# Lewis Cozens > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lewis_Cozens > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lewis_Cozens.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Cozens > Source revision: 1339709859 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Lewis Cozens** (full name Henry Lewis Cozens[1]) was a British railway author and historian, notable as one of the earliest writers on Welsh [narrow gauge](/source/British_narrow-gauge_railways) and [light](/source/Light_railway#United_Kingdom) railways. ## Biography Cozens was born in [Edmonton](/source/Edmonton,_London), [Middlesex](/source/Middlesex) in 1909,[2] the son of James Henry Theodore Charles Cozens and Mary Margarite Cozens (née Jones).[4] He was a bank clerk by profession and his family came from the Welsh county of [Montgomeryshire](/source/Montgomeryshire). He married Elizabeth Kindlberger in London in 1939.[5] In 1935, Cozens' mother Mary died, leaving £145 to Lewis and his brother David.[4] In 1939, his father a civil servant[6] also died, leaving Lewis £150 in his will. The unusual declaration in the will was reported in the Birmingham Daily Post, it said the bequest was "in view of the fact that I paid no premium for his career and he was no charge to me from the age of eighteen".[7] During his holidays in Wales before and after [World War II](/source/World_War_II), he explored the many minor railways of mid Wales.[3] As early as 1944, Cozens was actively researching the history of the [Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway](/source/Plynlimon_and_Hafan_Tramway). In that year he began a correspondence with [Selwyn Pearce Higgins](/source/Selwyn_Pearce_Higgins) about the discovery of historical records of the Tramway.[8] This led to the publication of Cozens' 1955 book on the Plynlimon and Hafan. In 1949, he published the first of his histories on Welsh railways, about the [Talyllyn Railway](/source/Talyllyn_Railway). These early books were [self-published](/source/Self-publishing) and were slim volumes, as printing paper was still [rationed](/source/Rationing_in_the_United_Kingdom) in the immediate post-war years. He soon followed with books on the [Corris Railway](/source/Corris_Railway), the [Mawddwy Railway](/source/Mawddwy_Railway) and other local lines. His books were the first serious attempt to publish histories of these railways and they introduced many early [railway enthusiasts](/source/Railway_enthusiasts) to them. Cozens was a friend of other notable early railway historians, including [James Boyd](/source/James_I._C._Boyd),[3] and [R. W. Kidner](/source/Roger_Kidner). Cozens and Boyd have been described as the "eminent authors on the minor railways of North- and Mid-Wales".[9] Several of Cozen's early books were later expanded and republished. While many of his books have been superseded by more detailed histories, his work was influential on later authors[10] and provided important early coverage of the subject.[11] ## Works - Cozens, Lewis (1949). *The Tal-y-llyn Railway*. self-published. - Cozens, Lewis (1949). *The Corris Railway*. self-published. - Cozens, Lewis (1950). *The Vale of Rheidol Railway*. self-published. - Cozens, Lewis (1951). *The Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway*. self-published. - Cozens, Lewis (1952). *The Axminster & Lyme Regis Light Railway with complementary road passenger services*. self-published. - Cozens, Lewis (1953). *The Van and Kerry Railways and the Kerry Tramway*. self-published. - Cozens, Lewis (1954). *The Mawddwy Railway with the Hendre-Ddu Tramway*. self-published. - Cozens, Lewis (1955). *The Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway*. self-published. - Cozens, Lewis (1957). *Aberayron Transport*. self-published. - Cozens, Lewis (1959). *The Llanfyllin Railway*. self-published. - Cozens, Lewis (1972). *The Mawddwy, Van and Kerry Railways*. Combination of Cozen's Mawddwy and Van & Kerry books ed. [The Oakwood Press](/source/The_Oakwood_Press) - Cozens, Lewis (1980 [1949]). *The Tal-y-llyn Railway*. reprint of 1949 book ed. Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society. - Cozens, Lewis (1992 [1949]). *The Corris Railway*. reprint of 1949 book ed. Corris Railway Society. - Cozens, L; Kidner, RW; Poole, B (2004). *The Mawddwy, Van and Kerry Branches*. version of Cozen's 1972 book with new material by Poole and Kidner ed. The Oakwood Press. ## References 1. *England & Wales deaths 1837–2007*. Vol. 8C. Newtown. p. 301. 1. *England & Wales deaths 1837–2007*. Vol. 3A. Edmonton. p. 494. 1. Boyd, James (September 1968). "Lewis Cozens". *Talyllyn News*. **59**: 34, 35. Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society. 1. *Will of Mary Cozens*. 1935. 1. *England & Wales deaths 1837–2007*. Vol. 1C. London. p. 33. 1. "Civil Service Commission". No. 11139. 24 October 1899. p. 998. 1. "Son no charge to me". *Birmingham Daily Post*. 23 January 1940. 1. [National Railway Museum](/source/National_Railway_Museum) 1. Cozens, Lewis (2004). *The Mawddwy, Van and Kerry Railways*. The Oakwood Press. 1. Bryant, Eric Thomas (1968). *Railways: a readers guide*. Bingley. 1. "Publications Received". *The Railway Gazette*. Vol. 88. 1948. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lewis Cozens](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Cozens) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Cozens?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.