At 9.45pm on September 10 1874, two trains collided head-on at the village of Thorpe St Andrew, two miles east of Norwich. According to a press report of the time, a “ghastly pyramid formed of hissing locomotives, shattered carriages and moaning, in some cases dying, passengers”. Twenty-five people died and 75 were injured.
The disaster was big news. There was huge public interest, and the press followed the rescue, the inquiry, the funerals, the manslaughter trial and the compensation awards made.
On its 150th anniversary, the crash will be remembered with a series of events and the dedication of a memorial plaque at Thorpe St Andrew. Beyond the anniversary, the disaster can also help us understand which people British society chose to remember, then and now, and how difficult pasts might be addressed.
