The life of a Rotarian: PP Paul Leeson PHF.

Paul Robert Leeson

Paul was born in Leicester in 1933 and went to a local grammar school before leaving to become an apprentice at the Derby Locomotive Works of British Rail. This was in 1948, just after nationalisation, when training in practical skills was considered important for anyone seeking to be an engineer.

The starting point was the Works Training School where Paul learnt the basics of a number of trades before being cast away into the workshops until the age of 21. National service was in full swing in 1954 when Paul considered himself lucky and privileged to enter the Royal Navy for two years, becoming an Engine-Room Artificer, with the rank of Petty Officer.

After basic training at Portsmouth and several weeks of training courses Paul was drafted to the Home Fleet flagship, HMS Tyne, and visited most of the NATO capitals as well as two Spring Cruises to the Mediterranean and circumnavigation of the British Isles.

Returning to the Derby workshops for a short time in 1956 Paul was soon to join a team of engineers engaged on the ‘Railway Modernisation Programme’. New diesel powered trains were needed quickly for the railways to be able to phase-out the old steam locomotives and so Paul was busy visiting the factories of contractors, inspecting the quality of their new trains and conducting trials on main running lines.

Hazel married Paul at Leicester in 1959 after a whirlwind courtship and in 1961 their elder son, Tim was born followed by Angus in 1964. They lived at Loughborough before their move to Preston in 1967 following a re-organisation of railway engineering functions. Their only daughter Isabel, was born in 1968 when the family was living in Kirkham.

Paul was based at the (then) English Electric Company, inspecting diesel engines and electrical equipment for new ‘Class 50’ main-line diesel-electric locomotives being built at Vulcan Foundry, Newton-Le-Willows. As the loco build at Vulcan began to ramp-up, Paul re-focussed his attention there, travelling daily.

When the ‘Class 50’ programme came to an end Paul resumed his work at Preston where, by this time, the factory had become GEC Traction Ltd.

In 1976, the power-cars for the new ‘Inter-City 125’ trains were being built at Crewe Works to where Paul travelled every day, monitoring the build and taking charge of trial-running. This period lasted for 5 years but was interrupted by some time in Romania inspecting the new build of ‘Class 56’ heavy freight locos.

For a number of years, up to 1981, Paul was involved part-time, at Carnforth, with the coaches for the Orient Express train. The vehicles were completely stripped, repaired, partially re-engineered and re-built and then trial-run with Paul signing the acceptance for quality and safety compliance.

In 1981, Paul was promoted as Resident Engineer at Horwich Works where a number of different railway vehicles were repaired and overhauled including electric trains for Merseyside. There was a commercial responsibility to ensure that vehicles and wheel-sets complied with specified quality requirements, but within agreed price structures.  Horwich mechanised foundry was also within Paul’s scope, for the quality of items produced for the UK and overseas.

As work at Horwich gradually ran down, prior to closure, Paul took over a project, in France, of a new build of hopper wagons and took part in commissioning in Jordan.

During these years, between 1973 and 1991, Paul was a Parish Councillor at Greenhalgh-with-Thistleton, chairing the council for a total of five years. When Paul joined the council, at a by-election, some people in the Parish were unaware that there was a Parish Council until Paul produced a regular newsletter, delivered to every house in the Parish. Paul also represented his Council at The Association of Parish Councils and did a one year stint, as chairman.

On the closure of Horwich Works, Paul was asked to go again to Crewe, where the new ‘Class 90’ and ‘Class 91’ electric locomotive builds were starting. After a year, a further move was made, this time to Manchester as Assistant Quality Assurance Engineer during which he became heavily involved in the build of the next generation, as it was then, of new Super Sprinters at Leyland Bus, Workington. After a further re-organisation, Paul became Resident Engineer at Manchester, responsible for new and overhauled vehicles and equipment within a geographical area including the whole of the North-West of England and the west of Scotland, where important vehicle overhauls were taking place, at Kilmarnock.

In 1991, yet another re-organisation and a further promotion saw Paul leading a UK team on the Eurostar project. He was based in Derby but had the benefit of an office at Preston. This international project involved engineers from the UK, France and Belgium, led by a British Rail Project Engineer who was based in Paris. Resident engineering staff in the three countries monitored the vehicle building at key locations to ensure that supplies of equipments in their own countries complied with common standards. Regular interface meetings took place at factories across the three countries to ensure that commonality of standards was upheld. Train-sets were finally assembled in England and France with vehicles designed and built in the three countries and then trialled on running lines in England, France and Belgium.

When the Eurostar project virtually came to an end in 1994, Paul took retirement but returned on a consultancy basis, part-time, for a further year.

In 1997, a new build of electric trains for running to the new Hong Kong airport was in progress at a factory in northern Spain. An invitation was made for Paul to work as Resident Engineer on the project, with prime responsibility for the monitoring of quality and the acceptance of the trains before being shipped to Hong Kong for commissioning.

Shortly after working in Spain, Paul accepted an invitation to witness the Type-testing and carry-out the acceptance of a new type of diesel-engine, at Newton-le-Willows, for locos being built in France for two overseas railways. This occupied Paul part-time for a further year.

Paul became a Rotarian in 1999 and soon became Assistant Secretary, taking and issuing the minutes of Club Council meetings. Two years as Club Secretary followed and then as Vice-President, as it was then known, with the chairmanship of what we now call the Administration Committee.

Paul was honoured to be Club President in the Rotary Centennial year 2004/05, which was marked by several special events. It was in this year that the Rotary Clock at Kirkham town-end was repaired and refurbished, exactly 50 years since the Club donated it to the town. In 2008, the Club’s 70th year, Paul was again honoured by becoming a Paul Harris Fellow.

After a year as Chairman of the Membership Services and Information Committee, in 2005/06, Paul re-started the Club Bulletin which had lapsed for several years, started the website and began sending reports to the press. Since 2013, this work has continued in a supportive role co-incident with Paul leaving Council after continuously serving on it for 12 years.