He [Ernest Maples] was among that dangerous generation of public servants who found themselves middle aged at the time of the 'youthquake'. They wanted to join in. If they'd simply bought fast cars or had sex with much younger women (Maples did both), the bad effects might have been confined to their families, but they inflicted their mid-life crises on the nation. If they inherited an old house they would purge it of such grotesqueries as high ceilings or fireplaces. If they were town planners they instigated 'comprehensive redevelopments', involving the building of car parks. If they were railwaymen, they thought Euston was beautiful, and they closed railway lines,
A. Martin, Night trains: the rise and fall of the sleeper (2017), 223
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