Tributes paid 100 years after disaster
ROYALTY, politicians, military veterans and relatives of the victims have marked the 100th anniversary of Britain’s worst rail disaster.
The Princess Royal and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon attended a service in Gretna on the Scottish-English border on the centenary of the Quintinshill rail crash.
At 6.50am on May 22, 1915, a train packed with First World War troops travelling from Larbert, Stirlingshire, collided with a local passenger service.
Straight afterwards, a Glasgow-bound express train smashed into the wreckage at the Quintinshill signal box, setting off a devastating fire which engulfed the troop train, packed with nearly 500 members of the Leith Battalion of the Royal Scots.
More than 200 soldiers and 12 civilians were killed and a further 246 people were injured.
The troops were on their way to Liverpool, where they were due to sail to the front line of the war in Gallipoli.
Princess Anne laid
a wreath beside the roll of honour monument, and a second wreath was laid on behalf of the Royal Scots regiment.
Scottish Secretary David Mundell was also at the service in his Dumfriesshire constituency yesterday.
He said: “A century on, the memory of the terrible disaster at Quintinshill still evokes strong emotions in the local community and across Scotland.”
Andrew Rennie, 66, who served with the Royal Scots for six years, said the commemorations were welcomed by servicemen and women as many people today are unaware of the Quintinshill disaster.
Mr Rennie, from Maybole in Ayrshire, said: “It’s because it was the British Rail ‘Titanic’.
“It was hidden because so many mistakes were made.
“It takes a parade like this for us to stand here today and bring it to the forefront and let everyone know that we appreciate what these guys did and where they were going.”