On 16th December 1917, Lance Corporal Albert Marshall, of the 236th Army Troops Company Royal Engineers, and several other men in his regiment were accidentally killed or injured in Belgium.
They were in a lorry which was hit by a military train as it crossed a level crossing.
An Inquiry into the incident was conducted, but details were withheld from the newspapers of the time
The following witness statements are transcribed from Service Reports
I beg to report the following accident at about 7.30 am 16th instant (Borre engine 771) which was proceeding light (tender fast) from Cheapside to Reigersberg, collided with a Motor Lorry No. 2835 (?) belonging to 236th Army Troops Company at the Road Crossing B. 30.b.3.2. (Railway Cottage). The lorry was proceeding to the Canal. This lorry was loaded with troops of the 236th Army Troops Company Royal Engineers, who, when the collision occurred, were thrown out on to the ground and the following casualties instanced
Then followed a list of 3 dead and 15 injured soldiers
I was driving the Engine 771, tender first, on the morning of the 16th instant – Cheapside to Reigersberg. Thirty or forty yards from the level crossing in question, the Pilot Driver told me there was a level crossing. I closed my regulator at once and applied the brake, reducing speed to four or five miles per hour. The Fireman told me there was a lorry approaching the crossing. I was about to apply the brake when the Fireman told me the lorry had stopped, and to go ahead. I blew one long blast before I closed the regulator, and two long blasts afterwards. I then heard the engine hit something. Then I applied my brake and stopped the engine. I saw no one on the crossing
I was fireman on the engine 771, proceeding tender first, from Cheapside to Reigersberg on the morning of 16th instant.Prior to the accident I was keeping a look-out on my proper side when my engine was approaching this crossing in question, and about 100 yards away I saw a motor lorry coming up to the crossing and about 100 yards distance from it. I told the driver to slow up. He applied the brake, reducing speed from about 8 miles an hour to 4 or 5 miles an hour. I noticed the motor lorry had stopped, and I told my mate to go on. I turned my head in telling him, and when I looked out again, I saw the motor lorry had started to cross the line. I shouted to my mate to stop but it was too late. When I first saw the lorry, I told the engine driver, who had previously blown his whistle, to blow again which he did
I was on the engine (771) proceeding from Cheapside to Reigersberg on the morning of the 16th instant. I was looking out the same side as the fireman. When we were about 50 yards from the level crossing, I noticed a motor lorry coming along the road. The fireman shouted to the driver to sound his whistle. I saw the lorry driver put his hand on a lever, and the lorry stopped altogether. Almost immediately the lorry moved on again
On the morning of the 16th instant I was driving Halley Lorry 2835 from Reigersberg to Essex Farm. As I approached the crossing in question I did not stop but continued straight on, as I saw a man, who I took for a Traffic Control Man, waving me forward. Seeing this man, I paid no attention to the railway on either side. I heard no whistle. I am slightly deaf in my left ear which was the side from which the engine came
Summary of the inquiry findings (last page missing):
Further corroboration of the evidence of the lorry driver (Private A. Fawcett) is needed from two NCOs who were on the lorry in a position to see what occurred, but they have been evacuated because of their injuries.If his story is corroborated, he will be held free from blame. If not, then he is to blame
Page Ref: X630
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