Memorial plan for troops tragically killed in hushed-up Sheffield wartime disaster
“We want a tribute both to those who lost their lives, and those who rushed to do what they could to help”
A memorial to those who lost their lives in “Sheffield's worst ever railway accident” is planned in a Sheffield village.
Beighton Cemetery is peaceful now. But in February 1942, things were very different.
Back in those days, there was a view to the east of rolling fields in what was a mining and farming community, and then, beyond, railway tracks and, a little to the north, Beighton railway station.
That view from the cemetery has now been broken, with families now living happily in the houses that have been since built on some of those fields. The station has gone, although tracks remain.
However, that February, those tracks were the location of what has been described as Sheffield’s worst rail disaster, close to the nearby railway bridge.
It was a Sheffield wartime tragedy which saw 14 servicemen lose their lives - yet for years it was said to have been hushed up.
The loss of life happened just a few hundred yards from Beighton railway station, when a troop train carrying 400 soldiers and sailors crashed into metal protruding out of a stationary wagon on a nearby track.
At a time during World War Two when there was little good news for Britain, little publicity was given to a collision which saw 14 killed, and 35 seriously injured.
But locals have never forgotten the terrible events of that day.
And now there a campaign to erect a memorial to the tragedy, in the village cemetery, just yards from where the collision happened.
The campaign has been set up by Beighton History Group, based at Beighton Lifestyle Centre.
They estimate that they will need £1,200, and already have pledges worth over £500.
Any funds received over the required amount will be donated to an associated military charity.
Fourteen soldiers from the Royal Artillery were killed and 35 severely injured.
All naval personnel on the train, who were near the back, escaped uninjured. The train was travelling from Woolwich to the Clyde.
But it is said that due to strict WWII morale and security policies, the disaster was heavily suppressed and largely kept out of the national press at the time.
The disaster was attended by local colliery rescue teams, nearby doctors and villagers who gave assistance and shelter to the injured.
Lifelong Beighton resident, and memorial campaigner, Mick Unwin, said there has never been any official memorial in the village to the tragedy and he said he and his fellow campaigners hoped that this will go some way to commemorate the victims and injured as well as honour those villagers who gave assistance.
The memorial would be located in School Road Cemetery, Beighton, which is one of the closest points in the village to where the disaster happened.
Mick has never forgotten hearing his own grandparents, Fred and Elizabeth Unwin, talk movingly about the disaster.
They worked at a nearby farm, and, as the village pulled together to help, they rushed to the scene with bedsheets and blankets to help those affected by the disaster.
He said: “I was born two years after it happened, but through the years, we heard them talking about it. The local doctors from Beighton and Killamarsh rushed out to the scene, and the community pulled together to help.
“My grandparents say it was a devastating sight to see, but they got on with it and did their best to help.
“We want a tribute both to those who lost their lives, and to those people in the local community who rushed to do what they could to help.
“It feels like it has been a bit of a secret in recent years. Many people do not know about it, it feels forgotten. We want people to know about it, and what local people did to help.”
The men injured in the incident more than 80 years ago were taken to away to hospitals in Sheffield, including the Victoria Hospital and the Royal Infirmary.
Local historian Chris Hobbs, who has researched the crash in 2021, published an account of the incident on his website.
He said at the time: “I am not a railway historian but I believe that this must be Sheffield's worst ever railway accident. And yet until just recently I was totally unaware of the incident.”
Log onto https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-beighton-rail-disaster-memorial-stone to make a donation to the appeal.