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'''Andrew Marsden-Smedley''' (1926-2010) was the early Chairman of the [[Guarantee Company|Severn Valley Railway Company]] (the Guarantee Company). He was a Director of Carpet Trades Ltd., one of Kidderminster's carpet companies.<ref>SVR News 54</ref> He was a member of the Carpet Industry Training Board.<ref>[https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1966-09-03/debates/948b2ebb-9461-420b-be33-7fc352018f4a/TrainingBoards Hansard, 3 September 1966] (Retrieved 2 May 2019)</ref>
He was a Director of Carpet Trades Ltd., later ''Gilt Edge'' carpets, one of Kidderminster's carpet companies.<ref>SVR News 54</ref><ref>[https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Carpet_Trades Carpet Trades, Grace's Guide to British Industrial History] (Retrieved 2 May 2019)</ref> Gilt Edge used an exhibition train, from which coaches [[LMS 7511 Restaurant First Open|7511]] and LMS Third Open 9355 (since converted to [[LMS 149 Buffet Car|Buffet Car 149]]) were donated to the SVR. He was a member of the Carpet Industry Training Board.<ref>[https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1966-09-03/debates/948b2ebb-9461-420b-be33-7fc352018f4a/TrainingBoards Hansard, 3 September 1966] (Retrieved 2 May 2019)</ref> He also became President of John Smedley, a long-established British knitwear company.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2000/aug/27/features.magazine47 The Observer, 27 August 2000] (Retrieved 2 May 2019)</ref> The Guarantee Company was incorporated in 1967 but became the main organisation of the Railway in December 1969 when the [[Severn Valley Railway Society]] was merged into it. Andrew Marsden -Smedley was Guarantee Company Chairman at that time.<ref>SVR News 16</ref>
At the Guarantee Company AGM on 1 May 1971 [[Sir Gerald Nabarro]] was elected to the Board of Directors, and the plans were announced to form the [[Severn Valley Railway (Holdings) PLC|Public Company]]. The meeting was then adjourned until later in the year. Before the AGM resumed on 6 August 1971, Mr Marsden-Smedley wrote to the Members as Chairman, recommending that they support a resolution to alter the structure of the Railway Company to enable money to be raised by the issue of shares to enable the southern section of the line from [[Alveley Sidings]] to [[Foley Park]] to be purchased, and also to provide finance for the provision of the [[Bridgnorth Bypass Bridge]], should it be needed. The letter also noted that Mr Marsden-Smedley would be resigning as Company Chairman due to business commitments. The meeting approved the restructuring proposal, with Sir Gerald Nabarro being appointed Chairman at the next Directors' meeting.<ref>SVR News 20</ref>
He died 13 January 2010, aged 83.<ref>[http://www.thepeerage.com/p49545.htm#i495450 Andrew Bethell Marsden-Smedley, the peerage.com] (Retrieved 2 May 2019)</ref>
==See also==
==References==
<references/>
==Links==
*http://www.thepeerage.com/p49545.htm#i495450 Andrew Bethell Marsden-Smedley on the peerage.com]
*[https://www.kidderminstershuttle.co.uk/news/19585750.nostalgia-train-helped-sell-kidderminster-carpet/#gallery0 Images] of the Gilt Edge Carpets train at Kidderminster station in 1965, 'Nostalgia: How the train helped to sell Kidderminster carpet', Kidderminster Shuttle, 19 September 2021
*[https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Carpet_Trades Carpet Trades, Grace's Guide to British Industrial History]
*[https://www.johnsmedley.com/discover/british/company-history/ John Smedley webpage]
*[https://www.macearchive.org/films/kidderminster-story Andrew Marsden-Smedley interviewed in 'The Kidderminster Story', ATV, 1963 via The Media Archive for Central England (MACE)]
