Mark was born in Chesterfield in 1944 during the Second World War. His father John was a Wing Commander in the RAF and was deployed for extended periods in Mark’s childhood. His mother Enid raised him and his three siblings Charlotte, Charles & Jane with the help of his grandparents.

After the war, Mark’s father was stationed at RAF Nicosia on Cyprus and the family went to join him. Mark loved his time in Cyprus and his love of Mediterranean and hot climates stayed with him for the rest of his life. The family eventually returned to England and settled in Staplehurst, Kent, and Mark attended Sutton Valence School between 1958 and 1961.

Mark had a love of steam railways that began at a very young age when he first saw them as a young boy with his grandfather. As a teenager, he would ride by bicycle from Staplehurst to Tenterden to help out on the Kent and East Sussex Railway in the early 1960s. He went on to be elected Chairman of the railway in the early 1980s, and shortly thereafter had the privilege of escorting Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother around the Station during her visit to Tenterden in 1982. Mark was also one of the Founder members and first Directors of the Rother Valley Railway, and became a leading campaigner for the reinstatement of the railway line between Bodiam and Robertsbridge. In his later years he became a director of the 4253 Engine restoration project, which sought to restore an 82-ton steam locomotive (originally used for hauling coal in Welsh valleys) to working order. In his retirement he loved being one of the Station masters for the Kent and Sussex Railway.

Mark’s professional life enabled him to travel widely around the world in the herbicide industry. In the early 2000s, he won a Railtrack Award for innovation with his design for a rail-mounted herbicide spraying vehicle which was guided by GPS Navigation, allowing it to automatically avoid contaminating water courses.

Mark married his first wife Virginia in the late 1970s and they had three children together — Elizabeth, Frances (1993 S) and James. Sadly, Virginia passed away in 2004. He met his second wife Alison a few years later, and with her two children Kate and Alex (and their beloved and characterful Border Collie, Sam), they became a happy extended family. Mark purchased a house with a picture-perfect view of the railway line and far reaching views of the beautiful surrounding countryside, and loved spending time with his family in the garden and going for walks around the railway. His grandchildren Eva, William, Joseph, Clara, Alex and Zoe all found Grandpa full of fun.

Mark had said for many years that he wished to write a book about his lifelong passion for railways, and the news of his cancer diagnosis proved to be the catalyst to make him finally start writing. His book Unfinished Lines was published in November 2021, and covers numerous railway projects that were started but never completed. Readers can view several examples which include viaducts, earthworks, bridges, partially completed tunnels, an abandoned tunnel boring machine and the beginnings of a major London airport. Behind all these tales are stories of intrigue, manipulation, interference by the armed forces and sometimes great sadness brought about by personal ambition and ruin. The remaining assets described in the book are not protected by legislation and are thus at risk of demolition at any time. It is hoped that Mark’s record of their existence in the 2020s may go a little way towards recording some of Britain’s more interesting and neglected features of railway history for the benefit of future generations. Thankfully, he was able to enjoy the book’s publication and launch ceremony shortly before he passed away, at which he was surrounded by incredibly supportive family and friends.

Many thanks to his wife, Alison, and family-friend Jordan Davis (2016 M) for this obituary.