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16 Dec 2011Customer’s connection to the Tay Bridge train disaster
One of our customers got in touch to tell us about her personal connection to the Tay Bridge train disaster of 1879. Here is Linda Richart’s story:
‘I read with interest the article about the genealogy series Find My Past the TV show. My interest is with the Tay Bridge disaster episode.
My great grandfather, Francis James Chitty, was a commercial traveller and he was aboard the ill-fated train on that day, bound for a station beyond the Tay Bridge. At a station stop before the train crossed the Tay, however, he alighted to refill his flask. He emerged to see the train pulling out of the station, so he was spared from death. My grandmother was born in 1884 so I would not have been born if he had not refilled his flask!
We looked at one of the websites covering the disaster and noted that although 75 people were aboard the train, only 60 bodies were accounted for. We are left wondering whether the authorities ever established that my great grandfather was not on the train at the fateful moment, or whether they assumed he was one of the 15 missing bodies.’
Have any of you also discovered links to the Tay Bridge disaster?
My gg grandfather, a sailor, Peter Pollock from Dundee was celebrating his forthcoming wedding and was in an inebriated state when he purchased a ticket for the ill fated Tay Rail Disaster train. A guard at St Fort put him off the train and he was saved from death thankfully else I’d not have ever been born!
You’re not wrong, matey. There is a funny cut iewbtneen Frost and Blair. Who do you think is responsible. Is it the KGB? Maybe the same guy who poisoned that nice bloke from wherever it was.
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The Tay Bridge Disaster – A Hero from Sunderland.
Henry (Harry) Watts is a famous Diver hero from Sunderland who save 36 lives at sea and in rivers. Having at one time been a heavy drinker, Harry ‘saw the light’ and became a Christian and stopped drinking and became involved in the church. At the time of the Disaster, Harry went to the Tay Bridge with a recovery tean and worked for 3 weeks bring bodies from the river. Harry refused to be paid for this work as he felt that it was his ‘duty’ as a Christian to recover these people from the river and return them to their families.
Harry was not a stranger to tragedy. In 1883 there was a disaster in Sunderland which resulted in the loss of approx 150 children who died in the Victoria Hall Disaster when they were crushed to death, due to doors opening inwards instead of outwards – thus a change in the law regarding public buildings.
2 of the children who died were Harry’s niece and nephew named Pescod. He also helped to recover the bodies of the children from the Victoria Hall.
- WHAT A HERO !!!!!!!
Jacqueline and Catherine – fantastic stories! Thanks for sharing them with us.
Jess (findmypast.co.uk editor)
My Great Great Grandfather David McKay was the Harbour Master at Broughty Ferry on the night of the Tay bridge disaster and was involved in the rescue attempts. He was later presented with an ink stand made from pieces of the wreckage.
Hi Graeme,
My name is Liz Doyle and I run Customised Heritage Tours from Australia – see website for details, please.
I have a guest on my Scotland tour this July/August 2012 who is a living relative of yours, with David Mackay being the common ancestor and my guest’s relationship to David Mackay also being GG Grandfather.
I would love to know if you would be interested in meeting my guest while we are in Scotland? I have not passed this information on to her yet, as I would like to keep an element of surprise if possible and also don’t want to disappoint if you choose not to meet her.
Please contact me through my website, if you wish to pursue this we can work together to make it a special reunion! If you decide you do not wish to meet this lady, I would respect your privacy of course. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Best regards.
Hi Everyone…these are fascinating stories and I would love to quote them in a piece for a book I am putting together which will, hopefully, be published late next year.
I write railway history from ‘the people’s’ point of view whilst putting things into an historical context….and these are very ‘real people’ stories
Would love to hear more too….
Rosa, the book sounds interesting, how do I contact you?
asking about thorpe family on road show
How do you apply for the tv programme find my past?
Hi Leanne,
I’m afraid you can’t apply – we find our participants by tracing them from their ancestors who were involved in significant events in the past. If any of your ancestors were involved in a key event in history, we’d love to hear about them, so feel free to post your story here on our blog.
Many thanks,
Jess (findmypast.co.uk digital content manager)