The
Beighton Rail Disaster - February 1942
The headline in The Times dated Friday 13th February 1942 stated
"Accident
To Night Troop Train 14 Killed And Many Injured (News)"
The following day The Times disclosed in it's "News In Brief"
column
|
All
the men injured in the troop train accident at Beighton near Sheffield
late on Wednesday night were reported to be "doing
satisfactorily"
|
The Times dated Monday February 16th 1942 then issues an update
|
The death of another
soldier who was in the troop train smash at Beighton near Sheffield on
Wednesday brings the death roll to 14 |
N.B. There appears some discrepancy in the numbers killed - Friday's
edition states that 14 had already died
The Times dated Thursday February 19th 1942 the issued a report on the
resultant inquiry that was opened in Sheffield the previous day
|
CAUSE
OF TROOP TRAIN CRASH PROJECTING
STEEL PLATE An inquiry into the accident to the troop train at Beighton near
Sheffield a week ago in which 14 soldiers were killed and 34 injured was
opened at Sheffield by Mr. J. M. Moore, an inspector of the Ministry of
War Transport Mr. E.W. Rostern, assistant superintendent L.N.E.R. said that the
train was passing through Beighton at approximately 30 miles an hour when
it came into contact with a steel plate which was overhanging from a wagon
standing in an adjacent siding. The plate caused damage to the coaches of
the train in which were 195 officers and other ranks and 170 sailors. All
the sailors escaped injury. Mr. J.F. Harrison, L.N.E.R. engineer said that eight coaches were
damaged, five extensively. He added that the third coach was 3in narrower
than the standard width, and was not touched at all. Twelve wagons were
damaged in the sidings through the actions of the plate. The inspector
said that it was obvious that the accident was due to the overhanging
plate obstructing the passing troop train. William Taylor, driver of the troop train, said that the movement of
a vacuum indicator suggested that a communication chord had been pulled.
He pulled up and got out of the train. Until an officer and a soldier came
up to him he was not aware that anything had happened. He neither felt nor
heard any obstruction striking his engine. James Chadwick, driver of a passing mineral train, said that while
passing through Beighton he heard a crash and something struck his engine.
On stopping he found small bits of wood and cushion stuffing on his train. Mr F.E. Allen, station master at Beighton said that the plate wagon
was in an ordinary siding. He had never been advised that it was an
outsize load. At this point the inspector decided that the inquiry should sit in
camera to hear evidence of the loading of the plate wagon and its
movements in transit |
Beighton Station Sheffield
(date not known)
I am not a railway historian but I believe that this must be Sheffield's
worst ever railway accident. And yet until just recently I was totally unaware
of the incident. My first viewing of the reports in The Times led to me think
that there was some sort of official cover up - the discrepancy in the death
toll, the very short interval between the accident and the inquiry, and last and
by no means least, the arbitrary decision of the inspector to abruptly halt
proceedings and remove the press and the public from the room.
However a bit of reflection leads me to think that the removal of press
and the public was more to do with the ever present wartime restrictions that
were imposed by the government. Given the military nature of the transport
movements and the materials stored in the wagons - I still don't know anything
about where the train was travelling from or to - it was both prudent and
correct for the inspector to halt proceedings when he did. "Careless talk
costs Lives". It was just a fact of wartime.
What I would be interested to know though, are the names of the servicemen
killed and how the news of their deaths was communicated to their relatives.
Successive British government have a very patchy and uneven record when it comes
to disclosing the nature of a serviceman's death. I would like to think that
these servicemen (and their families) were honoured and treated in just the same
way as those that actually "saw" active service abroad for instance.
But somehow you get the uneasy feeling that this may not have been the case.
If anyone can help please
contact me
The above was the sum total of the information I had on the accident but
since posting to the site, there have been some major developments
However after I posted the article, a naval rating who was actually on the
train the night the accident occurred contacted me and gave me some much needed
background on the train's movements.
"I was on the troop train involved in the disaster at Beighton. I
have often wondered what really happened. I think we were told that a girder had
slipped off a goods train going in the opposite direction. I can add a little
information about the train. I was a young ordinary telegraphist in the Royal
Navy, and the naval contingent were going up to Scotland to join others already
"standing by" a brand new "P" class destroyer HMS
Partridge built by Fairfield's at Govan on the Clyde. The train started at
Chatham, then we stopped at Woolwich and the army contingent boarded the train.
We were in our part of the train and the army in theirs, hence the casualties
not being mixed. We were obviously in the least affected carriages. Nothing came
into the section where I was. I think the army were all going up to the Clyde to
join troopships to take them overseas. The accident occurred at about 2300 and
very quickly the mining community came to our aid and were absolutely superb. I
think they opened the miners welfare and even though there was rationing they
somehow produced food and drink and kept us warm. Eventually the army took us to
one of their establishments until the train was re-assembled and we continued
our journey north. We arrived a day late on Thursday 12th February. I remember
the Captain (Lieutenant Commander W A F Hawkins) saying to us "I've already
lost two destroyers, I'm not going to take a new one down the Clyde on Friday
13th", so we sailed on the Saturday. He was unlucky with destroyers,
because that one was sunk on Dec 18th 1942!"
AND
Further
information on the crash itself
In May 2005, after I wrote this article, a further article was posted to
the BBC People's War website which gives a greater in depth look at the
disaster and the subsequent investigation by the Inspecting Officer of the
Ministry of Transport
In March 2014 I received an e-mail from the grand-daughter of the
station-master at Beighton, Mr. F E Allen
"Mr. Fredrick Allen was my grandfather, and my father Keith
Allen was present that night and helped tend the casualties. My grandmother
Irene did the same" (After the tragedy) Fredrick Allen was promoted
and moved to London he became a Station Master down there. I am not sure which
station it was but they lived in a railway house at 49 Hampton Road , Forest
Gate, London”
In March 2014 I also was able to obtain a report from The Manchester
Guardian dated 13th April 1942
In October 2014 I received this information from a reader of this article whose late father was a witness to the events that night
"During February 1942 my late father was porter/shunter at KIveton Park station On the morning of the 11th he was sent to Beighton station to assist with the clear up. The troop train had been removed from the scene and he and others assisted by soldiers collected military equipment and kit bags from the line side and took them to Beighton station and loaded them onto army lorries. Strangely he was told that the train involved was a Marylebone to Manchester additional express and "Not a troop train and not to talk about it" Perhaps this was to do with wartime secrecy of troop movements but the press seemed to know about.....you may be interested to know he worked for the LNER And BR for approx 45 years as a fat lad (wagon greaser) shunter porter, goods guard, yard foreman and finally yard inspector at Worksop. He retired in 1974 and died in 1985"
Six years later in January 2021 I received this newspaper cutting from the Aberdeen Evening Express dated 13th February 1942 which actually lists all those who lost their lives in the tragedy
Notes
The most
recent station at Beighton, the third one in the village, stood adjacent to the
level crossing on
Sources
Aberdeen Evening Express dated 13th February 1942
The Times Friday, Feb 13, 1942; pg. 2; Issue 49159; col B
The Times Saturday, Feb 14, 1942; pg. 2; Issue 49160; col E
The Times Thursday, Feb 19, 1942; pg. 2; Issue 49164; col B
Wikipedia
This page was last updated on 02/02/21 11:01