Friday 13th February 2026  

Timeline of Station Masters at Quorn & Woodhouse GCR/LNER Station – 1898 to 1963

The Great Central Railway opened fully in 1899, and was the last mainline railway to be built. For Quorn the new station was a huge asset and had a large impact on the development of the village. For more information about the history of Quorn and Woodhouse GCR/LNER Station see Artefact 1525.

Below are documented the Station Masters that served Quorn and Woodhouse GCR/LNER Station between 1898 until its closure in 1963.

William Woodall Bust (1898-1899)
Brought in to oversee the opening of Quorn and Woodhouse Station, 34 year old William Woodall Bust was transferred from Checker House railway station (between Retford and Worksop, Nottinghamshire). In 1899 he moved to Penistone station (near Sheffield), and finally a few miles to Wadsley Bridge station. He died in 1934.
In 1887 he had married Annie Eliza Chapman, whose father was also a station master. The couple had one child, William Harold Bust.

Herbert Washington France (1899-1917)
Herbert was born in 1866 in Stalybridge, Lancashire where his father ran his own building firm. He joined the railways as a clerk in 1883 when he was 17. He married his wife Alice in 1898 and they had one child, Esther, known as Ettie. He seemed destined to follow in the footsteps of William Woodall Bust, as he had taken over from him in 1898 at Checker House railway station and then a year later taken over from him again at Quorn.
Unfortunately Herbert suffered with his health and he died, aged just 51 in July 1917. He was very well thought of and many people attended his funeral, including William Woodall Bust and his son. The burial took place in Quorn Churchyard and it must have been a very hard year for his wife Alice, as just four months later in November 1917, their only child, Ettie died aged 17. For more information about Herbert Washington France see Artefact 1752.

William Harold Bust (acting Station Master, 1917)
When Herbert Washington France fell ill, William Harold Bust, the son of William Woodall Bust, took over at Quorn as acting Station Master until a permanent replacement was found. He had been discharged from the army earlier in 1917 and became a relief clerk.

William Youle (1917-1927)
The next Station Master to be appointed was 34 year old William Youle who was born in 1883 in Handsworth near Sheffield. He married Ada White in York 1911 and they had two daughters. Prior to the move to Quorn he had been an inspector at Doncaster.
In 1927 he was promoted to take charge of Great Horton and Horton Park near Bradford. His leaving celebration took the form of a “smoker” at the Manor House Hotel, which was men only, where they could drink spirits and smoke.

Albert Ernest Short (1927-1932)
Born in 1884 in Leicester, Albert started with the Great Northern Railway and prior to coming to Quorn he was Chief Clerk in the Outwards Department at Belgrave Road Station. He had married his wife Ethel in 1909 and they had two sons and a daughter. In 1932 he left to go to Hucknall, where he died suddenly in 1946, after 50 years railway service.

Harold George Doughty (1932-1941)
Harold George Doughty was born in Peterborough in September 1895 and followed in his father’s footsteps by working on the railways. He married Ruth Lavinia Headley in 1921 and they had four children, although one died as an infant. He took over from Albert Short in 1932, but sadly died of a heart attack nine years later, just before Christmas in 1941, aged only 46.

Jack Webber (1941-1963)
The longest serving Station Master at Quorn was Jack Webber who was in post for 22 years. He took over after the death of Harold Doughty in December 1941, initially as acting Station Master, as he had been working at Loughborough Station.
Jack had been born in Loughborough on Woodgate in November 1899. His father was a saddler and married Jack’s mother Edith in 1898. He was their only child. The 1921 census records Jack as a booking clerk at Finmere Station in Oxfordshire. It is known that he also worked at East Leake and Loughborough, before becoming Station Master at Quorn. In 1923 he married Lydia Wagstaff from Selston in north Nottinghamshire and the couple had two daughters, Margaret and Marian.
After Quorn station closed in 1963, Jack continued to live in the Station House with his wife Lydia and daughter Marian. When the station closure was reported in the press, Jack was consistently called ‘John’, however this was incorrect and his registered name was Jack.
Jack died in January 1968 and Lydia in 1986. Marian (always known latterly as Miss Webber) lived in the Station House until her death on 11th December 2022 aged 90 years.

The photographs below are:
1. Herbert Washington France (1899-1917)
2. William Harold Bust (acting Station Master, 1917)
3. William Youle (1917-1927)
4. Albert Ernest Short (1927-1932)
5. Harold George Doughty (1932-1941)
6. Jack Webber (1941-1963)

Note that pictures 3 and 5 (William Youle and Harold Doughty) have been taken from newspaper/printed images and digitally enhanced.

Missing information: Does anyone have a photograph of William Woodall Bust? The team would love to hear from you! Please email us at: team2026@quornmuseum.com Submitted on: 2025-11-14 Submitted by: Sue Templeman with assistance from Jack Shaw Artefact ID: 2633 Artefact URL: www.quornmuseum.com/display.php?id=2633