[1] Educated at Warwick School, on graduation he was due to join the family firm, but the outbreak of World War II meant that he tried to follow his ambition of becoming a pilot.

Shot down over the Mediterranean, he was the sole survivor of a crew of four, picked up four days later from his RAF issue rubber dinghy by a Greek freighter.

This allowed him to serve on their board until 1971, being appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1967 Birthday Honours for his campaign for safety regulations on building sites.

These were supplemented by photographs from SLS tours organised by the Birmingham Mafia, including one Whitehouse co-arranged on the Ashover Light Railway, Derbyshire.

He later became vice-president of the society, using his knowledge of civil engineering to help preserve and develop the permanent way, and became a skilled steam locomotive fireman on the line.

[1] In 1968, a group of business people, including Whitehouse, made an offer to BR to purchase the Vale of Rheidol Railway, which was turned down by the Labour Party government.

With the oncoming introduction of diesel and electric services to the area, and subsequent rationalisation and simplification of the required infrastructure, the BR specification changed on numerous occasions resulting in large cost rises.

[1] Whitehouse and fellow Talyllyn member Pat Garland secured Great Western Railway 4500 Class Small Prairie Tank No.4555 for £750, which included a light overhaul at Swindon Works, a spare boiler, a wagon load of spares and free delivery to Tyseley TMD.

Subsequently utilised lightly by BR around the Birmingham area, Whitehouse and his friends wanted to run the locomotive on a GWR branch line.

Operated from the outset – as had the Talyllyn and the Ffestiniog – as a commercial railway, in the first year the Dart Valley carried 60,000 passengers at a profit.

Dr. Beeching refused permission for the Trust to run their locomotives on the BR mainline so they were limited to the leased motive power depot.

[citation needed] Whitehouse and John Adams subsequently filmed, produced and co-presented the BBC1 Children's programme Railway Roundabout.