The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Elliot Rail Disaster memorial campaign moves a step forward
tribute: Stone donated by the Geddes Group will allow installation of lasting memorial to remember tragedy
A project to install a memorial at the site of a near-forgotten Angus rail disaster has taken a major step forward.
The donation of a memorial stone by the Geddes Group will create a lasting tribute to casualties of the Elliot rail disaster in Arbroath.
Tragedy struck at Elliot rail junction on December 28 1906 when the Edinburgh-bound North British Express careered into the back of a stationary Caledonian Railway train.
A total of 13 people were killed instantly but the death toll increased to 22, including Liberal MP Alexander William Black.
The move to install the memorial was instigated by Arbroath man Jim Millar, whose great-great uncle, Dev Cargill, rushed to the crash site to help the injured.
Working in the ice and snow next to a boiling engine caused the talented Arbroath FC player to contract a chill, which later cost him his life.
Mr Millar said: “The project has attracted a considerable amount of interest, and this extremely generous donation by Frank Geddes brings us considerably closer to achieving our aim.
“I am very grateful to the Geddes Group and Councillor David Lumgair who liaised with Mr Geddes about the memorial.
“We have already been promised a suitable base, and have discussed potential sites with council officers.
“Now we have a memorial stone, we can look at suitable wording for a plaque and start the process to apply for the necessary permissions.”
Mr Millar’s great-great uncle ran from his home in South Street to Elliot junction when word reached the town of the devastating rail disaster.
The rescue effort meant Dev was working among ice as well as a boiling hot train.
He caught a serious chill and he died shortly afterwards aged just 32.
The star footballer played both back and half-back and was described as an “invincible tackler” who “regards nothing as impossible”.
Dev played during one of Arbroath’s greatest seasons in 1898-1899 when the club won the Forfarshire Cup and narrowly lost out on the Dewar Shield, both big trophies in their day.
An early supporter of the campaign was Arbroath Independent councillor David Fairweather, who said it was “astonishing that a tragedy of this scale has no memorial”.
He added: “The intervention of Councillor Lumgair and the generosity of Mr Geddes means that achieving an appropriate tribute is closer than ever before.”
Now we have a memorial stone, we can look at suitable wording for a plaque and start the process to apply for the necessary permissions. JIM MILLAR