Clive Foxell

Clive Arthur Peirson Foxell CBE (27 February 1930 - 30 July 2016) was an English physicist who pioneered the use of fibre-optic technology and was an authority on the history of the Metropolitan Railway about which he wrote nine books.

Early life

Clive Foxell was born in Harrow on 27 February 1930, the only child of Arthur and Lillian Foxell. He was educated at Harrow High School and Acton Technical College. He married Shirley Morris, a librarian, in Chesham in 1956 and they had a daughter Elizabeth.^[1]

Career

Towards the end of the Second World War, Foxell joined the electronics company GEC as an apprentice at its research laboratory in Wembley. While there he also studied for a BSc degree at the University of London which he received in 1954.^[1]

Early in his career he worked on lighting effects for several films, including Hamlet (1948) and Moby Dick (1956).^[1]

He was influenced by Cyril Hilsum.^[1]

In retirement he was vice-president of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and president of the Institute of Physics.

Railways

Railways were an interest of Foxell from childhood when he became aware of the Metropolitan Line while cycling to and from school near Chorleywood Common in Hertfordshire. He got a summer job as a cleaner at Neasden LNER locomotive sheds.^[1]

He wrote many books about railways and local history, most of which were self-published.

Death

Foxell died at Stoke Mandeville Hospital on 30 July 2016. He was survived by his wife Shirley, and daughter Elizabeth.^[2]

Selected publications

Chesham Shuttle: The Story of a Metropolitan Branch Line. Clive Foxell, 1996. ISBN 978-0952918400
Chesham Branch Album. Clive Foxell, 1998. ISBN 978-0952918417
Memories of the Met and GC Joint Line. Clive Foxell, 2002. ISBN 978-0952918431
St. Mary's Church,Chesham: An Illustrated Short History. Clive Foxell, 2002. (With Shirley Foxell) ISBN 978-0952918448
Rails to Metro-Land. Clive Foxell, 2005. ISBN 978-0952918455
The Metropolitan Line: London's First Underground Railway. The History Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0752453965
The Ten Cinemas of Chesham. Clive Foxell, 2010. ISBN 978-0956417800
The Lowndes' Chesham Estate: The Early Photographs. Clive Foxell, 2011. ISBN 978-0956417824
Images of 150 Years of the Metropolitan Railway. The History Press, 2012. ISBN 978-0752470092
Echoes of the 'Met Line. Clive Foxell, 2014. ISBN 978-0956417831
Shadows of the Metropolitan Railway. Clive Foxell, 2015. ISBN 978-0956417848

References

1 2 3 4 5 "Clive Foxell", The Times, 21 November 2016, p. 53.
↑ FOXELL CLIVE : Obituary. bmdsonline.co.uk Retrieved 25 November 2016.

External links

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