"At 0649 on the 22nd May 1915, troops from the 7th (Leith) Battalion, Royal Scots, were en route for the Dardanelles. Heading south, they had not yet left Scotland when the train they were travelling on collided with an empty, stationary train which was on the same track, detailing the cars and rupturing the gas lamps. Then, sixty seconds later, a northbound express bound for Glasgow smashed into the wreckage. Many men were killed either in the first or second collisions, but the flames from the ruptured gas lamps caused an inferno and there was nothing available to extinguish it. Trapped men had to have limbs amputated by whatever means necessary to get them out of the fire. Others, who could not escape, begged to be shot, rather than be burned to death. 226 men died, 82 of whom were burned beyond recognition in the fire which wasn't extinguished until the following day. Most of the dead were returned to Leith, in Edinburgh, where they were buried in Rosebank Cemetery.
The cause of the crash: Signalling error. "At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them." From a post by Nick Field on the I Love Leith FB page on 22/5/2020.
Today is the anniversary of tragic death of many members of the 7th Battalion, Royal Scots, in the Quintinshill or Gretna Rail Disaster. My grandfather James Lee's military records reveal that he had been a soldier in the 3rd and 5th Royal Scots prior to migrating to Australia in 1912. James is highly likely to have known many of the men involved in the train disaster, either a during his time in the army or while living in Leith, where his family still lived. It is said that everyone in Leith knew someone who had been killed or injured in the disaster.
The Leith Battalion from Rare Bird on Vimeo.
Two years after the train tragedy, on 12 December 1917, 'James' sister, Winnifred Lee, married Matthew Donovan. Attested to the 7th Battalion, Royal Scots in 1911, 21 year old Matthew was seriously injured in the Gretna train disaster. In Military Pension Records available on line, Matthew is described as being 'Injured in Gretna Accident 22-5-2015'; and being 'Discharged permanently medically unfit' on 31 January 1916. Sadly, further tragedy befell Matthew on 6 July, 2018, when Winnifred died of eclampsia, a pregnancy and childbirth related condition. Marrying Winnifred and expecting their first child must have been a period of renewal of hope for Matthew. How bereft he must have been at their loss.
Postscript: In 1921 Matthew married Anne McDougall Uter and in 1928 had a daughter Agnes Marion (Esma) Donovan. Anne died in Dumbarton, Scotland in 1956. Matthew was the informant listed on Anne's death certificate; it is unclear when he died - he may have moved to England to be nearer Esma, who lived in Berkshire.
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The Journey ...An 'occasional blog' recording elements of my renewed family history journey. This is the second wave in my 'family history' journey. The first lasted from 2010 to 2014. with intermittent bursts since then. It's time to revisit, to share more stories, to edit, to tackle uncertainties... Categories
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