Walter Robinson was born in Ovenden on 29th July 1875, the second child and only son of Walter Robinson.
In 1890, he was a mill hand.
In 1894, he was a lay preacher for the Halifax West Wesleyan circuit, and he became Sunday school teacher at Mount Zion Chapel.
In 1899, he married (1) Elizabeth, daughter of Anderson Cowling, a farmer at Illingworth.
Child: Frederick (Freddie) Alexander [1900-1901]
In 1901, Walter was working as a sewing machine agent.
In 1907, he married (2) Minnie Elizabeth Harrison [1879-1973] from Scarborough.
Minnie Elizabeth was the daughter of a railway porter and had herself worked at Halifax Railway Station
They lived at Temple Street, Halifax.
He was the conductor of the tram involved in the Pye Nest Tram Disaster of 15th October 1907.
He was hailed a hero. He stuck to his post, desperately trying to avert the catastrophe, shouting warnings and stopping passengers falling off. He was killed as part of the tram fell on him. Survivors later spoke of his calm command in a terrible situation.
Within a few days, a memorial fund had raised £25 9s. Of this, £19 13/8d was spent on a memorial, with £2 4/9d going to Mount Zion Chapel for preparing the vault, and £3 10/7d to Robinson's widow.
Members of the family were buried at Mount Zion Methodist Chapel, Ogden (Grave Ref: Oa6). The grave is on the western edge of the grounds of Mount Zion Chapel
Page Ref: WW_25
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