We’re delighted to welcome Sandra Gittens back to the project blog this week. Sandra is known for her research on – amongst others – the railways of the First World War. In the course of that work she’s uncovered a number of accidents to railway staff on military duty overseas, many of which she’s already […]
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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: 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: ‘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 […]
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 – […]
Stapleton Road, 26 September 1921
Charles Edmonds. Herbert George North. Charles Oakhill. Joseph Barrett. Arthur Hobbs. Stephen Albert Francis. On 26 September 1921, these six track workers died in a single incident near Stapleton Road station in Bristol, on the Great Western Railway (GWR). Another man – Charles Hobbs, Arthur’s uncle – was injured. As we reach the […]
Stapleton Road: the men, pt 3
By Mike Esbester on September 24, 2021 in Accident aftermath, Anniversary, Blog, Family History, Linking sources
Following yesterday’s look at Charles Oakhill, and the railway connections in his family, today we turn to another railway family caught up in the Stapleton Road accident: the Hobbs. Arthur Hobbs (1897-1921) Arthur was the youngest of the men to die at Stapleton Road, at only 24. He was a labourer, and the only one […]
Stapleton Road: the men, pt 1
By Mike Esbester on September 22, 2021 in Accident aftermath, Accident reports, Blog, Family History, Linking sources
Yesterday we discussed the institutional responses to the Stapleton Road accident; from this point onwards, we look more at the personal impacts, on the men involved and their the families. Sadly for most of the men and families involved, we don’t have too much information. We’d dearly like to know more – about the individual’s […]
Stapleton Road: the men, pt 2
By Mike Esbester on September 23, 2021 in Accident aftermath, Anniversary, Blog, Explore your Archives, Family History, Linking sources
Yesterday we started introducing the men involved in the Stapleton Road accident. Today we focus on just one man, for whom we have more information: Charles Oakhill. Charles was born in 1870, to William and Mary Ann. He had 6 siblings, one of whom died in infancy. They were all born in and around the […]
