The anniversary of the Charfield Railway Disaster is being remembered as one of the worst rail accidents in Britain at the time, after a night mail train collided with a freight train near Charfield Railway Station in 1928.
The crash happened at 5.20am on a foggy morning, when the Leeds to Bristol night mail train was travelling towards Bristol at about 60mph. The train, which was also carrying passengers, failed to stop at signals near the station sidings and struck a freight train being shunted from the main line into the siding.
Fire swept through the overturned carriages
The force of the collision overturned the passenger train and left it near the road bridge. Gas cylinders used to light the carriages were punctured and ignited, setting four coaches alight.
Villagers were alerted by the sound of the crash and went to the scene to help free injured passengers. One man was thrown from the wreckage on to the road bridge, but later died in hospital, according to accounts of the disaster.
Within 20 minutes, flames had risen 40 feet above the crash site. Fire engines from Gloucester, Bristol and Stroud fought the blaze for five hours before it was brought under control. As daylight faded, flares were placed around the twisted remains of the carriages to illuminate the rescue and recovery work.
Two child victims were never identified
Sixteen people died and 41 were injured. Most of the deaths were caused by the fire that followed the collision.
The remains of two children were found in the wreckage. Despite appeals across the country, their identities were never established. A memorial at St James’ Church records the names of those who died and carries the inscription ‘Two Unknown’.
The memorial has also been linked to a long-running mystery. Numerous accounts describe a woman dressed in black visiting each year from the 1920s to the 1950s to lay flowers. She was said to arrive in a chauffeur-driven limousine, but her identity was never discovered.
Inquest blamed train driver
An inquest subsequently attributed responsibility for the crash to the train driver, who had failed to stop at a signal. The coroner recommended a verdict of manslaughter.
However, the driver’s trial did not proceed and he was discharged. The disaster remains commemorated at St James’ Church, where the memorial continues to record the victims, including the two children whose names were never known.