Roland Bond

Roland C. Bond
Born	5 May 1903
Died	20 December 1980 (aged 77)
Nationality	British
Education	Tonbridge School
Engineering career
Discipline	Locomotive engineer

Roland Curling Bond (5 May 1903 – 20 December 1980) was a British locomotive engineer.

Biography

Bond was born in Ipswich in 1903, and became interested in railways when staying in Yarmouth during the Great War. He was educated at Tonbridge School.

Bond joined the Midland Railway in 1920, from 1923 part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) until 1925. He was an apprentice under Henry Fowler. He then became assistant works manager at the Vulcan Foundry.

In 1931 Bond returned to the LMS, becoming an "assistant works superintendent" at Horwich. In 1933, moved to assistant works superintendent at Crewe. On the outbreak of the World War II in 1939, Bond was sent to Scotland as acting mechanical and electrical engineer, acting for R.A. Riddles. In 1941, he moved back to Crewe to become "works superintendent" and helped drive efficient locomotive and munitions work there.

In 1948, on the formation of the Railway Executive, Bond was appointed chief officer (Locomotive Construction and Maintenance), reporting to Riddles, who was now "Member of the Railway Executive for Mechanical and Electrical Engineering".^[1] On the abolition of the Railway Executive in 1953, Bond became chief mechanical engineer, BR Central Staff and later in 1965 general manager, BR Workshops. He retired in 1970 and died in 1980, aged 77.

References

1. Gilbert, P.T.; Chancellor, P.J. (1994). Taylor, R.K., ed. Volume One: Background to Standardisation and the Pacific Classes. A Detailed History of British Railways Standard Steam Locomotives. Lincoln: RCTS. p. 15. ISBN 0-901115-81-9.

Further reading

• A Lifetime with Locomotives (Goose & Son, 1975).

External links

• Roland Bond at steamindex.com