This page is one of a series introducing railway staff who worked on the south coast of England before 1939. They’ve been researched as part of the ‘Portsmouth Area Railway Pasts’ project – which you can read more about here, including accessing details of the other railway workers featured.
Research was undertaken from November 2024-July 2025, by a small group of volunteers from the Havant Local History Group, working with the University of Portsmouth’s History team. The work was funded by the University of Portsmouth’s Centre of Excellence for Heritage Innovation.
The workers featured were selected from staff who appear in the Railway Work, Life & Death project database of accidents to pre-1939 British and Irish railway workers.
*** This page is under development – the full life story will be updated as soon as possible.
‘daily practice to disregard these instructions at this station’
So went the damning verdict of the official investigation into Charles Howard’s accident at Petersfield.
He was a porter for the London & South Western Railway, which operated Petersfield station before 1923. On 21 May 1910 Charles was moving a wagon containing milk churns into Petersfield’s milk stage.
Riding on the moving wagon, Charles didn’t put the brakes on before it collided with another wagon. His left hand was hurt.
Though a relatively minor incident which didn’t affect Charles’ life or railway career, it reflected a bigger issue about worker safety in the railway industry at the time.
*** Further details about railway worker safety and Charles’ life will be added as soon as possible.