8420402ham
Details of the Railway Fatal Accident
| Location | Waller's Ash Tunnel, Hampshire, England |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, 2nd April 1842 |
| Railway Company | London and South Western Railway |
| No. of fatalities | 4 |
| Cause of accident | Tunnel Collapse |
| Description | Chalk was falling from the roof of the tunnel. Men were working in the tunnel trying to fix the problem and others were in a shaft above the arch, when a fall of chalk hurled men down to the bottom of the shaft, breaking the tunnel arch and burying them in debris. |
Sources/Further Reading
- Article by Stephen Duffell in The Southern Way No. 47, July 2019.
- Official Accident Report (1842)
List of Fatalities
4 of the 4 fatalities have been identified so far. They are listed in the table below together with brief notes on any other information that has been found.
The last column shows the General Register Office (England and Wales), Statutory Register (Scotland), General Register Northern Ireland or Civil Registration for Ireland reference where this has been identified (this reference can be used to order a copy of the official death certificate).
| Surname | First Name | Age | Occupation | Residence | Notes | GRO/SR/GRONI/GROIE Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALLETT | James | 23 | Railway navvy | Unmarried | ||
| BATCHELOR | James | 19 | Railway navvy | Unmarried | 1842/Jun Winchester & Hursley 7 161 | |
| NOYCE | Charles | 27 | Railway navvy | Unmarried | 1842/Jun Winchester & Hursley 7 161 | |
| WHATMORE | James | 54 | Railway navvy | A married man with a large family. Two sons were also injured in the accident, by not fatally. | 1842/Jun Winchester & Hursley 7 161 |