9150522dfs
Details of the Railway Fatal Accident
| Location | Quintinshill, Dumfriesshire, Scotland |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, 22nd May 1915, 6.30 a.m. |
| Railway Company | Caledonian Railway |
| No. of fatalities | 227 |
| Cause of accident | Error by signalman led to multiple collisions. |
| Description | Britain's worst rail disaster, in which a troop train crashed, claiming 227 lives. A distracted signalman forgot about a stationary local train that he had shunted on to the opposite running line so as to let the following express train through. This was necessary because both of the adjacent sidings were already occupied. This led to a multiple collision between a troop train and the local train, also involving two coal trains in the sidings and, shortly afterwards, the following express train, which then ploughed into the wreckage. |
Sources/Further Reading
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission (cwgc.org)
- Gretna – Britain"s Worst Railway Disaster (1915), John Thomas (David & Charles, 1969)
- Handful of Dust: Further Accidents and Disasters from Scotland in the 20th Century, William P. Cross (2005)
- Memorial Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh and a cairn near site (also a memorial tree that was subsequently vandalised)
- Red for Danger, L.T.C. Rolt (Sutton Publishing 1955)
- The Guardian, Friday 18th May 2001
- The Guardian, Thursday 2nd January 2003
List of Fatalities
211 of the 227 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. If there are more than 25 records, they have been split into separate pages – please use the navigation below to move to other pages.
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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADAMS | James | 23 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name PEARSON. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/37 Graitney or Gretna | |
| ALLAN | Thomas Reed Wilson | 23 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name WILSON. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/68 Graitney or Gretna | |
| ALLISON | Samuel Oglethorpe | 22 | Corporal 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name LAUDER. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/22 Graitney or Gretna | |
| ANDERSON | James | 31 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name ANDERSON. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/194 Graitney or Gretna | |
| ANGUS | David Robert | 32 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name ROBERTSON. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/30 Graitney or Gretna | |
| ANGUS | Robert | 18 | Lance Corporal "A" Coy. 1st/7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name MILLER. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/99 Graitney or Gretna | |
| ARCHIBALD | David | 18 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name LAWSON. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/120 Graitney or Gretna | |
| ARNOULD | Thomas M. Lorime. | 19 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name MITCHELL. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/36 Graitney or Gretna | |
| AULD | John Alexander | 21 | Lance Corporal "A" Coy. 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name MORE. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/46 Graitney or Gretna | |
| BAILLIE | Andrew Hunter Forrest | 20 | Private "A" Coy. 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name FORREST. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/205 Graitney or Gretna | |
| BAILLIE | William Turnbull | 17 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name BAILLIE. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/121 Graitney or Gretna | |
| BALLANTYNE | John Williamson | 21 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name DUNCAN. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/82 Graitney or Gretna | |
| BARNET | Thomas Wilson | 20 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name THOM. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/19 Graitney or Gretna | |
| BARNETT | Thomas | 21 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name GROGAN. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/50 Graitney or Gretna | |
| BATEY | Robert | 18 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name MORRISON. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/44 Graitney or Gretna | |
| BATTEN | (Lot) Francis | 21 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name REIDIE. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/199 Graitney or Gretna | |
| BAXTER | Archibald Scott | 46 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | ||
| BELL | Andrew Moodie | 21 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name BELL. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/140 Graitney or Gretna | |
| BELLMAN(N) | George | 20 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name WEBSTER. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/81 Graitney or Gretna | |
| BIRD | Alfred James | 21 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name WILSON. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/200 Graitney or Gretna | |
| BIRD | Peter Alexander | 34 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name MILLER. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/168 Graitney or Gretna | |
| BISSET | William Thomson | 22 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name THOMSON. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/44 Graitney or Gretna | |
| BLACKWOOD | William Russell T. | 22 | Drummer 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name SMITH. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/16 Graitney or Gretna | |
| BLAIR | James Allan | 20 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name SUTHERLAND. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/109 Graitney or Gretna | |
| BLAIR | John | 22 | Private 7th Battalion Royal Scots | Mother's maiden name SUTHERLAND. Commemorated in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh (cwgc.org) | SR 1915 827/108 Graitney or Gretna |