Meeting a distant relative of the quarry man, Joseph Boam

Last Saturday, group founder Alex Brammer had the pleasure of meeting Joseph Boam, a distant relative of his namesake Joseph Boam, who ran Joseph Boam Ltd, the original sand quarry behind Middleton Towers.

Alex presented Joseph with one of our group's totem fridge magnets, as well as a Hornby replica of the Joseph Boam no.510 7 plank, 13-ton wagon which would have been in operation on the line.

Following Boam's passing, the firm eventually turned into British Industrial Sand which, later down the line, became Sibelco, which is who today operates the quarry.

J Boam & Sons had a huge influence on the local area and that of Middleton Towers which cannot be understated.

A siding for Boam's sand wagons was approved in 1904. Three years later, a 20-ton weighbridge was introduced at the station.

The Boam legacy lives on, as the Leziate operation, ran by Sibelco UK Ltd, is one of the largest extractors of silica sand in the country.

We would like to thank Joseph for his support for our project.