John Coiley
Encyclopedia
John Arthur Coiley was an English museum curator, principally associated with the National Railway Museum
in York from its formation in the 1973-5 period, through to his retirement as keeper of the museum in 1992.
, London
, and educated at Beckenham and Penge County Grammar School
and later at Selwyn College, Cambridge
, graduating in 1954. He was awarded a PhD in 1959 in the field of electron microscopy.
He married Patricia Anne Dixon in 1956, and the couple had a daughter and two sons.
Coiley's early career was outside the museum sector, working first for the UK Atomic Energy Authority, and later for two private research institutions. He joined the Science Museum
in 1973 and – probably in part as a result of a lifelong interest in railway history, which included photographic contributions to Images of Steam, a 1968 publication – was appointed the first keeper of the National Railway Museum in 1974. The establishment of the museum outside London was controversial, but under Coiley's leadership proved immediately successful. Over the period of his leadership, the museum "achieved a stature and authority without precedent in the fields of railway history and preservation". Perhaps appropriately, the year before his retirement the NRM received the Museum of the Year Award.
He was president of the International Association of Transport Museums from 1983 to 1986. The Heritage Railway Association
awards a John Coiley Award, for locomotive preservation.
Coiley died at Chur railway station
, Switzerland on 22 May 1998 whilst on a rail tour.
National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
in York from its formation in the 1973-5 period, through to his retirement as keeper of the museum in 1992.
Biography
Coiley was born in West NorwoodWest Norwood
West Norwood is a place in the London Borough of Lambeth.It is primarily a residential suburb of south London but with some light industry near Knights Hill in the south....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and educated at Beckenham and Penge County Grammar School
Langley Park School for Boys
Langley Park School for Boys is a boys' comprehensive secondary school in Beckenham in the London Borough of Bromley, with a mixed-gender sixth form...
and later at Selwyn College, Cambridge
Selwyn College, Cambridge
Selwyn College is a constituent college in the University of Cambridge in England, United Kingdom.The college was founded by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of the Rt Reverend George Selwyn , who rowed on the Cambridge crew in the first Varsity Boat Race in 1829, and went on to become the...
, graduating in 1954. He was awarded a PhD in 1959 in the field of electron microscopy.
He married Patricia Anne Dixon in 1956, and the couple had a daughter and two sons.
Coiley's early career was outside the museum sector, working first for the UK Atomic Energy Authority, and later for two private research institutions. He joined the Science Museum
Science Museum (London)
The Science Museum is one of the three major museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry. The museum is a major London tourist attraction....
in 1973 and – probably in part as a result of a lifelong interest in railway history, which included photographic contributions to Images of Steam, a 1968 publication – was appointed the first keeper of the National Railway Museum in 1974. The establishment of the museum outside London was controversial, but under Coiley's leadership proved immediately successful. Over the period of his leadership, the museum "achieved a stature and authority without precedent in the fields of railway history and preservation". Perhaps appropriately, the year before his retirement the NRM received the Museum of the Year Award.
He was president of the International Association of Transport Museums from 1983 to 1986. The Heritage Railway Association
Heritage Railway Association
The Heritage Railways Association is an umbrella organisation representing the majority of the heritage and tourist railways, railway museums, steam centres and railway preservation groups in the UK and Ireland....
awards a John Coiley Award, for locomotive preservation.
Coiley died at Chur railway station
Chur railway station
Chur railway station serves the city of Chur, capital of the Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. Opened in 1858, it is the most important railway junction in Graubünden....
, Switzerland on 22 May 1998 whilst on a rail tour.
Publications
- Train, Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd, 1998
- Rocket to Eurostar: National Railway Museum in Camera - Atlantic Transport Publishers, 1996
- Images of Steam, 1968 - ISBN: 0-7110-0056-5 - contributed photographs