Roger Stanier obituary

My father, Roger Stanier, who has died aged 91, was an electrical engineer for the Post Office, a passionate gardener and an immensely knowledgeable railway enthusiast.

He was born in Birmingham, the youngest child of Bill, a silversmith, and Mabel (nee Read), who had been a pupil-teacher, staying on after the usual leaving age to work with younger pupils, in Essex. Roger was educated at King Edward VI Camp Hill school for boys in Birmingham - but he was one of the generation of bright working-class students who went to grammar school with no prospect of going on to university. His career choice, in fact, was decreed by his parents. His brother, John, had already started to work for the Post Office's telephone operation, and Roger started work there as an apprentice electrical engineer.