John Batwell, who was the Editor of the latest Sandstone book, sadly passed away recently. John was a personal friend of mine and a major contributor to railway preservation in Southern Africa. He was an acknowledged expert on Rhodesia Railways and its locomotives as well as a senior editor at SA Rail magazine. John also covered preservation matters with Railways Africa magazine. He edited a number of books on railways and was my first choice to edit Sandstone’s second book, The Sandstone Steam Railway, the story continues. John had retired from teaching at Redhill School in Johannesburg some time ago.
John had not been well for some time but was pleased to take on the task. We spent over four months from late 2021 into 2022 having weekly meetings and finally we had a finished manuscript. John’s attention to detail was impressive and he certainly added immense value to the quality of presentation in the book. As time progressed I could see and feel that his health was failing and after a short bout of pneumonia he passed away peacefully in late August. He did, however, see the finished product of the Sandstone book as he was presented with one of the first copies from the print run. I was extremely pleased that he did see the results of his hard work. My thoughts and condolences are with his widow, Pam.
His memory will stay with me and the Sandstone book is a fitting tribute to his skills.
John Batwell (seated) and author, David Richardson take a look at the final proof copy of the new Sandstone book.
