it has been said that he was anxious to get back into the railway business. On the death of Charles Fairburn in 1944, he applied for the position of Chief Mechanical Engineer, but the job went to George Ivatt, with Riddles being promoted to vice-president of the LMS. British Railways Upon the creation of the Railway Executive in 1947, in preparation for the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, he was appointed Member of the Railway Executive for Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. He had two principal assistants, both of whom were also former LMS men: Roland C. Bond, Chief Officer (Locomotive Construction and Maintenance), and E. S. Cox, Executive Officer (Design). The duties of these three effectively covered the old post of Chief Mechanical Engineer; they subsequently oversaw the design of the British Railways (BR) standard classes. Retirement Riddles retired in 1953, on the abolition of the Railway Executive, and became a director of Stothert & Pitt of Bath, Cranemakers. Riddles was succeeded as Chief Mechanical Engineer of BR by Roland Bond. References Further reading External links LNER encyclopedia R.A. Riddles at WorldCat English railway mechanical engineers British Rail people Locomotive builders and designers British Army personnel of World War I 1892 births 1983 deaths