Obituaries: former LUPTS members

Obituaries

KEVIN DONNELLY c1938-c2006 (LUPTS member 1958/1959)

Kevin Donnelly played a vital role at the birth of LUPTS as it was his conversation with John Ryan, overheard by Martin Jenkins and Chris Bennett, on 6 November 1958 which led directly to the decision to form the Society. Kevin was born in Wirral in about 1938 and lived with his parents in Birkenhead. At University, he worked on Guild Gazette and attended all the early LUPTS meetings, being elected the first Society treasurer.

He studied Electrical Engineering from about 1956 onwards, but did not finish his course and left the University in 1959, going straight into National Service. At one time he worked in the booking office at Upton station and John Ryan remembers being invited to have a look behind the scenes there, where they found hordes of old tickets dating back to the opening of the line in 1896. Kevin left Merseyside to work for the Railway Signal Company in Chippenham and later GEC-General Signal at Borehamwood.

He attended the LUPTS reunion events in 1998 (Crich) and 2002 (Birkenhead) and is featured on the right of the re-enactment line up with John, Martin, Chris and Neil Cossons in the Old Union on the occasion of the latter event (click here). Efforts to track him down for the 2010 event at Crich revealed the fact that he had died some years earlier (one report has been received of 2 January 2006) but news had not reached anyone connected to LUPTS at the time. A memorial service is reported to have been held at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, which he used to attend regularly on visits from his home in Elstree.

[Elaboration and/or correction of the above obituary would be appreciated.]

PHIL JOHNSON 1955-1983 (LUPTS member 1974-1977)

Phil Johnson was LUPTS secretary during the 1976/1977 academic year. He was born in Gateshead on 3 September 1955 and started at the University in 1974, studying Civil Engineering. Described by Tom Kane as having a “very dry Geordie wit”, he maintained his links with the area of his birth. The lounge of his parents’ lounge in Low Fell was used for accommodation for the LUPTS minibus trip to the north east (15/16 June 1977).

He worked for Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners in Reading after graduation. He was on an assignment to Botswana and returned to the UK on leave, during which time he suffered an extremely rare adverse reaction to a yellow fever vaccine booster, and died in hospital in Slough on 18 January 1983. John Forrester recalls the decorated haversack in which he carried all his gricing ephemera around and his splendid writing style, evidenced by an article in a LUPTS Journal entitled “The Gricing Gourmet”. Tom Kane remembers his “unique ability to take outstanding photos, without using light metering, but by consulting a well-thumbed handwritten exposure guide and visual assessment.”

JEROME McWATT 1938-1978 (LUPTS member 1958-1961)

[Jerome McWatt died on 1 March 1978. This is an extract from an obituary by Martin Jenkins which appeared in Liverpool Corporation Tramways 1937-1957 (part 2), published by the MTPS in 1980, the obituary having previously appeared in the MTPS Newsletter.]

As a founder member of the Liverpool University Public Transport Society, Jerome was involved in the initial moves to which ultimately led to the preservation of 869. As a founder of the Wallasey Tramcar Preservation Group, he helped to coordinate the plans for the projected museum at New Brighton. He worked tirelessly for both Groups believing that the museum could succeed if all the Merseyside enthusiasts worked together.

Over the years, Jerome supplied the MTPS and WTPG with thousands of photographs and some of his superb prints from old plate-glass negatives appear in the Horne/Maund 'Liverpool Transport' book.

Jerome had many other interests including a love of classical music and opera. He enjoyed exploring other tramways both at home and abroad but above all he was a true family man. The McWatt household was always a happy one at which everyone would receive the warmest possible welcome.

CHRIS MOYES 1949-2006 (LUPTS member 1967-1970)

Former LUPTS member Chris Moyes died on 12 September 2006. Chris was a Civil Engineering student in the late 1960s and an active LUPTS member, serving for a time as its Secretary, and working during his summer holidays for Crosville as a conductor. He subsequently obtained an MSc from Salford University, before being appointed a management trainee with National Bus Company.

Within NBC, he worked for Maidstone and District, Yorkshire Traction and Lincolnshire Road Car, before being appointed to the post of commercial manager for Northern General in 1983. That subsequently led to a management buyout and the company grew into the Stock Market-listed Go-Ahead Group that we know today. Chris became Chief Executive of the Group in January 2005.

In addition, Chris was Chair of the Council of Durham University and Chairman of GoSkills, the Sector Skills council for the bus industry, and also an active bus preservationist, owning four vehicles of his own, ranging from a 1931 Bedford WLB to a Routemaster. He was awarded an OBE in the New Year's Honours in 2006 and he had been a Deputy Lieutenant of County Durham since June 2005.

An obituary to Chris appeared in The Times on 18 September 2006 (click here) and the Daily Telegraph on 14 September 2006 (click here), the latter making specific reference to Chris’s involvement with LUPTS.

STEVE SANDERSON 1952-2004 (LUPTS member 1970-1973)

Steve Sanderson died on 4 July 2004 at the age of 52. He joined LUPTS in 1970, becoming Treasurer for the 1971/1972 academic year, followed by a stint as Chairman in the year he graduated. He joined National Bus Company after leaving university and worked his way up to senior management levels within the organisation. After privatisation he worked for Traction Group (based on the Yorkshire Traction subsidiary) and was Commercial Director of Lincolnshire Road Car at the time of his death.

ROLAND WILLIAMS 1962-2011 (LUPTS member 1981-1984)

Roly Williams served as Secretary and Chairman of LUPTS during his time at the University. During his student days he is probably best remembered for buying – along with his father Bob and fellow LUPTS member Alan Roberts – ex-Crosville Bristol SC SSG668 (241SFM), following a chance conversation in the union bar one night. The vehicle was restored in time for it to be used on a trip to Chester City Transport (29 February 1984) and on other subsequent occasions.

After graduation Roly went to work for Eastern Scottish and then Eastern Counties, before returning to Scotland where he established The Bus Doctors business restoring and maintaining historic buses. He died on 7 March 2011 at the age of 48 after a long illness. Former LUPTS President Jonathan Cadwallader remembers him as “a great friend to all that knew him, a memorable character full of life whose enthusiasm for things mechanical spilled over to others.”

A longer obituary appears here. The obituary which appeared in the May 2011 edition of Buses can be downloaded from here.

Other former LUPTS members

The following is a list of former LUPTS members who are known to have died. It is hoped to provide more biographical detail in the future.

Phil Fanning (LUPTS member c1960, d1996)
Mick Uden (LUPTS member 1964-1967)

Return to LUPTS in exile home page

Last updated: 19 April 2011