Reg Uphill was born in I924 in Hammersmith, West London. Until 1934, when he moved to Harrow, he lived in Acton "near the GWR line". He left school at the age of 14, and states candidly "I was glad to leave, too", to join the family business (light engineering/ornamental ironwork) in 1938. This job was short lived, for the cloud of war hung over the country and business was as a result poor. Reg and one of his uncles had to leave, the firm being left to Reg's father and older brother to manage. A short spell with a company in Hanwell (which made, among other things, parts for Spitfire fighters and bullets for the war effort) followed, but when Reg's uncle at the family firm went into the RAF in 1940, Reg returned to the fold to help out father. In 1942, following in his uncles footsteps, Reg joined the 'brylcreem boys' (RAF), where he was trained in coppersmithing and sheet metal work. These skills were called upon when Reg was posted to France after D-day (1944) where he worked on Typhoons, with the squadron following the army round. As Reg notes, the work was not too onerous for the grim reason that many aircraft never returned. He was however kept busy with such jobs as repairs to Typhoon radiators and to rectifying damage to leading edges of wings caused by seagull impact - a not uncommon occurrence. Eventually, he got as far as Holland with the RAF. Just before the war ended he was posted back to England as part of a support unit, which, with the end of hostilities, rapidly became a disbandment unit! After a final posting to Colerne in Wiltshire, Reg was demobbed in 1947, ending the war as a Leading Aircraftsman with good conduct badge, on the princely wage of 7/9 (38p) per day!

After demob, it was back to the family business for Reg, where he became effectively one of the 'governors'. This lasted until 1965 when force of circumstances shut the business down. Reg moved then into another branch of the family business, a cycle and electrical retailing outlet in Drury Lane, Holborn, until the early seventies when a compulsory purchase order forced out the business. During this period of Reg's life he met and married Janice (1967).

Reg and Janice shared a common interest in railways - for example they both took the Railway Magazine. It was in this journal in 1969 that they saw a notice about the first open day at Quainton Road of the Quainton Railway Society. They both came to Quainton for this event, where in the car park they met and chatted to Peter Hoskings and Roy Miller. What they saw persuaded them to join the Society. A momentous step came soon after when the Uphills bought their saddle tank Chislet from the eponymous Kent colliery, through the good offices of John Hutchings. To quote Reg "it was viewed and purchased. As simple as that!"

At around this time, Major Olver of the Railway Inspectorate visited the site to inspect and report for the DoT. One of his principal recommendations was that a crew training scheme should be set up. Together with Les Sherman, a partner in Chislet, a scheme was evolved which was subsequently approved by Major Olver. When, a few years later, Les gave up the scheme, Reg became crew training board chairman and continued to run the scheme for ten years. In the meantime Reg organized a workshop (in the down yard restoration building), most of the machine tools for which were privately purchased and donated to the Society. The Uphills were also publicity officers for the Society 1971 to 1978, with an allocation of £80 to spend per Open Day. Reg also served on the Executive Committee from 1971 to 1976.

For his daily crust Reg had meanwhile joined a firm at Staples Comer which made conveyors, but he eventually finished up at Brunei University working in the electrical engineering workshop. Because of internal re-organization at the University, Reg moved on into the Dept. of Building Technology, finishing up in the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering in the engines laboratory. Reg retired in 1986 at the age of 62 ("I'd had enough"), allowing him to devote much more time to his beloved hobby of model engineering.

At Quainton, the Uphills intensified further their railway commitment by purchasing the horsebox S96403 in the early seventies (see Quainton News Nos 14/70 for the full story), not long after they had acquired 'Chislet'. Work on this vehicle has rapidly gathered pace over the recent years, and it now looks superb, needing only a small amount of work on the underframe to complete the restoration. Reg has been very busy lately on the restoration of L99, coming up regularly on Wednesdays to work with Matthew Philips fabricating such items as pins for the braking system. His next project? Wisely, Reg refuses to be drawn on this one!

Reg Uphill has made, and continues to make, a tremendous contribution to the Society, particularly through his consummate skill as a 'hands on' engineer. Some idea of Reg's dedication to quality can be gleaned from his approach to his chief hobby. Reg has made many scale models, for example 31/2" and 5" gauge locos (including a LMS 2F 0-6-0 dock shunter); a boat; stationary engines ("anything to do with steam") - but spends little time in running them. Asked why, he makes it clear that it is the joy of making them, working on them all day for days on end, that gives him satisfaction - the sheer joy of engineering for "its own sake". Here is a man who is a true craftsman: the Society is fortunate indeed to be able to call upon his skills.

Notes:
The text in this Quainton Railway Society publication was written in 1993 and so does not reflect events in the 20+ years since publication. The text and photographs are repeated verbatim from the original publication, with only a few minor grammar changes but some clarifying notes are added if deemed necessary. The photos from the original publication are provided as scans in this internet version of this long out of print publication.

Reference:
6989 - Progress Report - David P Stribley - Quainton News No. 73 - September 1993