In the next county to me is the town of Soham, which might not still be around if it was not for the courage of a little group of railwaymen today, 2nd June in 1944.
An ammunition train was passing through the town in the early hours when one of the wagons caught fire. The engine driver, Ben Gimbert and his fireman James Nightall uncoupled the burning wagon from the rest of the train and started to haul it away, hoping to reach open countryside. However, they had only managed to get 100 yards along the track before the wagon exploded killing James and a signalman on duty in his box beside the track. Ben Gimbert was seriously injured, but survived.
Although the explosion destroyed the station, the men had moved it far enough along the track that it did not affect the rest of the ammunition train, which could then have destroyed the town.
When medals were awarded – one of them being the George Cross – the citation read, “The devotion to duty of these brave men saved the town from grave destruction”.
An ammunition train was passing through the town in the early hours when one of the wagons caught fire. The engine driver, Ben Gimbert and his fireman James Nightall uncoupled the burning wagon from the rest of the train and started to haul it away, hoping to reach open countryside. However, they had only managed to get 100 yards along the track before the wagon exploded killing James and a signalman on duty in his box beside the track. Ben Gimbert was seriously injured, but survived.
Although the explosion destroyed the station, the men had moved it far enough along the track that it did not affect the rest of the ammunition train, which could then have destroyed the town.
When medals were awarded – one of them being the George Cross – the citation read, “The devotion to duty of these brave men saved the town from grave destruction”.