Sir Sam Fay TD (30 December 1856 – 30 May 1953), born in

Hamble-le-Rice Hamble-le-Rice, commonly known as Hamble, is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Eastleigh (borough), Borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. It is best known for being a flying training centre during the Second Wor ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England, was a career railwayman who joined the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exete ...

as a clerk in 1872 and rose to become the last General Manager of the

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its Great Central Main Line, London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company ...

after a successful period in charge of the almost bankrupt

Midland and South Western Junction Railway The Midland and South Western Junction Railway (M&SWJR) was an independent railway built to form a north–south link between the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway in England, allowing the Midland and other companies' t ...

. He also played an important role during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as part of the Railway Executive Committee.

Early years

Samuel Fay was born in

, on 30 December 1856. He was the second son of Joshua Fay (b. 1824 in Awbridge), a farmer of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

origin, and Ann Philpott (b. 1820 in Eling). Fay was educated at Blenheim House school in

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...

Railway career

L&SWR

At the age of 15½ Fay joined the

. His first post was as a junior clerk at , from where he moved to Stockbridge on the Sprat and Winkle Line. After a 12-month period spent on the relief staff at various stations, Fay joined

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

where, in 1881, he launched the ''South Western Gazette'' together with two clerks in the general manager's office. The profits of the publication went to the L&SWR Orphanage Fund. Two years later, Fay wrote his first book, ''A Royal Road'', which was a brief history of the L&SWR. In 1884, Fay was transferred to Waterloo as second clerk in the Traffic Superintendent's office. After a few months he was promoted to chief clerk. He was subsequently considered for manager of the Waterford and Central Ireland Railway, but withdrew his candidature on account of the poor prospects of the job. He became Assistant Storekeeper at

Nine Elms Nine Elms is an area of south-west London, England, within the London Borough of Wandsworth, with some parts (including the Nine Elms tube station, tube station) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. It lies on the River Thame ...

in 1891. In the same year, he was elected to Kingston Council, but this proved to be a short-lived experience.

M&SWJ

In early 1892, Fay was seconded to the

as Secretary and General Manager; at the time, the railway was in a poor condition, almost bankrupt and in the hands of a receiver. Within a period of twelve months, he had turned the situation around and restored the company to solvency, taking the place of the receiver. He also succeeded in promoting a bill for the Marlborough and Grafton Railway which completed the missing link between the two parts of the MSWJR, thereby avoiding the need to use the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

's Berks & Hants Extension and Marlborough Railway from Savernake to Marlborough.

Great Central

In 1899, Fay returned to Waterloo as the L&SWR's Superintendent of the Line. It was from here that he was appointed by Lord Faringdon, Chairman of the

, to succeed Sir William Pollitt as General Manager of the line in 1902. The Great Central was at that time in a precarious financial position due to the costs of constructing its London Extension, yet Fay was confident in his ability to repeat his performance with the M&SWJ. He was to be paid £3,000 per year and his contract was subject to six months notice on either side.Dow, p. 28. Presumably as a result of his experience with the M&SWJR, Fay appears to have been head-hunted to become

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the

. Whilst he was successful in maintaining the Great Central as an effective railway, Fay was not able completely to turn round the financial position of the company. One of his first decisions was to extend the operation of through passenger services between

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

and , supplemented by express excursions between

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

and Bournemouth. Fay also reintroduced services between

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

and

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

via the

Swinton and Knottingley Joint Railway The Swinton and Knottingley Joint Railway was a British railway company formed to connect the Midland Railway, Midland and Great Central Railway, Great Central lines at Swinton (South Yorkshire) railway station, Swinton, north of Rotherham, wit ...

, as well as through services from Marylebone to

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

. Journey times for expresses between Marylebone and Sheffield were cut to 3 hours, a reduction of 8 minutes at an average speed of 54.9 mph. Fay introduced several notable innovations to the Great Central including the setting-up of a Publicity Department in 1902, and the rolling-out of the first weekly zone

season ticket A season ticket, or season pass, is a ticket that grants privileges over a defined period of time. History The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' has illustrative quotations which show the term ''season ticket'' used in the United States in 18 ...

s in Manchester in 1904. He was also responsible for the setting-up of the ''Great Central Railway Journal'' in 1905 and the initiation of competitive examinations in 1907 to create promotion opportunities for promising young members of staff. Following his service with the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

, Fay returned to the Great Central in May 1919. The Great Central's Board of Directors held their final meeting before the railway grouping on 15 December 1922. It was agreed to award Fay a pension of £3,000 per year.

Other railway interests

In 1913, Fay became part-owner of the struggling Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway. He ran the line until the railway grouping and made a profit upon its disposal to the Southern Railway. In 1924, Fay together with Sir Vincent Raven was appointed by the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

to the

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

on the

New South Wales Government Railways New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was an agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in the colony, and then the state, of New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. History The NSWGR built ...

