Clement E. Stretton

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  Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox writer Clement Edwin Stretton (3 October 1850—20 February 1915) was a consulting engineer and author of several books and numerous papers on the subjects of railways and freemasonry, being active during the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries. His two major works, The Locomotive Engine and its Development (1887), and Safe Railway Working: A Treatise on Railway Accidents, Their Cause and Prevention With a Description of Modern Appliances and Systems (1892), ran to 6 and 3 editions respectively. He also produced a lengthy history of the Midland Railway (1901).

During his lifetime Stretton was (and still remains) a somewhat controversial figure as his writing on railways contains many inaccuracies and fabrications. He became involved in long-running and bitter dispute with G. A. Sekon, editor of The Railway Magazine.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Life

Stretton was born in 1850 and lived in Leicester,Template:Sfnp and in 1866 was articled to a Civil Engineering firm for £300.Template:Sfnp

Stretton claims he was assigned to work at a quarry in Cromford, Derbyshire.Template:Sfnp He claims the Guild Masons at the quarry refused to work with him, but when he joined the Operative Society after a few days he received total support from them. Stretton thereafter worked his way through the degrees of the Operative Masonry.Template:Sfnp

In 1871 also became initiated into Speculative Freemasonry at the Leicester Lodge.Template:Sfnp

Stretton was a prolific railway writer but there are wide and strong concerns about his fabrication of stories, inaccurate drawings, and long detailed lists of fictitious locomotives which he claimed had been constructed by several British firms such as Vulcan Foundry. He published this erroneous material very widely in books, magazines and local newspapers all over Britain, and donated faulty drawings to the Science Museum in London, so his efforts soon found their way into books written by otherwise reliable authors. His invented 'works lists' of the products of locomotive building firms continue to appear in print.Template:Sfnp

In 1908 Stretton re-visited the Derby Lodge and noted a substantial decline in membership.Template:Sfnp This initiated Stretton into an attempt to make efforts to revive Guild Masonry and ensure the traditions were not lost.Template:Sfnp He has received credit for his work in passing down the information from the Operative Guild which might otherwise have been lost.Template:Sfnp John Yarker of Manchester was also active in these efforts.Template:Sfnp

Stretton died in 1915.Template:Sfnp

Legacy

Railway track items in the Stretton Collection are held at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery.Template:Sfnp

Bibliography

Stretton was a prolific writer on railway and masonic matters, his larger works online include:

• Safe Railway Working: a Treatise on Railway Accidents: Their Cause and Prevention With a Description of Modern Appliances and Systems (3rd ed.). London: Crobsy, Lockwood and Son. 1893 [1887]. OCLC 503789878. OL 20605374M.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
• The Locomotive Engine and Its Development (6th ed.). London: Crosby, Lockwood and Son. 1903 [1892]. OCLC 265878314. OL 20443807M.
• The History of the Midland Railway. London: Methuen & Co. 1901. OCLC 503789580. OL 6922282M.

References

Sources

• Belanger, John L. (29 August 2016). "Whence came you?". cryptic Masons International. Retrieved 12 September 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
• Carr, Thomas (1911). The Ritual of the Operative Free Masons. Ann Arbor: Tyler Publishing Company. OCLC 2485331. OL 6562592M.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
• Gwyn, David; Cossons, Neil (2017). Early Railways in England: Review and summary of recent research (PDF) (Report). Portsmouth, England: Historic England. ISSN 2398-3841. Research Report Series no. 25-2017.
• Jack, Harry (2001). Locomotives of the LNWR Southern Division : London & Birmingham Railway, London & North Western Railway and Wolverton Locomotive Works. Sawtry: Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. ISBN 0901115894. OCLC 50330788.
• Kibble-Rees, David C. (2016). "Region of India". The Operatives. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
• KPJ (29 November 2019). "Clement E. Stretton: pedlar of fabricated information". Steamindex. Retrieved 11 September 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)