Leith's 'darkest dawn' remembered 110 years on - the rail disaster that killed more than 200 Royal Scots

More than 200 soldiers from Leith and the surrounding area were killed as as they set off from Scotland for war. They never made it to the battlefield.

At the Drill Hall in Dalmeny Street in Leith, the rail disaster that killed more than 200 Royal Scots as they set off for war is still sharply felt 110 years on.

An exhibition to mark the anniversary of the tragedy on Saturday, May 22, 1915 is now open in the building where the 7th (Leith) Battalion of the regiment set off for Gallipoli. Just a few days after the troops left, the Drill Hall became the makeshift mortuary when the bodies of men came home.

Funeral of 100 soldiers from the 7th Battalion (Leith) Royal Scots who died in the Gretna Green rail disaster on May 24 1915. A new exhibition on the tragedy and the men who lost their lives has opened at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall in Dalmeny Street, where the battalion was based. PIC: Royal Scots Regimental Museum | Royal Scots Regimental Museum

The tragedy hit Leith hard. The funeral procession extended beyond a mile as it made its way from the hall to Rosebank Cemetery, where a shared trench was the final resting place for more than 100 men. Then , it was the largest funeral in living memory to bring Leith to a standstill.

The scene near Quintinshill signal box, just north of Gretna Green, immediately after the crash. PIC: Royal Scots Regimental Museum. | Royal Scots Regimental Museum

The servicemen died after their Liverpool-bound troop train from Larbert smashed into a stationary wagon at Quintinshill, just north of Gretna Green, at 6.49am. Most of the soldiers are likely to have been sleeping at the time that Britain’s worst rail disaster unfolded in devastating style around them.

As fire raced through the wooden carriages, which were laden with oil lamps and gas fittings, the disaster was compounded when a northbound train to Glasgow smashed into the burning wreckage.

Of 498 soldiers on board, 216 of them were killed that morning, far from the battlefields for which they had trained.

“They never even made it across the Border,” said Colonel Martin Gibson, of the Royal Scots Regimental Museum.

The disaster left an “indelible scar” on the close-knit Leith and Musselburgh communities, with several families losing both fathers and sons, he added.

At Dalmeny Street today, descendants of those who died have been among those who have visited the exhibition, part of the community outreach programme put together by the Royal Scots Regimental Museum at Edinburgh Castle.

Men of the 7th Battalion of the Royal Scots in the trenches at Gallipoli in the months after the train crash near Gretna Green which killed more than 200 soldiers from the regiment. PIC: Royal Scots Regimental Museum. | Royal Scots Regimental Museum

One visitor this week was searching for information on her great, great uncle, who was on the train to Liverpool, but whose remains were never found.

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The precise number of dead was long disputed because the roll of the regiment was destroyed in the fire, a fire so intense that 82 bodies were unidentifiable.

The battalion was recruited from the docks and grain stores of Leith, with a number of families in Musselburgh, Portobello and parts of West Lothian also dreadfully impacted.

Scottish Veterans Commissioner Susie Hamilton with Captain Robin Bell of the Royal Scots. His father, Sergeant Ian Bell, survived the crash. PIC: Contributed. | Contributed

Colonel Robert Watson, of the Royal Scots, said: “It was a very local battalion, it drew its officers and its soldiers from Leith , Portobello and Musselburgh. They were very much a family affair.

“Many fathers and sons and many had been in the battalion for ten, 12, 15 years before the war came. They were very close.”

Brothers Corporal James Sime and Private Robert Hill Sime both died in the crash. They were among at least seven sets of brothers who were killed, it is understood.

Their father, Sergeant Robert Sime, who lived at 40 Dalmeny Street, went on to become the caretaker of the Drill Hall following his discharge.

The senselessness of the solders dying on home turf was compounded by the fact the tragedy may never have happened if the transport ship they were due to embark on Liverpool had never grounded, with the rail journey south postponed as a result.

Captain Robin Bell, who served in the Royal Scots, is the son of Lieutenant Ian Bell, who survived the crash, said: “When war broke out, he and all the other officers volunteered for overseas service. They went to Larbert at 8.30pm on May 19 for the train and they learned the train had been cancelled.

“This was because the troop ship had gone aground in the Mersey. If that had not happened, the 7th would have travelled on another day and would no doubt have reached the war quite safely.”

Mr Bell said his father survived after turning down an invite to join a game of bridge in the next rail compartment. He didn’t much like the game, Mr Bell recalled.

Sergeant Bell stayed put and he and his two friends made it out of the crash. He went on to complete tours of Gallipoli and Palestine. Tragically, all those playing bridge were killed.

Mr Bell added: “Later that morning, there was a sad roll call and only five out of my father’s platoon of 45 answered their name.”

Lieutenant -Colonel Peebles, the officer leading the battalion, was interviewed by a reporter for The Scotsman at the County Hotel in Carlisle in the aftermath of the disaster.

“How it occurred, I do not know,” he said. “All I know is that the men had little or no chance to save themselves.”

The officer added: “The first collision derailed our train and the second, which followed immediately, wrought the greatest destruction. It was an awful scene.

“But the men bore their terrible trials with grand spirit and fortitude. Every man who was uninjured did his best to help the others.”

According to National Archives, one of the causes of the crash can be attributed to the poor working practices of the two signalmen working on this line.

An article said: “”James Tinsley was due to start his day shift at 6am, but was in the habit of using the local train to reach Quintinshill, saving him a 1.5-mile walk.

“This meant, however, that he would arrive 30 minutes late for his shift. George Meakin, working the night shift, would cover for him by writing down train movements on a piece of paper, which Tinsley would later copy into the train register as if he had been there all along.”

Susie Hamilton, Scottish Veterans Commissioner, said: “This exhibition, commemorating the country’s worst-ever rail disaster 110 years ago, honours the young men who lost their lives while on their way to serve their country. It speaks to the heartbreak endured by local families and preserves the memory of a deeply poignant chapter in our nation’s history - one that must never be forgotten.”

The Royal Scots Regimental Museum will host the exhibition, GRETNA 110 at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall, Dalmeny Street every day until Saturday, from 10am to 4.30pm.