About 25,000 new entries are added to this spreadsheet database accessible through railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk
Check it out if a railway worker in your family tree in Britain and Ireland was involved in an accident from the late 1880s to 1939.
The sheet contains details of 20,963 railway worker accidents investigated by the state, 1900 – 15 and 1921 – 1939. There are 6,515 Union Death Claims, 1889 – 1919; 3,437 Union Disablement Claims, 1889 – 1920; 1.241 Union Fatal Compensataion Claims, 1889 – 1920; 1,329 Union Inquests, 1908 – 1920; 7,172 non-Fatal Compensation Claims, 1889 – 1919; Union Orphan Fund Claims, 1888 – 1919; 2.472 ASRS Legal Claims, 1901 – 1905: and 641 Claims to the GER Benevolent Fund, 1913 – 1923.
Here’s an example of an entry unlikely to have been passed along as a family story.
1903 Jan 10
Walter
Annison
M(ale)
40
Yarmouth,
Vauxhall
Norfolk
England
Lampman
Great Eastern Railway
11:00
Injury: Crush
Little finger of left hand injured
Caught between vehicles
Engine and 5 carriages being coupled. While carriages at rest Annison climbed on 3rd carriage to remove the side and tail lamps. Shunter needed engine to steady back in order to couple carriages just at time Annison was alighting from carriage. His little finger got between the buffers.
William Mowser, shunter
Annison knew carriages would be standing at platform for 6 hours, therefore there had been no need to climb on carriage when he did.
Mishap due to his own want of caution.
12:00
02:00
J J Hornby
Returns of Accidents and Casualties as reported to the Board of Trade by the several railway companies in the United Kingdom during the three months ending 31 March 1903 Appendix C. Reports of Sub-Inspectors A Ford and JJ Hornby on accidents to Railway Servants and other Persons employed on railway premises Cd.1687 1903 Mar 31 116
Thank you John.
Most of us have at least one member of our family working on the railways, especially as it was one of the largest employers in Britain. This is an excellent resource if anyone gets involved in an accident. They also present the Family History circuit so worth catching those presentations.
I am hopeful about this John.
My great grandfather died after what was called a train accident. His wife still had 5 kids at home, and they were soon almost starving. The Sally Ann took pity on them and sent her and her kids to Canada to stay with her brother in law, settled bewtween here and Kingston, who had emmigrated some years before, and had nine kids, and his wife had died. The two of them brought up all 14 of those kids, and that’s why I am Canadian.
The Sally Ann was wonderful, keeping an eye on them and making sure all the kids were going to school, had shoes, etc. They kept an eye on them for a solid decade. Cheers, BT