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Details of the Accident

Place Charlfield
Date 13th October 1928, 5.20 a.m.
Railway Company London Midland & Scottish Railway
No. of Fatalities 16
Cause of Accident Collision
Description Driver of the 10 p.m. Leeds to Bristol passed several signals at danger and ran into the rear of a parcels train which had stopped to take on water.

Sources/Further Reading

  • Backtrack, volume 3, number 4
  • Disaster on the Line, J.A.B. Hamilton (1967)
  • Historic Railway Disasters, O.S. Nock (1966)
  • MI St. James' Church, Charlbury
  • Red for Danger, R.T.C. Rolt (1960, 1966)

List of Fatalities

15 of the 16 fatalities that have been identifed so far are listed in the table below together with brief notes on any other information found

The last column shows the General Register Office (England and Wales) or Statutory Register (Scotland) reference where this has been identified.

Surname First Names Age Occupation Residence Notes GRO/SR Reference
CROSS Florence Hylda 38 Belper, DBY 1928/Dec Thornbury 6a 289
GASTON James ,
JENKINS Goodwin Philip 22 Student Milverton, SOM Inquest was held in 1929 without evidence of body (under new Coroners' Act) 1929/Mar Thornbury 6a 473
JOHNSON Clara Annie 45 Sheffield, WRY Married 1928/Dec Thornbury 6a 290
JOHNSON John Thomas (Jack) 57 Railway guard Based at Dursley, GLS 1928/Dec Thornbury 6a 290
LAWTON Eliza Jane 49 Torpoint, Plymouth, DEV Married 1928/Dec Thornbury 6a 290
LAWTON William 53 Torpoint, Plymouth, DEV 1928/Dec Thornbury 6a 290
PINKNEY John Henry 27 Gloucester, GLS 1928/Dec Thornbury 6a 290
RADFORD Millicent Sarah 47 Derby, DBY 1928/Dec Thornbury 6a 291
TOVEY Walter 38 Derby, DBY 1928/Dec Thornbury 6a 291
WHITEHEAD Esther Matilda 59 Leicester, LEI 1928/Dec Thornbury 6a 291
WHITEHEAD Richard 59 Leicester, LEI 1928/Dec Thornbury 6a 291
UNKNOWN 5 , Unidentified body of child.
UNKNOWN 12-17 , Unidentified body of child.
UNKNOWN 12 , Unidentified body of child.