law Agent in 1916. He is a member of the Incorporated Society of Law Agents. Mr. Wilson entered the Solicitor's Office of the former Glasgow and South Western Railway Company in November, 1898, and was, prior to amalgamation, Assistant Solicitor of that company. Since amalgamation he had been Assistant Solicitor (Scotland) of the London Midland .and Scottish Railway. Company, until receiving his present appointment early in 1926.
WILSON (J. S.), O.B.E., A.M.Inst.T., Assistant Audit Accountant, Southern Railway. Mr. Wilson, who was appointed to this position in 1923, succeeded Mr. W. M. Elliott as Assistant Audit Accountant, South Eastern and Chatham Railway, in 1921. He entered the service of the South Eastern Railway in 1886, in the Audit Accountant's Office. After experience in various sections, he was, in 1908, made Chief of the Agreements and Special Department of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway Audit Office. In 1910 he took charge of the Coaching, Rates and Fares and Excursion section, becoming Chief Clerk in the department in 1913, and Assistant Audit Accountant in March, 1921. During the war Mr. Wilson served in France as a railway accountant attached to the British Army with the rank of major, and subsequently that of lieut.-colonel. In 1919 he returned to England, and was for a time attached to the War Office, before going back to the South Eastern and Chatham Railway in May. 1920, and was appointed Assistant Audit Accountant in 1921, as above mentioned.
WOOD (W. V.), M.Inst.T., Vice-President. Finance and Service Departments, London Midland and Scottish Railway. — Mr. Wood entered the Accountant's Department of the late Belfast and Northern Counties Railway in 1898. On the Government taking control of the Irish Railways in 1917, he was appointed Secretary, and later, a Member of the Railway Accountants' Committee, set up by the Irish Railway Executive Committee. On the formation of the Ministry of Transport, in 1919, Mr Wood was transferred to London as Director of Transport Accounting, and in 1921 was appointed Accountant to the Ministry. In 1924 he resumed railway service as Assistant to the Accountant General of the London Midland and Scottish Railway. In 1927 he was appointed Controller of Costs and Statistics, and on January 1st, 1930, became Vice-President, Finance and Service Departments.
WOOD (W.), M.I.E.E., Electrical Engineer (Scotland), London and North Eastern Railway. Mr. Wood commenced his railway career in 1904 as a premium pupil under Mr. A. F. Rock, the Electrical Engineer of the North Staffordshire Railway. He was appointed Assistant Telegraph Superintendent on the North British Railway in 1911, and succeeded the late Mr. A. F. Clement as Telegraph Superintendent in 1912. Shortly afterwards he took over the Electrical Power and Lighting. He is now responsible for the Electrical and Telegraph work in the Scottish Area, of the London and North Eastern Railway. He has been a member of the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers since 1913, and on the Council since 1924, was Vice-President for the 1929-30 session, and President for 1930-31. He is also a member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and of the Institute of Transport.
WOODING (W. A.), Divisional Accountant, Southern Area, London and North Eastern Railway. Mr. Wooding entered the service of the late Great Northern Railway in the Audit Office in December, 1884. Two years later he was transferred to the Accountant's General Office, where he was engaged until March, 1904, when, in the concentration of Joint Lines, Private Settlements, etc., he was appointed to take charge of the section. In July, 1912, he was appointed Chief Clerk in the Accountant's Department, while in March, 1923, he became Staff Assistant to the Chief Accountant of the London and North Eastern Railway. His present appointment was made in 1928.
WORRALL (J. R.), Development Assistant, Land and Estate Department, Euston, London Midland and Scottish Railway. Mr. Worrall entered the London and North Western Railway service in the District Estate Office at Lime Street, Liverpool, in May, 1893. He was transferred to the District Estate Office at Preston in February, 1903, and remained there until appointed District Estate Agent at Rugby. In August, 1911, he was appointed to a similar position in Birmingham. From 1915 to 1919 he served with H.M. Forces in the Gloucester Regiment. After the war he was, in April, 1919, transferred to the headquarters of the Estate Department in London, and in July, 1922, was appointed District Land and Estate Agent in charge of the London District. In June, 1923, he was appointed Divisional Land and Estate Agent for the Southern Division of the London Midland and Scottish Railway, having charge of the London, Rugby and Cheltenham Districts. In December, 1924, he was again appointed District Land and Estate Agent for the London District, upon the abolition of Divisional Officers. At the beginning of 1929 he became Divisional Land and Estate Agent (Scotland), and was appointed to his present position early in 1932. Mr. Worrall is a Fellow of the Surveyors' Institution.
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