John Jennings' Research Papers

John R Jennings
1945-2016

Railway Historian
and
SMJ Archivist

John Jennings was born near Shipston on Stour in Warwickshire and spent his formative years in Stratford upon Avon. John's knowledge of the railway scene in and around Stratford upon Avon was second to none, not only because he was fortunate to have known the railway scene whilst it was still a viable transport system, but also because of the research John undertook over the years. Much of John's information has been collected from former railwaymen, some of whom were actually employees of the Stratford Midland Junction Railway which ceased to exist on 31st December 1922 or the London Midland & Scottish Railway which was suceeded by British Railways on 1st January 1948. John states elsewhere that his interest grew into that of a life time railway enthusiast which I am pleased to recollect meant much of what I saw in my early years was a unique snapshot of the end of the steam era before road transport developed a stranglehold. The railway was still a very important part of the life of our English market town and until the end of the decade the working methods and the men involved were more or less the same as they had been in the previous thirty years'.

John's collection of photographs are still available to purchase via the Transport Treasury. For his personal memories of the lines around Stratford upon Avon please use this link.

As indicated in his memories of the railways of Stratford upon Avon, John was also knowledgeable about the SMJ's local protagonist, the Great Western Railway. His observations at the Great Western Railway's Stratford station had started in the late 1940s when his Grandmother took him on outings there to observe the activities. By 1953 he was visiting the station regularly on his own and without the need to always buy a platform ticket as there were a number of other vantage points. The attached PDF documents are varied in content and in many instances have been developed in response to questions raised by other enthusiasts or even, in one instance, by a person who shared his family name but were not a relative and who wanted information about the death of James Jennings, in a railway accident.