Accident at Horsted Keynes, 13 October 1908

This story concerns the accident that killed my Great Grandfather, more than 100 years ago, at Horsted Keynes. Probably a common enough occurrence from the time, but special to me as it concerns my namesake!

I acknowledge the assistance of Mike Cruttenden and Klaus Marx for original research in the local press and the Locomotive Department records of the LB&SCR. The photograph of Thomas James is from my father's family collection.

The story first appeared in "Bluebell News" and subsequently in "The Brighton Circular", the magazine of the Brighton Circle, but I publish it here as it may be of interest to a few people on Nat Pres)

In the churchyard at Horsted Keynes stands a small war memorial commemorating the dead of two world wars. Amongst the names of those killed in the First World War are three brothers: Thomas, Oliver and William James. For their mother Jane, the loss of three sons must have been a terrible blow, one repeated in homes throughout the land. Yet the loss of her sons was not the first tragedy in her life, for six years before the start of the war, she had lost her husband in equally tragic circumstances, victim of an accident at Horsted Keynes station.





Jane James' husband was also called Thomas. He had been born in Gloucestershire in 1852, but had moved to Horsted Keynes sometime around 1880. In the 1881 census, he is recorded as a 'labourer' and was lodging with three other men similarly described. Although there is no proof, in the light of Thomas James' subsequent career, it seems likely they were engaged in the construction of the Lewes & East Grinstead Railway. Sussex air evidently suited him better than that of Gloucestershire, for in 1881 he married a local girl, Jane Woolgar (b. 1862), in Horsted Keynes church. By all accounts they had a happy married life, and over the next twenty-five years they were to have 13 children - eight sons and five daughters. Over the course of their married life, the family moved several times, but latterly lived at Hole House in Horsted Keynes.



Following the construction of the railway, Thomas stayed on and was employed by the London Brighton & South Coast Railway to work on the line. In the 1891 census, he is recorded as a 'Platelayer'; in 1901 a 'Railway Ganger'. At the time of his death, he was the Ganger responsible for the section of line between Horsted Keynes and Sheffield Park. It is tantalizing to believe that he is one of the people shown in the photo of Horsted Keynes station staff (page 177) in 'The History of the Lewes and East Grinstead Railway', but I suspect we'll never know.

On the morning of 13 October 1908, Thomas James was knocked down by the engine of the 7:50am Horsted Keynes to Brighton train. It seems he was still alive immediately after the accident, for he was conveyed immediately to Haywards Heath where he was inspected by Dr Percy Newth. He was then taken to the Cottage Hospital, but died shortly after admission. The accident actually occurred while the engine - which had arrived at 7:39 with a Brighton to Horsted Keynes service - was running round ready for its 7:50am departure.

The inquest into the death was held at Haywards Heath Petty Sessions court house on 15 October 1908 before the East Sussex Coroner, Mr G Vere-Benson. Police inspectors Lainchbury and Young represented the railway company. (It was normal practice for the LB&SCR to be represented by a police inspector as a watching brief at such cases, though unusual for two to be present). The first witness was Jane James, who verified details of the deceased for the benefit of the jury. There then followed three witnesses: William Frank Nichols, Charles Unstead and ‘Earnest’ Stephen Carey, all of whom were porters at Horsted Keynes. All had either seen or spoken to Thomas James before his death. None of them noted anything unusual in his behavior of demeanour at the time (this was a polite way of saying the deceased was not under the influence of alcohol).

They were followed by the engine driver George White of Brighton Shed, who stated that the curve of the line prevented his seeing James at the time of the accident. Driver White said that he did not know an accident had taken place until he was told. Those familiar with the line will know that viewed from the station, the Ardingly line descends steeply and curves sharply to the right beyond the signal box.

The last witness was William Morris, the inspector of Permanent Way. He informed the court that the method of train working at the station had changed that very week and that he considered it was possible that James had been taken by surprise; however, he did not elaborate as to what the change had been.

A verdict of accidental death was returned and, at the suggestion of Mr Jolly, the foreman, the jury agreed to hand over their fee to the widow. The funeral took place the following day. There is no reference to a subscription opened on behalf of Mrs James, but in the Mid Sussex Times of 27 October 1908, there is an advertisement stating:

'Horsted Keynes: Mrs J James and family wish to thank all friends for the kind sympathy shown to them in their bereavement'.

In addition to the Coroner's investigation, there was also an official Railway investigation, the details of which are contained in the quarterly returns on accidents on the railways:

The details are brief, largely just stating the facts of the case as they are known, but it is interesting that the investigating officer considers the engine driver to be at fault. Evidently this view had little impact on his subsequent railway career, for just two months later, George White was given charge of one of the new Marsh I4 atlantic tanks, No. 35. The earliest date recorded for Brighton based George White being in charge of an engine is with C2 0-6-0 No. 449 from June 1897 to July 1899. Then there is a gap around the turn of the century where it is possible that White had an engine which was scrapped in 1902. The next locomotive allocated to his name was D3 0-4-4T No. 365 ‘Victoria’ from August 1902 to February 1904. Next followed E4 No. 581 ‘Warningcamp’, which was probably the locomotive involved in the above accident. This locomotive was of course a sister to the Bluebell’s preserved E4 ‘Birch Grove’.

Some years after the accident, Jane James married a second time, to a certain Mr Francis. He was certainly a wealthier man than her first husband; our family tradition has it that she maintained that she married 'once for a family, and a second time to be looked after'. Mr Francis died some time in the 1920s; thereafter, the by now elderly Mrs James went to live with her second youngest son Frank (b. 1903) and his wife Edith - my grandparents - who lived in Moulscombe. There she lived out her days until she died in the late 1930s. Frank - after Army service in India - worked on the buses in Brighton. During the Second World War, he was called up again as an anti-aircraft gunner: his name is commemorated on a painted memorial of all the Southdown employees who served during the war, which is now preserved in the bus depot at Amberley Working Museum (look for James F).



(The trackplan of Horsted Keynes at the time is here: Horsted Keynes Track Layout. I assume that the train arrived from Ardingly using the correct "up" line into what is now platform 1 - the furthest west platform, i.e. that at the top of the diagram. After the passengers disembarked, the train would have drawn forward into the cutting just short of Leamland Bridge and set back into the current platform 2 ready for departure. Then, after uncoupling, the engine would have run forward again and back through platform 1 and proceeded "wrong line" along the up line past the signal box, with the intention of crossing over via the south crossover and thus setting back onto its stock in platform 2. It was at some point between the signalbox and the crossover that the accident occurred).

Tom James

 

Out of curiosity, and not being familiar with changes to BST etc - at 7.45am in early October 1908, would it have been dark or light? My understanding is that BST didn't come in until World War 1, so I assume 7.45am would be GMT - is that correct? So I assume the accident occurred in a rather milky dawn light, shortly before sunrise.

Tom

 

You're correct, BST came in 1916.

Absolutely fascinating post, many thanks - i'm currently finishing a book on a certain railway in WW1 and find it shocking the frequency of fatal accidents, and that's just the ones I can find information on.... and people moan about 'health and safety' etc, when the days of steam were hardly golden for those injured or killed on the railways and their friends and families....