Dai Woodham
Encyclopedia
Dai Woodham, MBE
, BEM
(1919 - 12 September 1994), born David Lloyd Victor Woodham, is remembered by many steam railway enthusiasts as the man who saved over 200 former British Railways steam locomotives from the scrap heap. Many of these were purchased by preserved railways and locomotive preservation groups and are now in active operation, including some permitted to haul passenger trains on the main line system.
His family owned Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry Docks, Barry, Wales
. In the 1930s, the Woodhams started to trade in scrap metal, and in 1957, the company began dismantling railway wagons as a result of the 1955 Modernisation Plan. This sought to reduce the British Railways wagon fleet from over 1 million to just 600,000; and to scrap and replace around 16,000 remaining steam locomotives with new 'standard' designs as well as diesel and electric powered types.
Dai Woodham was awarded the MBE
in 1987 in recognition of a number of business initiatives which helped to create many jobs in the Barry Docks area. Dai already held the British Empire Medal
for bravery while serving with the Royal Artillery
in Italy
.
In 1994, Dai Woodham was diagnosed with lung cancer
; he died on 12 September that year.
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
, BEM
British Empire Medal
The Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, usually known as the British Empire Medal , is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown...
(1919 - 12 September 1994), born David Lloyd Victor Woodham, is remembered by many steam railway enthusiasts as the man who saved over 200 former British Railways steam locomotives from the scrap heap. Many of these were purchased by preserved railways and locomotive preservation groups and are now in active operation, including some permitted to haul passenger trains on the main line system.
His family owned Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry Docks, Barry, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. In the 1930s, the Woodhams started to trade in scrap metal, and in 1957, the company began dismantling railway wagons as a result of the 1955 Modernisation Plan. This sought to reduce the British Railways wagon fleet from over 1 million to just 600,000; and to scrap and replace around 16,000 remaining steam locomotives with new 'standard' designs as well as diesel and electric powered types.
Dai Woodham was awarded the MBE
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
in 1987 in recognition of a number of business initiatives which helped to create many jobs in the Barry Docks area. Dai already held the British Empire Medal
British Empire Medal
The Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, usually known as the British Empire Medal , is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown...
for bravery while serving with the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
In 1994, Dai Woodham was diagnosed with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
; he died on 12 September that year.