The Quintinshill Rail disaster occurred - On this day in history

On 22 May 1915, the Quintinshill Rail Disaster took place, one of the worst train disasters in UK history. The accident, which involved five trains, claimed the lives of more than 220 people, including a battalion of Royal Scots heading for Gallipoli.

The incident happened near Gretna Green and occurred when a troop train carrying Royal Scots troops collided with a passenger train, which was then hit by an express train heading for Glasgow. The gas lighting in the troop train caused a huge fire which soon set alight two nearby goods trains and the two locomotives involved in the original accident.

The exact number of people killed was never discovered, as the list of troop names was lost in the fire. The bodies of four children were recovered from the wreckage but were never claimed. The bodies of the Royal Scots were buried together in a grave at Edinburgh's Rosebank Cemetery.

Further reading

The Quintinshill Conspiracy by Jack Richards & Adrian Searle