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On the night of 13 October 1928 a London Midland and Scottish steam locomotive crashed at Charfield in Gloucestershire with the loss of fifteen lives. By a highly-unlikely quirk of fate no fewer than three of the victims were from Derbyshire - here Peter Seddon re-visits the tragic scene eighty years on.

The mangled wreckage at the scene of the Charfield Rail Disaster in 1928 - three Derbyshire people were among the 15 who lost their lives

The Celtic cross in Charfield, Gloucestershire, which commemorates 12 of the rail crash victims - among them are three who lived in Derbyshire

It has become almost a cliche to talk of the 'Golden Age of Steam' - that honeyed phrase carries with it a distinct perception of an idyllic world, a gentler time when characterful steam trains plied the tracks bringing pleasure to passengers and onlookers alike. A nostalgic evocation of a 'better time' altogether.

But alas there is a reverse side to most stories, and this is one of them, for then as now tragedy visited the railways when least expected. One such famous incident occurred in 1928.

During the night of 13 October the Leeds to Bristol night mail overran warning signals without apparent reason and collided with a freight train manoeuvring into sidings at Charfield, Gloucestershire.

The mail train was further deflected into the path of a passing northbound freight train. Gas - which controversially was then still being used for lighting in railway carriages - ignited, and the resulting blaze lasted for many hours. Those passengers who were firmly trapped in the wreckage had no chance at all.

Fifteen died in total, including two who were never identified, thought possibly to be children. The London Midland and Scottish Railway Company were severely cricticised for having continued to use gas-lighting on their trains long after the capabilities for electrical lighting were available to them.

The tragedy was by no means the worst in railway history but the circumstances of it - reported in sensationalist terms by the press - shocked the nation.

At the subsequent enquiry the LMS were 'found wanting' in several areas, and the company were undoubtedly much chastened by the entire sorry episode.

As a gesture of support they offered at their own expense to bury the victims in St. James's Church in Charfield village and to erect a Celtic cross in their memory. Families of ten of the named dead accepted the offer, and the two unidentified bodies were buried there too.

Thus it is that a Celtic cross in a Gloucestershire village churchyard bears the following inscriptions in memory of three Derbyshire residents:

MISS MILLICENT SARAH RADFORD, AGED 47, DERBY

WALTER TOVEY, AGED 38, DERBY

MISS FLORENCE HILDA CROSS, AGED 38, BELPER.

Notwithstanding that they should consider themselves wholly unfortunate to be involved in a rail crash at all, the odds that 3 of the 15 victims should be residents of Derbyshire must have been very long indeed.

By such a twist of fate, the events of that tragic night have forged an unwanted but eternal link between Derbyshire and the sleepy Gloucestershire village which was the scene of the terrible Charfield Rail Disaster.

• LMS Rail Crash 1928 - Three Derbyshire Losses

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County:  Derbyshire

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