What was A R Walkley’s Name

[Ian Holmes]

I was doing some research on inglenook model railways just now. The general consensus is that A R Walkley was first to exhibit the concept in 1925/26 with his portable goods yard layout. 
Walkley was a prolific, skilled model maker, scratch building locomotives in scales as small as 1mm =1foot. 

Indeed this portable goods yard layout seems to have been scratch build in H0 scale. Revolutionary for its time. All this information is pretty easy to come by. But what was his name? Arnold Richard? Alan?  Does anyone know?

My curiosity is getting the better of me.

Ian

[Nearholmer]

Try Wimbledon MRC if no joy here; both he and his brother I think were members during the 1920s and 30s.

[kevinlms]

7 hours ago, Ian Holmes said:

I was doing some research on inglenook model railways just now. The general consensus is that A R Walkley was first to exhibit the concept in 1925/26 with his portable goods yard layout. 
Walkley was a prolific, skilled model maker, scratch building locomotives in scales as small as 1mm =1foot. 

Indeed this portable goods yard layout seems to have been scratch build in H0 scale. Revolutionary for its time. All this information is pretty easy to come by. But what was his name? Arnold Richard? Alan?  Does anyone know?

My curiosity is getting the better of me.

Ian

It would seem that 'A' is for Arthur.

 

I did a search for 'Walkley' in the Model Engineer online index and came up with 14 entries of Walkley, of which the first 5 were for 'Arthur R. Walkley'. The first 11 were all model railway topics.

 

 

The last 3 are modern (2005) and so nothing to do with A.R. Walkley.

 

https://www.itech.net.au/modelengineer/

[F-UnitMad]

It's a great question, and harks back to an earlier, more formal age. Reminds me that I only found out what his initials stood for after P. D. Hancock died, as that's the only way I saw his name in Railway Modeller & even his own book, "Narrow Gauge Adventure".

It's a bit like the mystique surrounding your Teachers' first names at school, back in the day.

[kevinlms]

51 minutes ago, F-UnitMad said:

It's a great question, and harks back to an earlier, more formal age. Reminds me that I only found out what his initials stood for after P. D. Hancock died, as that's the only way I saw his name in Railway Modeller & even his own book, "Narrow Gauge Adventure".

It's a bit like the mystique surrounding your Teachers' first names at school, back in the day.

You raise some interesting points there and there is something else that muddies the water about correctly identifying peoples names.

 

So far in this thread, there are 4 different contributors, of which one has used his real name, one has used an alias and put his name in the footer (yours truly) and 2 as aliases. Off the top of the head, I know one of their first names of them.

 

I'm compiling an index of model railway articles and I like to include the author if I can ('Anon' if I don't know, because I don't like blank spaces).

 

A problem is inconsistency, in their format.

A well known example is that of Iain Rice, who appears variously as

1/ Iain Rice. 2/ Iain A. Rice. 3/ I.A.R. (especially on his drawings).

I think his style of writing is distinctive enough, for me to recognise that all 3 versions are for the same person.

By putting one version of his name in my index, it makes it easier to find all entries, with a single search.

 

Another writer made his entries into the model press easy to identify his articles, from someone else with the same name.

 

That is Alan Gibson (author of articles on his layout 'Aultibrig & Mingulay Railway)', where in one letter I think, he called himself 'Alan Gibson - The Other One', to separate himself from the Alan Gibson of wheel and kit fame - now retired.

 

So my index has 2 Alan Gibson's

1/ Alan Gibson (the Kit Maker)

2/ Alan Gibson (the Other One!).

[Nearholmer]

In the old days many went by pseudonyms to avoid the stigma which attached to “a grown man playing with toy trains”, although many of the more prominent ones have long-since either been outed, or outed themselves, and then there is the problem of editors and other professional writers who used multiple names, both MRN and MRC being full of this sort of thing at some dates.

[kevinlms]

36 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

In the old days many went by pseudonyms to avoid the stigma which attached to “a grown man playing with toy trains”, although many of the more prominent ones have long-since either been outed, or outed themselves, and then there is the problem of editors and other professional writers who used multiple names, both MRN and MRC being full of this sort of thing at some dates.

Then there is people hiding their hobby.

I worked with a guy in Australia with the phone company. It wasn't until his last day in Melbourne, that I saw a 'Steam Railway' magazine in his work vehicle.

Turned out that he used to be a fireman at Carlisle and fired all the big famous classes from there.

 

A big career change.

[Allegheny1600]

19 hours ago, Ian Holmes said:

I was doing some research on inglenook model railways just now. The general consensus is that A R Walkley was first to exhibit the concept in 1925/26 with his portable goods yard layout. 
Walkley was a prolific, skilled model maker, scratch building locomotives in scales as small as 1mm =1foot. 

Indeed this portable goods yard layout seems to have been scratch build in H0 scale. Revolutionary for its time. All this information is pretty easy to come by. But what was his name? Arnold Richard? Alan?  Does anyone know?

My curiosity is getting the better of me.

