Over the years we’ve tried to make sure that lots of people know about the Railway Work, Life & Death project. We’ve worked with all sorts of groups we thought would be interested – family historians, local historians, the current rail industry, museums and archives, academic historians, rail enthusiasts, and more. We’ve written pieces, appeared on podcasts, the radio and TV, given talks, used social media – you name, we’re willing!
Courtesy Great Western Trust.
Over the last few months we’ve done more to focus on the heritage railway sector. That’s been possible as project co-lead Mike has had support from his institution, the University of Portsmouth, to go out and work with heritage organisations, in a number of ways. He’s worked with the Heritage Railway Association, speaking at the 2025 spring conference and leading a workshop, developing further plans with them since. He’s also started working with the Severn Valley Railway – more on that here.
Today we’re focusing on the work he’s been doing with Didcot Railway Centre. It really shows the potential of this kind of collaboration. We’d love to do more work like this with heritage railway organisations.
Didcot railway workers in the archive
One of the key things we’ve been doing as a project is to find details of railway workers and their accidents in archives and make them more easily accessible. Archival research isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time! If we can take the accidents and the workers out of the archive and to the public, then that can only be a good thing.
At Didcot we’ve been working with the Great Western Trust and its archive. It’s a longer-term ambition to do more with them, as they have a large quantity of records of Great Western Railway (GWR) accidents. Whilst the records cover the entire GWR system, we focused particularly on Didcot, and wanted to find ways to bring what we’d found to the public. For now we’ve accessed what we can and found plenty of interest.
Didcot Railway Centre is an engine shed complex, surrounded on all sides by operational mainline railway. The cases and people found in the archive certainly included those we’d perhaps expect to see at an engine shed – drivers and firemen, for example, but also fitters and labourers. Equally there were others around the wider Didcot area that were surprising to find: a First World War female carriage cleaner, Mabel Elliott; a slew of cases associated with the 1915 construction of a huge ordnance depot – including an Italian labourer; and military substitute labour being used in the provender stores. There seemed to be an immediacy in being able to connect present-day visitors with people who’d been in the same places decades before.
From archive to public – static display
We were able to start making this connection through a number of ‘static’ routes. Firstly, we’ve contributed to the display case in the Museum focused on safety and accidents. Drawing on our expertise we were able to suggest items to feature and write interpretation. We also highlighted some of the people found in the accident records, to bring them to wider attention. That display will stay in place for at least a year.
We’ve also put together a glossy leaflet, sharing details of a few of the people we’d uncovered. For visitors it’s available in hard copy free from the Museum, or available here as a digital file.. This was printed thanks to the University of Portsmouth Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and we’re grateful. Finally (for now!), for Great Western Society members, we’ve written a piece for the glossy publication, Echo, about site accidents. This was featured in the Summer 2025 issue.
From archive to public – in person
Reading all about it is one thing. Walking in the footsteps of previous staff around the site at Didcot and seeing it in front of you is another thing. This was why we wanted to try a walking tour. Normally this wouldn’t work easily on a heritage railway, as there wouldn’t be the concentration of people and incidents. More often than not access to key spaces is restricted.
The site at the Didcot Railway Centre is unusual in a number of ways. Firstly, it’s focused on a former GWR engine shed complex, built in 1932. Many heritage railways are rather different – essentially people board a train and ride the route, Didcot gives people a different sense of the aspects and work needed to keep the railway going. Secondly, there is free access to virtually all of the site, including spaces usually off-limits on other heritage railways. People are really close to the trains (albeit still protected).
Courtesy Great Western Trust.
We were delighted when Didcot Railway Centre (DRC) not only agreed to our suggestion of a walking tour, but were positively enthusiastic! On three days over summer 2025, Railway Work, Life & Death project co-lead Mike led tour groups around key areas on site. Having researched people’s wider lives, he was able to relate some of the life stories of Didcot’s workers – including the accidents they had. This brings another social history element to the heritage railway, reminding us of the people needed to keep the wheels turning.
What did the walking tour achieve?
So far as the project is concerned, the walking tour has been a great success. It’s been a really valuable means of engaging with people and sharing our research. Most importantly, it’s helped people understand the costs of railway work, paid by the staff. We know the tour has been appreciated by the DRC, adding value to their offer – sufficient that we’ve been asked to keep doing the tours.
Even better, visitors to Didcot have found the walking tours valuable. A selection of their comments gives an impression:
‘Great to hear about the social history of railway workers. Enjoyed the tour. Very informative.’
‘Nice to hear about the lives and social history linked to the GWR.’
‘Very good & informative, covering things you might not normally consider.’
‘Fascinating … very near life – could be our grandparents. Able to keep youngsters as well as the elderly interested.’
On the final in the first run of tours, we were joined by Tony Stockwell – grandson of Frederick Stockwell. Frederick had just been made up to driver when he was killed in an accident at the old Didcot engine shed in 1918. Tony shared details of his grandfather’s life and accident, and was able to discuss what happened afterwards for Frederick’s family. To have such a direct connection to the incident and the people involved was extremely powerful, and gave those on the tour a unique experience.
What of the workers? Frederick Coxon
To give one example, fitter Frederick Coxon opens up understanding of part of the Didcot site that would otherwise be overlooked, as well as shows the range of staff needed in the past. On the tour we move from the current shed towards the site entrance – which was where the pre-1932 shed stood. Demolished when the new shed was open, most visitors would have no idea of the changing nature of the site.
Courtesy Britain from Above.
They also haven’t heard of Frederick Coxon – and in most cases don’t know what a ‘fitter’ was. (Effectively a bit of a ‘jack of all trades’ who would fix things and keep them going.) Frederick William Coxon was born in Swindon in 1876. He was still living there in 1911, with his wife Ada and their first daughter, Lavinia. By 1921 they, along with their second daughter, Muriel, were living in Didcot. Frederick remained in the immediate area until his death in 1952.
We knew to look for Frederick because he appeared in an accident volume covering part of the First World War. On 30 August 1916, aged 41, he was working in the locomotive yard, underneath the water tank. There, he was passing between a locomotive and a forge, when some water dropped from the girder of the water tank into a ladle of liquid metal on the forge. The results were explosively predictable – the metal and water reacted strongly, and Frederick suffered burns to the right side of his face and chest. He was off work until 11 September.
Despite the incident, Frederick remained with the GWR at least until 1939. He also joined the National Union of Railwaymen, in 1919. Railway work had its dangers, but it had advantages too, not least in the relative stability it offered.
The final walking tour over the summer took place on – 30 August. It felt fitting to be able to share Frederick’s story with visitors 109 years to the day of his accident.
The benefits of putting the historic worker back into a heritage site
Given we’ve identified over 100 workers who had accidents in and around Didcot, unfortunately we’ve been spoiled for choice in who we’ve shared with visitors. The accidents show us a rich cross-section of railway workers, and give us details and appreciation of their work that it just wouldn’t be possible to find elsewhere.
At Didcot, as the 1932 engine shed approaches its centenary, plans are afoot to upgrade the interpretation. That includes content about the site’s past staff – we’re looking forward to contributing to that, too. Clearly we’ve had to be mindful of how we presented the workers and their accidents in all of this work. Perhaps surprisingly, visitors really engaged with the topic and could appreciate the value it brings.
It’s been clear from the responses to our work with Didcot that being able to highlight the social history of the railways, through the workers, strikes a chord with visitors. The connect with the human stories – of the workers, but also their families and wider communities. We’re delighted to be actively pursuing this approach with a number of other heritage railways at the moment. It’s something we’d like to see more organisations getting involved in, as it offers so much. Do get in touch with us to see how we can help!