Swindon-born William A. Stanier joined Great Western Railway as a fifteen-year-old trainee and began rising swiftly through the ranks. In 1904, he was appointed assistant to the divisional locomotive superintendent in London, and by 1931 he was chief mechanical engineer of the London Midland & Scottish Railway. The LMS locomotives were in a poor state, with some dating back to the 1800s, and Stanier was charged with updating the company with new and more powerful locomotives. His iconic designs in steam and diesel dominated British railways from the 1930s to the end of steam in 1968. During the Second World War, Stanier was seconded to the Ministry of Supply as a consultant, and in 1943 he was knighted and appointed a fellow of the Royal Society. He retired in 1944. 'Sir William A. Stanier FRS' is a photographic celebration of his extraordinary life in rail.
