After setting up a display table with numerous books and magazines relating to Colonel Stephens and with models of locomotives from his various railways Ross gave us a very interesting talk on the life of the Colonel and illustrated it with a variety of pictures.
Holman Fred Stephens was born in 1868 to artist parents who were closely associated with the pre-Raphaelite brotherhood and indeed were close friends with the artist Holman Hunt who became his godfather and after whom he was named. After leaving school Stephens started work in the Metropolitan Railway workshops in Neasden as a pupil before taking up a post with the Cranbrook and Paddock Wood Railway. He became quite an expert on the Light Railways Act of 1896 (the object of which was to open up rural areas by allowing smaller railways to operate with fewer restrictions but with lower speeds)
and became a consultant to several other railways.
Stephens maintained an office in Tonbridge where he employed up to seventeen staff travelling all over the country to his various light railways providing a complete service acting as both engineer and manager. He was a strict boss although often generous to those staff he felt deserving.
Most light railways were always strapped for cash and had to make do with second hand locomotives and stock and Stephens became very adept at ways to save money even to the extent of using other people’s headed notepaper for correspondence rather than his own. He used an eclectic range of locomotives but seemed to prefer Terriers (he had 9 all
told) and 0-6-0 tender locos and Ross showed us photos of these and of some of the more unusual ones.
Stephens served in the Royal Engineers rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was transferred to the Reserve in 1916 which allowed him time to continue with his railway work. Stephens never married and died in 1931 with an estate of £30,000 (worth £1.5 million today) which he left to four of the staff in the Tonbridge office. One wonders what the other 13 staff felt about that. Some years ago Ross was involved with the Colonel Stephens Society in trying to get a Blue Plaque installed on the former offices in Tonbridge.
Unfortunately, the current owner of the house would have nothing to do with it and instead the plaque has been installed at Tonbridge Station where Stephens always travelled from and where many more people will see it than if it were affixed to the old office building.
Chris
