Harrow station remembers Britain's worst peacetime rail disaster

Survivors today attended a memorial service to mark the 60th anniversary of Britain’s worst peacetime rail disaster.

A minute’s silence was held at Harrow & Wealdstone station at 8.19am, the exact time of the three-train crash on October 8, 1952 in which 112 people were killed and 40 were injured.

At the gathering of more than 100 today, Harrow councillor Keith Ferry read the names of those who died when a night express from Perth crashed into the back of a stationary London-bound local train, immediately before a London-to-Liverpool express passing through Harrow struck the Perth train and derailed.

At a reception at Harrow Civic Centre for those attending the service, newsreel showing the aftermath was screened, while a theatre troupe recreated stories from the disaster at the station.

Speaking at the service, Harrow police Chief Superintendent Dal Babu praised the emergency services’ role and said some victims were as young as 17. “This is a very moving day,” he said. “It is very important to keep these memories alive.”