THE HONGKONG A TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JULY
WELWYN DISASTERlings were severed. Then, of
INVESTIGATED
WITNESSES TELL OF
TERRIBLE SCENE
After preliminary evidence had been given at the Ministry of Transport inquiry at. Welwyn into the Wolwyn train disaster in which fourteen people lost their lives, Colonel A. H. L. Mount, who con- ducted the inquiry, announced that the remainder of the evidence would be heard in private.
screw couplings the being broken, the car.
rlages were free to move in any direction.
"We have a few carriages run- ning with steel bodies. I think that if the last carriage of the first train had been constructed in that way it would have concertinated far more readily." Mr. Gresley added that with the buck-eye coupling the ex-whole of the shock was taken on very large Indiarubber springs. Undoubtedly these heavy rubber buffers absorbed a great deal of the shock.
telephone to the local telephone change and asked them to call out ambulances and assistance."
Commenting on the number of ambulancas, doctors, nurses, police, and other volunteers who were soon "I do
WRECKED COACH CROWDED on the spot, he remarked: not think it can be said that there
A vivid description of what hap- was any shortage of special assis He said that the Inquiry was Instanco. A special ambulance train pened inside the coaches when the no way a court for the determina- was arranged at King's Cross, an crash occurred was given by Mr. tion of legal responsibility of any S.0.S. was sent to the Royal Free George Turner, district foreman of kind. The object of hearing any Hospital which promptly sent down the carriage and waggon depart- at Peterborough, ovidence in private would be to doctors and nurses, and this trainment, stationed
who was travelling in the fourth obtain the frankest statement pos-arrived at about 1.14 a.m. sible from those concerned if they With regard to the light avail-coach from the end in the firet were feeling apprehensive that they able, the station electric lights were train. - might be prejudiced in any subse- on and the lights of some of the quent Inquiry that might take coaches were burning. Emergency place.
lamps were taken from the trains. Before the inquiry
opened There were twenty station band- Colonel Mount and officials made a lamps made use of, and the helpers close inspection of the scene of the who came the police and the fire crash, and also visited the ignal- brigade-made full use of their box at the north end of the staffon. own electric apparatus.
Emphasising, In opening the in- quiry, that it would deal primarily with the technical aspect of the
Leslie Howard, English stage and wereon star, and New York favourite, is getting his daugh ter also named Leslie, started In her dramatic career early. They're shown after her debut. made in a role opposite har father in broadcast drama.
disaster, Colonel Mount asked if there was kas on the train, and was told that there was.
at
Colonel Mount: Has there been any suggestion that there has been insufficient light?--It has been sug gested. Mr. Barrington Ward add- ed that the men with flares got to the scene as soon as possible.
stationmaster nt
"I got a bump in the back, and we sort of bumped together," said Turner. "The first cry in the conch was for water and brandy for the people who had fainted. In the overturned conch there were about thirty people when we had a roll
call."
Colonel Mount: Have you any idea of the speed of the train?-- A little more than ten miles an hour.
Colonel Mount: You did not The first witness was Mr. F. I happen to notlee how many passet- Hodgson, the Welwyn Garden City, who explainedgers were in the last vehicle?-It was full, otherwise I should have taken a sent in H.
that the first ambulance went away from the scene at 11.45. The majority of the deaths appeared to have occurred in the rear coach of the first train, and the majority of the injuries in the third conch of the second train.
Colonel Mount: Did you have any trouble with light? No. The difficulty was that there was a rain- storm and it was occasionally dark in the station. I think the light was adequate.
NO TELESCOPING
"And you would not have been here now," observed Mr. Gresley. That carriage had three compart- ments, and they were completely smashed. It all points to the fact that practically all the people were killed in that coach. possibly have survived."
No one could
and applied the brake. He had passed through Hatfield at a speed
R. E. Morris, the driver of the second half of the Newcastle train, said that he did not have any signal checks until be reached Welwyn Garden City. When approaching Welwyn he saw the distant signal Mr. H. N. Gresley, chief mechani-was at danger and he shut off steam cal engineer, gave evidence of the damage to the trains. The first train, the 10.53 from King's Cross, of 65 to 70 milles an hour and sight- consisted of an Atlantic-type engine ed the distant signal at roughly and eleven coaches, and the conches 400 yards. were entirely of modern stock with heavy steel underframes, he said. The last coach in the train-the van -bore the whole brunt of the im- Dict. It was "concertinated." The next carringe-the last but one went on with the rest of the train, but the impact caused it to lose its bogies and the carriage fell over on one side. The front end still when you saw the starting signal remained coupled to the next vehiclear? About three hundred yards cle, the third coach, which was held | away,
He gave a long whistle when ap proaching the distant signal, which he passed at warning. He observed the home signal at clear when he was about two hundred yards from it and he whistled again in ncknow. ledgment. He niso observed the starting signal at clear.
Colonel Mount: Where were you
up almost on its skie, and was drug- What speed were you travelling ged forward about 120 yards. at when you passed through the station? should say when the collision occurred I was travelling at twenty-five miles an hour.
"The remarkable thing is that notwithstanding this tremendous ahock the buck-eye coupler held firm
PACIFLIC
| GroRGE
LAND.
OCEAN
**** ROUTS OF THE WHAT? SARP 3000 NOLES
ALSWORTH
AOI
JEA
BRER KNOWN LAND
SOUTH POLE
12, 1935.
