Lewisham tragedy

WE ALL know how fast time passes, but I wonder if anyone else will take time to remember the horrific Lewisham train crash on a foggy South London night in December 1957, 60 years ago this week.

I worked at Sainsbury’s head office in those days and was so pleased that we were allowed to leave work early that night.

When I arrived at Waterloo East, I was glad to hear that a Hayes train was approaching.

Hoping to find a seat, I ran up the platform and almost fell into a carriage. It was standing room only, but I was happy to be able to squeeze in.

Little did I know that in a few minutes our coach would be lying on its side after a steam train careered into the back of us, bringing down a bridge that crossed the line.

We had no idea what had happened as the fog was so thick. Those of us who were uninjured made our way along the line and eventually climbed down the embankment into someone’s garden and walked the rest of the way home to Hayes.

Gradually, the radio relayed the news of what happened; 90 people died and well over a hundred were injured, surely one of the worst crashes ever. It seems this disaster has hardly been mentioned and I feel those poor people should be remembered.

How would today’s generation have reacted? Let’s hope the question never arises. mArgAret singleton,

london se.