In today’s post, project volunteer and regular blog contributor Philip James looks at the (infamous?) Woodhead route, including the tunnels. He draws on an accident case he found when transcribing for our forthcoming data release, as well as providing us with a potted history of the Woodhead route. Our thanks as ever to Philip for […]
Archive | Anniversary
Wilmcote: George Booker & his family
By Mike Esbester on March 24, 2022 in Accident aftermath, Anniversary, Blog, Family History, Linking sources
On the day of the centenary of the Wilmcote accident, we turn to the fourth and final family to be affected: the Booker family. This follows on from our previous blog, which looked at Edward Sherwood and his family. Of all the families to be affected by the accident, George’s has probably been the […]
Wilmcote: Remembering those affected
Over the last six days we’ve been blogging about 1922 Wilmcote accident (see yesterday’s post here), in the lead up to the centenary on 24 March. We’ve also been writing for different audiences – including a piece for the Stratford Herald newspaper and a blog post for The National Archives of the UK. We’d also […]
Wilmcote: Edward Sherwood & his family
By Mike Esbester on March 23, 2022 in Accident aftermath, Anniversary, Blog, Family History, Linking sources
Yesterday we looked at William Bonehill and his family – another small family, though no less devasting an impact via the death of a husband and father. Today we see the other end of the scale: Edward Sherwood and his large family. Edward was the only of the Wilmcote men to have travelled some […]
Wilmcote: William Bonehill & his family
By Mike Esbester on March 22, 2022 in Accident aftermath, Anniversary, Blog, Family History, Linking sources
Following on from yesterday’s post, looking at Lewis Washburn and his family, today we focus on another of the men who died in the 1922 Wilmcote accident: William Bonehill, and his family. William was the youngest of the men to die, aged 27. He was born in January 1894 in Wilmcote, to Edward and […]
Wilmcote: Lewis Washburn & his family
By Mike Esbester on March 21, 2022 in Accident aftermath, Anniversary, Blog, Family History, Linking sources
In yesterday’s post we looked at what happened in the days following the 1922 Wilmcote accident. This included some of the community impacts, seen through the response to the men’s funeral and the financial support given to the dependents left behind. Today we move the focus of our posts about the accident, to look more […]
Wilmcote: ‘the whole district in mourning’
By Mike Esbester on March 20, 2022 in Accident aftermath, Accident reports, Anniversary, Blog, Linking sources
In yesterday’s post, we looked at the immediate circumstances of the accident, as seen through the investigation reports. Today we turn to what happened in the days and weeks following. The Coroner’s inquest The accident happened on Friday 24 March 1922. The Coroner’s inquest took place the following Monday, on 27 March 1922, in […]
Wilmcote, 24 March 1922
Edward Sherwood. George Booker. Lewis Washburn. William Bonehill. On 24 March 1922, these four Great Western Railway track workers were killed by a steam engine near Wilmcote station in Warwickshire. In the lead up to the centenary, on Thursday, we wanted to bring their stories to light and to remember the men and the impact […]
John William Hawley, 1868-1909: A family tragedy remembered
By Megan Carswell on February 4, 2022 in Accident aftermath, Anniversary, Blog, Family History, Guest contribution
A year ago, we posted this blog about the 1909 Sharnbrook accident, which killed 2 railway workers. Shortly afterwards, we were contacted by this week’s guest author, Megan Carswell – the Great Niece of one of the men killed at Sharnbrook. A discussion followed, and we’re grateful that Megan was willing to do a bit […]
Stapleton Road: the men, pt 4
By Mike Esbester on September 25, 2021 in Accident aftermath, Accident reports, Anniversary, Blog, Family History, Linking sources
This blog is our final post in this series, ahead of the centenary tomorrow of the 1921 Stapleton Road accident. Yesterday we looked at the family connections between Arthur and Charles Hobbs. Today we focus on the final man who died, Stephen Francis. Stephen Albert Francis proved to be somewhat tricky to pin down – […]
