Details of the Accident
| Place | Taunton |
| Date | 6th July 1978, 2.41 a.m. |
| Railway Company | British Railways (Western Region) |
| No. of Fatalities | 12 |
| Cause of Accident | Fire |
| Description | On the 21:30 Penzance to Paddington sleeper train, a fire was caused by an electric heater which had been obstructed by sacks of dirty bed linen causing it to overheat. Most deaths were due to smoke inhalation. The practise of locking doors was criticised as a result. Accident led to change in practice and also a change to materials used on sleeper carriages. |
Sources/Further Reading
- The Times, Friday 7 July 1978
- The Times, Saturday, 10 October 1981
List of Fatalities
11 of the 12 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 | |||||||
| CORNISH | Ronald Gordon | 36 | Torpoint, Plymouth, DEV | Married to Pauline | 1978/Sep Taunton D 23 1185 | ||||||||
| JONES | John | 37 | Regional head of the British Film Institute | Crawley, SRY | Left wife and two daughters. | ||||||||
| GALPIN | Gary Charles | Hartley, Plymouth, DEV | |||||||||||
| HALL | Trenchard Louis R. | 42 | M.D. | Plymouth, DEV | Husband of Patricia and father of Mary | 1978/Sep Taunton D 23 1275 | |||||||
| HALL | Patricia Ellen | 42 | Plymouth, DEV | Wife of Trenchard and mother of Mary | 1978/Sep Taunton D 23 1276 | ||||||||
| HALL | Mary Elizabeth L. | 18 | Plymouth, DEV | Daughter of Trenchard and Patricia | 1978/Sep Taunton D 23 1276 | ||||||||
| MURDEN | Patrick Gerald | 40 | The Hoe, Plymouth, DEV | 1978/Sep Taunton D 23 1184 | |||||||||
| SHARPE | Christopher John | 27 | Plymouth, DEV | 1978/Sep Taunton D 23 1185 | |||||||||
| KNIGHT | William John | 74 | Cattedown, Plymouth, DEV | 1978/Sep Taunton D 23 1278 | |||||||||
| MICHL | Leopold | 55 | Vienna, OES | Husband of Herta | 1978/Sep Taunton D 23 1277 | ||||||||
| MICHL | Herta | 53 | Vienna, OES | Wife of Leopold | 1978/Sep Taunton D 23 1277 |