'[1] Born in Nottingham, John Marshall was conscripted into the Royal Air Force, serving as a wireless mechanic in India.
After World War II he trained as a teacher at Loughborough, where he met his wife, Ann, going on to teach woodwork in Bolton.
He retired to Bewdley where he worked as a volunteer on the Severn Valley Railway.
His sons, Simon and Andrew, and his daughter Jennifer inherited his enthusiasm for railways.
He wrote many articles and books on railway history, his history of the L&YR being published by David & Charles in 1969–72, also travelling very widely in pursuit of his interest, as witnessed by his work on the metre gauge railways of Switzerland and his compendia of international railway facts for Guinness Publishing.