Lawson Billinton: A Career Cut Short

Lawson Billinton, the last of the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway's locomotive engineers, proved a fine craftsman over the 12 years of his reign at Brighton. Unfortunately, World War I intervened drastically to restrict his output to just 34 new build locomotives. But it was his period of military service abroad that revealed the true character of the man who was able to meet every challenging situation, whether Bolshevik bullies or agitators amongst his own company's workforce. Arriving at a promotional dead-end at the 'Big Four' Grouping in 1923, he elected in retirement to live the life of a country squire and devote himself to his family and friends, even building his own garden railway.