by It is 60 years ago that the residents of Stockport could only watch in horror as tragedy unfolded before their eyes. But what they did next was unusual.
On the morning of May 28, 1964, a train carrying more than 230 children plowed into a bridge in Cheadle Hulme. A train load of school children and their teachers were traveling from Gnosall in Staffordshire for a day out at Minster York.
At around 9.40am, the speeding train reached Cheadle Hulme Station when one of the carriages began to rock from side to side. Reports from an eye witness said that the errantly moving carriage then went on its side with a deafening crash.
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He was dragged forward by the train and then the carriages collapsed behind him, smashing into the bridge over Station Road and destroying the platform. People could only look on in horror at the carnage left on the tracks in front of them.
The IS Stockport Advertiser he reported at the time how Cheadle Hulme had become a ‘village of horror… and heroism’ as people rushed to help injured children. Adding: “There was a loud grinding noise, then a terrifying roar.
“It reached a terrifying commotion in the splintering woodwork and tearing metal… then there was silence. Tragedy struck the beleaguered Station Road.”
The IS Manchester Evening News reported that there were “sandwiches, sweets, and sweets, scattered among the tangled tracks” – the belongings of the children on board. Children and teachers who were badly injured were caught inside the carriages, or thrown onto the tracks from one of the carriages that had fallen on its side.
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The tragedy took three lives. Eight-year-old Christine Heffernan and 12-year-old Lewis Stevens, along with Mr M Pedley – a railway representative from Burton-on-Trent who was traveling with the party – were all killed, and many others were injured.
But it is surprising that more people were not killed in the catastrophic accident. One railway official said: “This is no miracle. When you look at the damage to the carriages it is hard to believe that so many got away unscathed.”
In the station there was a completely destructive scene, with five wrecked carriages tilted at crazy angles, part of the bridge was demolished and the station platform was completely broken. Many eyewitnesses were reported to be “weeping openly” watching the scenes after the crash. But a large number of people ran straight into the twisted metal and rubble to help them.
Mr Donald Pimlott, butcher, of Swann Lane, Cheadle Hulme, reported coming to the rescue of a 10-year-old girl who was badly injured. She said to him: “Am I dreaming – I must be dreaming.”
Mr Pimlott said: “She was very conscious. I spoke to her to comfort her.”
It was reported that thousands of women climbed up the steep embankment to the scene of destruction, and tore their clothes to attend to the injured. Others brought tea to the struggling rescue workers who quickly arrived on the scene.
Amid the horror and terror there were remarkable acts of bravery and decency. One nine-year-old boy who was seriously injured while traveling on the train was John ‘Tich’ Gibson.
He was trapped in an overturned coach for an hour – and an ambulance man described him as “the bravest kid I’ve ever seen”. Trapped between a rail and a belt with his head resting on a sleeper, the nine-year-old’s courage amazed his rescuers.
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He spoke to firefighters and doctors as they fought to free him and “they didn’t complain once”. He was finally freed and taken to hospital with horrific injuries which resulted in the amputation of his arm – but miraculously he survived.
Mary Tiernan was another incredible story. The nine-year-old was in a coma, critically injured with head wounds as well as broken bones and burns at Manchester Royal Infirmary.
Reporters nicknamed her ‘Sleeping Beauty’, and she recovered three months later in hospital. Her first words were ‘My father is there.’ She made a full recovery.
Those who were not injured were reportedly taken to the nearby Methodist Hall, where they sat in quiet groups while local women and social workers made tea. Many of the children cried and others were “lying and shaking with nerves” in the hands of the teachers.
Many of the teachers were injured themselves with “torn clothes and hidden faces” but they played songs to calm the children such as ‘Ten Green Bottles’ and gave out pop music and cakes.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News on the 50th anniversary of the crash in 2014, Frank Stringer, then 24, was a driver with Cheshire County Ambulance service and was discharging a patient at Cheadle Royal Infirmary when he was called to the station.
He saw the aftermath of the horror. He told the FIRs: “My job when I arrived at the scene was to take the injured to Stockport Hospital on South Wellington Road.
“I took two casualties and then returned to the scene where I was instructed to go to a nearby school hall and play the piano to entertain the injured children. Fortunately, there was a reporter there named Brian Trueman could be playing so I was relieved of my duties then I helped clear the track and search for more casualties.”
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Frank, a grandfather from Heald Green, later became a police officer at Manchester Airport. He continued: “When I got the first call, I think my adrenaline was racing. I was just there to do my job.
“I think the sight affected some of the older ambulance men. It’s a day to remember.”
Adding: “It was a great day for Cheadle Hulme and the whole community that pulled together.”
And it was the emergency services that Frank was part of that were praised for their immediate action. In Stockport Hospital, doctors remained at work to carry out emergency operations and rest centers were set up around the disaster site for the children who escaped without physical injury, while the search of the wreck continued for trapped survivors.
British Rail officials also thanked all the people living near the line who helped with first aid and the organization of rest centers while providing refreshments for the professional rescue teams. As Frank said, it was in those moments of horror that drew people together.
An investigation by the Ministry of Transport found that the accident was caused by driver error while driving the train at excessive speed.
