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History

New Objects on Display

By News

While the Museum was closed a couple of new items were added to the displays by our Vice Chairman Graham and our Secretary Neil these items are a Gretna Green sign which is above our Quintinshill display and a signal box which is placed on the wall before you enter the café showing the train routes for Quintinshill.

Signal Box

The Quintinshill rail disaster is the worst rail disaster in British history. It involved five trains and caused the deaths of over 229 soldiers. The crash was caused when a local train had been temporarily placed on the southbound mainline in the direct path of a troop train. at 6:55am, 21 carriages full of soldiers hurtled headlong into the stationary train.

Gretna Green sign at the Devils Porridge

The collision was so violent that the train, which had been 195 meters long, was compressed to just 61 meters. Minutes later with debris scattered all over the tracks the Northbound express from London approached Quintinshill. Weighing over 600 tonnes and travelling at full speed, it was powerless to stop and ploughed straight into the wreckage. The crash could be heard miles away. Within seconds a fire broke out and engulfed all three engines, of the 500 troops on board, fewer than 60 made it to roll-call the next day.

Agnes Helen Webster

Agnes Helen Webster – Gretna Girls

By Collections blog

Agnes Helen Webster was born on 2nd March 1899 at Burnfoot, Biel Estate, East Lothian. Her father was a gamekeeper on the estate. Agnes was one of a family of four girls and one boy.

 

Agnes attended school at Stenton where she had seven years perfect attendance. Her father the dies when she was 12 years old and her family would have to leave their cottage at Burnfoot.

 

Agnes would probably enter domestic serve until she went to Gretna. The working conditions would be in stark contrast to her rural upbringing and with running water on the floor to prevent sparks, and being exposed to highly toxic and dangerous chemicals, life at Gretna was quite harsh.

 

She returned to domestic service at the end of the war and in 1930 met and married Robert Bathgate Denholm from North Berwick. He was  a master cabinet maker and joiner and an accomplished amateur golfer who represented Scotland on numerous occasions. They had a family of four boys.

 

Agnes died in 1964 having suffered from cancer for many years.

 

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