Sam Fay

Sir Sam Fay (1856-1953) was a highly-regarded manager of the London and South Western Railway, when he was seconded, in late 1891, to take charge of the almost bankrupt Midland & South Western Junction Railway, which ran from Andoversford, via Swindon and Cirencester, to Cheltenham. He successfully pulled it round and out of bankruptcy, returning as superintendent of London and South Western Railway between 1899 and 1902, when he became general manager of the Great Central Railway and turning that into a successful railway, too. During the First World War he was Director-General of Movements and Railways at the War Office and a member of the Army Council. He eventually became Chairman of Beyer-Peacock.