CAPE HORN
DECEPTION 13
"DIMOTE 15"
WEDDELL
NEA
MARTHA
A bard of African buffalo in full flight before the plane of Mr. and Mrs.Martin Johnson, whose latest film. "Baboona.” comes to the King's Theatre soon.
* SHOWS
TAKE ANY TRAN OR PAPPY VALLEY BUM.
ENDENRY
LAND
BULV
PLAKISING
N
WAN CONJECTURED LAND
This map shows the region that Lincoln Ellsworth, notad ex- plorer, shown in inest, hopes to explore in the Antarctic from the air next fall. Ninety per cent. of the continent, as large as Europe and Australia combined. has never been explored. The solid line,
above, indicates the roots of the projected flight and the dotted line represents the route of the expedition's supply ship, the Wyatt Earp.
Sir Hubert Wilkins, Australian explorer, will accompany Ellsworth, who has made two other expeditions to the Antarctic. Two Canadian Mers, Hollick-Kanyon and Lymburner, will be eblaf piloti.
Graduating, exercises were held on May 4 at the Wuhu General Hopital School of Nursing, when four graudates received their diplomas from Mr. Irene Chu Shih, superintendent of nurses. Dr. Robert E. Brown, superintendent of the Hospital, welcomed many guests and introduced the 'speakers.
SOCIALISATION
OF MEDICINE
"PRO'S AND CONS”
NEW YORK
the state," Dr. Bierring said.
Joseph Glenn, the fireman, satıl and kept this carriage from falling that he noticed the Welwyn Garden right over on its side," said Mr. City distant signal at danger, and Gresley. "I am told that in that the driver noticed it too, and shut Ward, particular carriage nobody was kill-off steam and applied the brakes. Mr. V. M. Barrington superintendent of the western sec-ed, and the passengers were able to reducing the speed, which had been tion of the London and North East get out of the doors nearly facing 65 to 70 m.p.h., to about 20 m.p.h. There was no telescop- When the home signal came into ern Rallway, said that on the right to the sky. of the disaster there were three ing whatever. Beyond these two view he saw that it was off. When trains running. "First, the 10.46 carriages there was no damage to they were about one hundred yards down, an express which left King's the rest of the train. This was from the starting signal they were Cross and carried passengers for entirely due to the heavy steel run into from the roar.
frames and buckeye couplers. If
A young porter at Welwyn Gar- Newcastle direct. Following 10.53 was a second part of this the last van had been made of steel den City Station, A. J. Perry, Baid train, which was in fact a special Panels instead of teak panels it that the first train looked as though and conveyed passengers to Newcould not possibly have withstood it had been checked and was going What has the shock, because the steel panels slowly. "I was astonished to see castle is the parcels trala are thin and would have crumpled this other train in the same fece tion," he said, “and I dropped the left King's Cross at 10.68-five up."
The 10.68 train consisted of an hamper which I was carrying and minutes behind the second portion. This third train-the passenger and engine and eleven vehicles, but it ran to Mr. Hodgson, the station parcels train overran the second was not entirely composed of mod- master, straight away."
ern stock. The first three conches lie estimated the second train's portion of the 10.46. at Welwyn were modern vehicles with heavy speed as being between 85 and 40/ Bierring of Des Moines, Iowa, and hearty support" of a proposed
via the
Garden City.
steel underframes and buckeye miles an hour. That train usually couplers. The first two were seems to go faster than any other most undamaged, and the third was-I don't know why," added Per- damaged at the rear end. There ry.
NO LACK OF HELP "According to the stationmaster, "the accident occurred at or about 11.28. At 11.29-a minute after the collisiona taxi-driver who was standing outside Welwyn Garden "Every vehicle coupled together At the close of the evidence of City Station saw what happened with buck-eye couplings remained this witness the court sat in pri- and gave an emergency call on the coupled," he said, "On the vehicles vate.
were three brake vans, gas-lighted, Colonel Mount: You think it la and these were wrecked. They had one of the fastest trains you sco?--- wooden underframes.
Ycs.
"Care for the individual at the expense of the state, except for communicable diseases, is an un- justifiable encroachment upon In- dividual liberty, undermining ini- IN tlative, and having a subvereive Influence tending, toward pauperi- sation. Albany, N.Y., July 1. "The state owes the citizens Socialisation of medicine and all education, leadership toward per- forms of compulsory sickness in-sonal health, and protection against surance are opposed by the House community influence beyond the of Delegates representing 18,000 control of the Individunt.
The Women's Medical Society members of the Medical Society transmitted to the House of Dele- The President-elect Mr. Frederic gates a resolution extending to of the State of New York E. Sondern, and Dr. Walter L state medical society "unanimous president of the American Medical birth control resolution that Association assailed socialisation special committee be appointed by of medicine.
American the delegates of the "Illness which does not menace Medical Association "to study the the community should be the con- prablems surrounding human re- cern of the individual and not of production."-United Presn.
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A scene reminiscent of homeside garden parties was presented at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Essen Gale when the American Women's Club held their annual garden party in Shanghal. The wanthar was, he perfect for the event and the beautiful ́grounds looked their best, with a large attendance of members- and friends making the most of the social event.
A disagreement that caused the breaking of their engagemmat t was quickly patched aw and T. Campbell Black, so-winner last your of the Eéglindata«M«Ikomikse üle vase, and Misa Florenes Desmond actress, ware married.resently in St. Famulchurch, Londen. They are shown hers' Just, bafors they departed, on a Kyläg·honeymoon.
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