We know from the Railway Work, Life & Death project database that, on 11 November 1932, Southern Railway checker G Richardson was injured at Havant in Hampshire. As a wagon was shunted into the goods shed, Richardson lifted his arm to get a pencil from his pocket. He was too near the wagon, so was caught by it and carried into the goods shed door. The accident investigation noted the clearance between the door and rolling stock was limited. Richardson broke both his collar bones and his left arm, and injured his ribs.
Richardson’s accident: more questions than answers
So much, so good – or bad, for Richardson. But what about the rest of Richardson’s life? When did he join the railway? Did the accident leave a lasting impact? Had Richardson had any other accidents in his working life on the railway? Did he stay with the Southern Railway after the accident, or move on to another job?
Courtesy National Library of Scotland Maps.
And what about his life beyond work? Did Richardson have a family? Where did he live? What about hobbies or interests? Did he play any role in the civic life of Havant? And what was his first name?
We could ask many more questions, which would help us build a fuller picture of Richardson’s life. We’d need to look widely for answers, however. The records our project is making available all come from inside the railway industry. As a result, they focus on those aspects relevant to railway operation or the trade unions members who received support from their union. So how can we find out more about people in our database like Richardson?
We could do research by ourselves – often we do. But that is limited and limiting. We could barely scratch the surface of the 48,000 people currently in our database – and there are 10s of 1000s more people to come. We’d also end up missing sources – we’re familiar with plenty of material, but would probably end up ‘going with what we know.’ Much better for all if there might be another way of researching – ideally more collaboratively.
Introducing the Portsmouth Area Railway Pasts project
That’s where the Portsmouth Area Railway Pasts project comes in! For some time we’ve been establishing a relationship with the Havant Local History Group (HLHG). They’re local to project co-lead Mike Esbester, of the University of Portsmouth, and have particular expertise in researching the Havant area. They and we were keen to do something together – and now with the support of the University of Portsmouth’s Heritage Hub, that’s happening: the Portsmouth Area Railway Pasts project!
Courtesy Britain from Above.
Together we’ll explore the accidents and wider lives of a few of the railway staff from Portsmouth, Havant and surrounding areas who feature in the Railway Work, Life & Death project database. We want to put those workers and their accidents in the context of their family and community lives. It’ll help build a more rounded picture of the individuals, the communities and areas in which they lived, and how the railway fitted into the area.
We’ve included some of the people from the area who feature in the database on the map, below. We’ll probably look at a few of these people in our project, as well as others from the area who aren’t currently shown. As an example of the sorts of things that might be possible, this blog post about Frederick Potter is a helpful starting point. Hopefully we’ll be able to go further than this in our project, both for the individuals we look at and by virtue of the number of people we find out about, giving us a stronger impression of the railway in the local area.
Collaboration in action
On the project we’ll work together, through group meetings and individual research. We’ll start by agreeing our aims and objectives, including identifying individuals to look into and the sorts of things we might produce to share the research publicly. We’re making this project as co-creative and collaborative as possible, recognising and drawing on the expertise of all involved. That’s really important, as what we’re doing is as much about the principles of working collaboratively as it is about the research that we’re actually doing.
We’ll have research findings to share in 2025, and we’ll be producing materials that allow people to find out more about the lives of railway staff in the wider Portsmouth area. At the moment we’re thinking we might put together a travelling exhibit, some leaflets, some web-based content and (hopefully!) some interpretation posters to go into local stations. We’re going to work with our local Community Rail Partnership, ‘Hills to Harbour’ on this, and we’ll also contribute to public history in our area. Some of that will be the HLHG’s activities, like its Heritage Festival in September, and some will come through the University of Portsmouth’s Heritage Week, also in September.
Our project also be contributing to ‘Railway 200’, a nation-wide festival of rail taking place in 2025. It’s going to see lots of public history, and we’re keen to make sure our area and our project plays a part in it!
The HLHG was formed in the early 1980s, to capture the story of Havant and the area since 1857, especially after the extensive post-Second World War house building. They research all topics related to the area, many of which they publish as booklets. They meet nearly every month at The Spring Arts and Heritage Centre in central Havant, and run a Heritage Festival each September associated with the national Heritage Open Days.
Neil Spurgeon, of the HLHG, said: “the broad subject of “railways” has always been both a fascination and a subject of deep study for Havant Local History Group, who revel in the challenge of finding out more about the people who have lived, work and sometimes died in this quiet but interesting town in the past.” Between the HLHG’s local knowledge and research skills, and Mike’s railway research (particularly on accidents), this will be a really exciting way of putting collaboration in practice and finding out more about people in our area.
Next steps
We’re getting started at the moment. Our first meeting will agree what we’re going to do and how we’ll do it over the coming months. The project will run until July 2025, so keep an eye out for more in 2025. For now we’ve added a new page to the Railway Work, Life & Death project website, available here, and we’ll post updates there. Until then – on with the work!
Maybe it’s out of your date range but I myself had a railway accident in the Portsmouth area in 1980. In Fratton yard I slipped on the ladder whilst climbing down to track level from a driving cab in torrential rain at midnight, and fell onto the ballast, narrowly missing the conductor rail. The shunter called an ambulance and I was taken to St Mary’s Hospital for an x-ray. Luckily nothing broken but a very severe sprain and a lof of bruises – including my ego!