George England

He founded George England and Co., a steam locomotive manufacturing business based in Hatcham, New Cross.

[2] In 1860, England met Robert Francis Fairlie, an engineer who had recently returned from India, where he had been a locomotive superintendent.

The resulting Central Criminal Court case, reported in The Times of 8 April 1862, caused much public interest.

Even though the workers were persuaded to return, the company lost several important orders, which significantly weakened the business.

He approached the Ffestiniog Railway in 1868 with an offer to build a Double Fairlie locomotive, England went into business with his son-in-law.