REMEMBERING THE STAPLETON ROAD DISASTER

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: october 2021 :: RMTnews 20 O n the morning of September 26, 1921 eight track staff went to work on the Great Western Railway (GWR) lines near Stapleton Road station in Bristol. They clocked on at 7am and by 7.30am had walked to the spot where they would be levelling ballast. Five minutes later, they were hit by a passenger service. Tragically five of the men were killed on the spot: Charles Edmonds (49), George North (47), Charles Oakhill (51), Joseph Barrett (58) and Arthur Hobbs (24). Stephen Francis (34) was injured, dying later in hospital; Charles Hobbs (42; uncle to Arthur) was also injured, though he survived. Only one man, Thomas Cousins, was unhurt. He happened to look up, see the train approaching and jump clear – though not with enough time to warn his mates. One hundred years ago, railway work was one of the most dangerous occupations. In 1921 alone, 262 staff died and nearly 16,200 were injured. The ‘Railway Work, Life & Death’ project has been set up to help us all find out more about railway staff accidents before 1939 – including Stapleton Road. Usually those accidents happened in ones and twos, out of sight of the public. The accident near Stapleton Road was shocking in that it killed so many. A little way north-west of Stapleton Road station, two routes met – the line to South Wales, heading for the Severn Tunnel, and the line to Clifton, curving away to the south and east. It was at this junction that the PW gang was to level the newly relayed ballast. Trains were moving as usual – fairly standard for this type of work. Anyone working trackside was just expected to keep an eye out for approaching trains. Unfortunately six of the men had their backs to approaching trains. At 7.35am, a goods train was passing on the South Wales line. Combined with the noise of their shovels on the ballast, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) investigation determined that the men could not have heard the approaching train on the Clifton line. The location was known to be dangerous – at least three other accidents had occurred in the area since 1914. One of those, in 1916, killed one man and injured two others – including Stephen Francis, who was killed in the 1921 accident. At the time it wasn’t standard practice to appoint a REMEMBERING THE STAPLETON ROAD DISASTER Mike Esbester of the ‘Railway Work, Life and Death’ project marks the centenary of the death of five track workers A posed image from the GWR’s ‘Safety on the Permanent Way’ booklet, produced in response to the Stapleton Road accident. It shows how a look-out was supposed to protect track workers. Courtesy: ‘Railway Work, Life & Death’ project.