. The Commissioners reported in October 1924 that the metropolitan railway network was at saturation point and recommended the construction of a circular railway around Sydney, as well as the transfer of control over railway finances from the government to the Railway Commissioners. The construction of the

City Circle line The M3 line or City Circle Line is a loop line of the Copenhagen Metro. It has been claimed by COWI A/S that the line is the largest construction project to have taken place in Copenhagen during the last 400 years.Buenos Aires Great Southern and

Buenos Aires Western Railway The Buenos Aires Western Railway (BAWR; Spanish: Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires), inaugurated in the city of Buenos Aires on 29 August 1857, was the first railway built in Argentina and the start of the extensive rail network that was devel ...

Companies. In 1923, he replaced Stanley Jackson on the board of directors of

Beyer, Peacock and Company Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English general engineering company and railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson founded the company in 1854. The company clo ...

, constructor of numerous Great Central locomotives, of which he became Chairman on the retirement of Sir Vincent Caillard. For some time he also acted in an advisory capacity to the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS) of the "Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It ope ...

which had taken over the Great Central upon the railway grouping. Had Fay not been of retirement age at the time of the grouping, he would have been a strong contender for becoming general manager of the new company. In the event, Sir Ralph Wedgwood was appointed to the position.

Government work

Committees

Fay served on two committees unconnected with railways – the Committee on

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

wages in 1904 and the Departmental Committee on Inshore Fisheries in 1912.

First World War

Fay had, in 1911, been invited by the

Secretary of State for War The secretary of state for war, commonly called the war secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The secretary of state for war headed the War Offic ...

Richard Haldane to join the Ports and Transit Executive Committee bringing together the railway managers of six principal railway companies to examine the problem of feeding London in the event of enemy action on the south coast. Upon the outbreak of the

, Fay together with the eight other managers of leading railways became part of the Railway Executive Committee chaired by the LSWR's Herbert Walker. At the beginning of 1917, Fay took over the post of Director of Movements at the

, an experience which he was to write about in his book ''The War Office at War'' published in 1937; he refused to wear a military uniform or to remove his beard, even though his post carried the rank of general. In March 1918, he succeeded Sir Guy Granet, the Midland's General Manager, as Director-General of Movements and Railways, with a seat on the Army Council. During the period of his absence from the Great Central, Fay's assistant, E.A. Clear, took charge of the day-to-day running of the system.

Grouping proposals

In December 1918, he had proposed to the

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

the creation of a "Transport Authority" which would be composed of the representatives of railway and dock companies, the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

, trade unions and agricultural and industrial bodies. The Authority would acquire, using public stock, the capital of the country's railways and canals, and divide their operations into five regional groups which the Authority could take over and control in the public interest. The

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

, had previously dealt with Fay in 1906, when he adopted the latter's plans for a conciliation system to settle industrial disputes on the railways. Although the power of nationalisation was withdrawn in the face of opposition in Parliament, an Act came into force on 15 August 1919 which created the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

headed by

Sir Eric Geddes Sir Eric Campbell Geddes (26 September 1875 – 22 June 1937) was a Great Britain, British businessman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician. With a background in railways, he served as head of Military Transportation on the ...

Personal life

In 1883, Fay married Frances Ann Farbrother (b. 16 February 1858 in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

), with whom he had four daughters and four sons, including Edgar Fay, the judge. A heavy cigar-smoker, he lived in

Cirencester Cirencester ( , ; see #Pronunciation, below for more variations) is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. It is the List of ...

Gerrards Cross Gerrards Cross is a town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies immediately south of Chalfont St Peter and a short distance west of the London Borough of Hillingdon, from which it is separated by the parish of Denham, Buckinghams ...

and finally Awbridge Danes near

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a town in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The town is situated northwest of Southampton, southwest of Winchester and southeast of Salisbury. It sits on the outskirts of the New Forest, just over northeast of ...

. In June 1902 he was gazetted a Lieutenant-Colonel in The Engineer and Railway Volunteer Staff Corps, and re-gazetted at the same rank when E&RVSC became the

Engineer and Railway Staff Corps The Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps is a part of the Royal Engineers in the British Army Reserve. It is intended to provide advisers on engineering and logistics to the British Army at a senior level. Following its work creating the NHS Nightin ...

of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

in April 1908. He received the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer O ...

in October 1920, and resigned his commission in January 1924. Fay was knighted by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

in somewhat theatrical fashion during the royal opening of the

Immingham Dock The Port of Immingham, also known as Immingham Dock, is a major port on the east coast of England, located on the south bank of the Humber Estuary in the town of Immingham, Lincolnshire. In 2019, the Port of Grimsby & Immingham was the largest p ...

on 22 July 1912. In 1944, he published a small volume of poems and essays. Fay died in Awbridge on 30 May 1953, seven years after his wife, who had died on 10 July 1946. He is buried in the churchyard of All Saints Church. He had intended to write his memoirs but never got beyond the stage of rough notes.

Legacy

Fay had a Great Central locomotive named in honour of his 1912 knighthood, the locomotives in the class becoming known informally as "Sam Fays". A bar/restaurant named ''Sam Fay's'' complete with railway memorabilia operated from the former Nottingham High Level station ticket office during the mid/late 1990s, although the station had always been on the Great Northern railway network until the LNER grouping in 1923.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fay, Sam 1856 births 1953 deaths People from Hamble-le-Rice Knights Bachelor Engineer and Railway Staff Corps officers Great Central Railway people Burials in Hampshire Military personnel from Hampshire 19th-century British Army personnel