A Master Remembered HERBERT NIGEL GRESLEY
APRIL 5, 2021, marked the 80th anniversary since Herbert Nigel Gresley, arguably one of Britain’s greatest engineers, died. Although suffering from poor health which might have ended the careers of lesser men, he struggled on and died ‘in harness’.
With the Second World War at its height and Britain’s very existence in jeopardy, his strong sense of duty kept him going to the end. This helped ensure that the LNER could support the war effort and help turn potential defeat into victory.
As a man he was steadfast, determined, a strong and pragmatic leader, a scientist by nature, and an engineer of great substance. In essence, he was a polymath who developed a detailed knowledge of many subjects during his lifetime, allowing him to solve a series of complex problems that may have defeated others.
In so doing, he never lost sight of the economics and politics of big business, and the need to balance many factors in producing engineering solutions that enhanced the railway’s operation. Such was his success that his name is probably as well-known now as it was at the height of his fame.
Achievements
To ensure this remains so, we have many examples of his work around ustoday, such as Mallard and Flying Scotsman, plus a new ‘P2’ on the way. There is also a statue at King’s Cross which continues to attract interest.
But among all these signs of engineering prowess, many details of his life seem to have slipped from memory. So, to mark this anniversary, it is fitting to remember his life and the totality of his remarkable achievements.
Herbert Nigel Gresley was born in Edinburgh on June 19, 1876, while his mother, Joanna, was visiting the city to consult a gynaecologist, suggesting there were problems with her pregnancy.
After a short period of recovery, she returned to the family home inNetherseal, Leicestershire (later Derbyshire), where her husband, the Reverend Nigel Gresley, vicar of the parish, and their other four children awaited her and the new addition. From an early age, Bertie – as his siblings called him – demonstrated a fascination with engineering and the railways, aided by his father’s love of science. This growing interest was encouraged by three years of schooling from 1890 at Marlborough College.
Due to his father’s rapidly declining health, it seems Gresley then chose to become a premium mechanical engineering apprentice with the London North Western Railway at Crewe, rather than attending university and therefore being a drain on his father’s diminishing resources. He
