We’ve posted about accidents to women railway workers before (see here and here). Each time we’ve noted that there are relatively women in our data so far (here) – only 3 in our original data release of 3,928 cases, with a further 3 in our most recent release covering the Great Eastern Railway (GER) and […]
Tag Archives | Women
New surroundings and new dangers: wartime railwaywomen
In this guest post marking the start of Women’s History Month, Dr Susan Major – another of us with a connection to York – explores some of the ways in which women railway staff encountered and experienced dangers in their working environments during the Second World War. Women weren’t new to the railways by any […]
Female gatekeepers killed by trains 1846-1906.
In this guest post, Helena Wojtczak explores fatal accidents to women working on and living around the railway, particularly those women either paid and employed as gatekeepers or those women engaged in an ‘informal economy’ and carrying out work on behalf of their husbands who were otherwise indisposed when required. In doing so, Helena gives […]
Extending the vote to workers, female & male
If you’re based in the United Kingdom, you’ll no doubt be aware that 6 February 2018 marks a significant anniversary: the centenary of the Representation of the People Act, 1918. This landmark piece of legislation gave the vote to some women if they met particular conditions, and to the majority of men over 21. This […]
Mrs Jane Horner and the illicit lift
It may perhaps surprise us to find women amongst the list of casualties the project has catalogued – but it shouldn’t. Plenty of women worked, including on the railways, where even before the First World War they numbered in their thousands. Though precise figures are difficult to come by, around 13,000 has been suggested, out […]