Ian

Hello Ian,

According to my friend Andrew E, the name you are looking for is Arthur (Reg) Walkley*

He did a lot to try and popularise H0 scale in the 1920s but after a while he gave his layout to the Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway (who know nothing about it now).

A.R. Walkley then moved into 2mm scale.

*Reg is usually short for Reginald of course but without sight of a birth certificate, who knows?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald

I trust this is useful to you.

John E.

[RichardT]

5 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

 

It's a great question, and harks back to an earlier, more formal age

 

Ah yes. On being first introduced - preferably by a third party as it was a bit infra dig to have to introduce yourself - you would call your new acquaintance “Mr Hancock.”  If, after a decent passage of time, your relationship warmed, you might be moved onto “terms of intimacy” and allowed simply to address your friend as “Hancock”, “my dear Hancock” or “I say, Hancock old chap.”  Use of first names was reserved only for extreme, preferably near-death, situations!

 

I remain yours, etc.,

Taylor

Edited January 15, 2022 by RichardT
Stiffen the upper lip a bit more

[Ian Holmes]

6 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

It's a great question, and harks back to an earlier, more formal age.

That reminds me of watching test cricket on the TV in the early 70’s it was not unknown for players to be known by their initials then. A.P.E. (Alan)  Knott for example,  even R.G.D. (Bob) Willis slipped in once in a while. I wondered if it was a Gentlemen and Players thing. 
Thanks for all the interesting answers everyone.

[F-UnitMad]

Nostalgia moment:- Welsh rugby union international, J.P.R. Williams, 1970s.

[peach james]

10 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

Nostalgia moment:- Welsh rugby union international, J.P.R. Williams, 1970s.

" JPR scores again, and god said "You should have been specific"  " !

 

[Hroth]

As Terry Pratchett noted, some people are just initialled....

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankh-Morpork_City_Watch#Inspector_A_E_Pessimal

 

 

[62613]

On 15/01/2022 at 15:49, Ian Holmes said:

That reminds me of watching test cricket on the TV in the early 70’s it was not unknown for players to be known by their initials then. A.P.E. (Alan)  Knott for example,  even R.G.D. (Bob) Willis slipped in once in a while. I wondered if it was a Gentlemen and Players thing. 
Thanks for all the interesting answers everyone.

Apparently the recently - departed Ray Illingworth preferred "Raymond"'

 

[westerner]

I think JPR was JPR to distinguish from JJ Williams. They represented Wales at the same time.

[ardbealach]

And of course don't let us forget that regular contributor to Railway Modeller back in its black and white days - R M Staff. (Alisdair)

[brack]

7 hours ago, Hroth said:

As Terry Pratchett noted, some people are just initialled....

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankh-Morpork_City_Watch#Inspector_A_E_Pessimal

 

 

I did know someone who had a middle initial, and when I asked what it stood for he replied it was just the letter M. His parents had actually just given him a middle initial rather than a middle name. I think the initial was just there to make his name sound a bit grander.

 

He was american.

[Michael Hodgson]

1 hour ago, westerner said:

I think JPR was JPR to distinguish from JJ Williams. They represented Wales at the same time.

And of course they were both John, so they couldn't be distinguished by first name & surname either.

[kevinlms]

6 hours ago, ardbealach said:

And of course don't let us forget that regular contributor to Railway Modeller back in its black and white days - R M Staff. (Alisdair)

Plenty of articles over the years have been left unnamed. Whether deliberately or by mistake, who knows.

 

In the 50s & 60s, there were a few generic items such as 'laying Peco track' or similar (usually in what we think of as 'Junior Modeller' or 'Proprietary Modeller'. These were commonly unnamed, but it is suspected that they were written by S.C. Pritchard.

Not by Cyril Freezer, as almost always his name appeared against his article.

[Steamport Southport]

11 hours ago, brack said:

I did know someone who had a middle initial, and when I asked what it stood for he replied it was just the letter M. His parents had actually just given him a middle initial rather than a middle name. I think the initial was just there to make his name sound a bit grander.

 

He was american.

 

Quite common in America.

 

Harry S Truman is the prime example.

 

Also parodied by The Simpsons as Homer J Simpson's middle name is Jay.

[Ian Holmes]

10 hours ago, kevinlms said:

Plenty of articles over the years have been left unnamed. Whether deliberately or by mistake, who knows.

 

In the 50s & 60s, there were a few generic items such as 'laying Peco track' or similar (usually in what we think of as 'Junior Modeller' or 'Proprietary Modeller'. These were commonly unnamed, but it is suspected that they were written by S.C. Pritchard.

Not by Cyril Freezer, as almost always his name appeared against his article.

According to his obituary the late Roy C Link was a frequent user of the RM Staff nom de plume as well

 

Ian

[KeithMacdonald]

This makes me think of book titles that might have been. Like "OO Gauge Fly Fishing" by J.R.Hartley.

 

[alastairq]

LBSC, anyone?

[Steamport Southport]

2 hours ago, alastairq said:

LBSC, anyone?

 

Curly?

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curly_Lawrence

 

 

http://ibls.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=LBSC

 

Edited January 17, 2022 by Steamport Southport

[laurenceb]

Was Curly ever named before he died?