Soham rail disaster
E774423
The Soham rail disaster was a 1944 World War II incident in Cambridgeshire, England, in which a burning ammunition train was heroically brought to a halt before exploding, saving the town from catastrophic destruction.
Statements (45)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
World War II incident
ⓘ
explosion ⓘ railway accident ⓘ |
| cargo |
bombs
ⓘ
explosives ⓘ |
| category |
World War II disasters in the United Kingdom
ⓘ
explosions in England ⓘ railway accidents and incidents in Cambridgeshire ⓘ railway accidents in 1944 ⓘ |
| cause | fire in a wagon carrying bombs ⓘ |
| commemoration |
annual remembrance in Soham
ⓘ
memorial plaque at Soham railway station ⓘ |
| country | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| crewMemberInjured | guard Herbert Clarke NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| crewMemberKilled |
driver Benjamin Gimbert
ⓘ
fireman James Nightall NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| damage |
Soham station destroyed
ⓘ
track and surrounding area severely damaged ⓘ |
| date | 2 June 1944 ⓘ |
| distanceFromStation | approximately 120 yards east of Soham station ⓘ |
| fatalities | 2 ⓘ |
| heroicAction | train crew uncoupled burning wagons and moved them away from the town ⓘ |
| honour |
George Cross awarded to driver Benjamin Gimbert
ⓘ
George Cross awarded to fireman James Nightall ⓘ |
| injuries | 1 ⓘ |
| location |
Cambridgeshire
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
England ⓘ Soham NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locomotiveClass | LNER Class B17 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locomotiveName | Doncaster Rovers NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locomotiveNumber | No. 6167 ⓘ |
| nearestCity | Ely NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notableFor | preventing catastrophic destruction of Soham ⓘ |
| numberOfWagons | 51 ⓘ |
| partOf | home front events in the United Kingdom during World War II ⓘ |
| potentialConsequence | destruction of Soham avoided ⓘ |
| railwayCompany | London and North Eastern Railway NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| railwayLine | Ely–Newmarket line NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| railwayStationAffected | Soham railway station NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| sequenceOfEvents |
explosion occurred just beyond Soham station
ⓘ
fire discovered in leading wagon of ammunition train ⓘ train crew attempted to move burning wagons away from Soham station ⓘ |
| trainType | ammunition train ⓘ |
| warContext | Second World War NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| year | 1944 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.