From the details in the photo album I can be certain that this photo album once belonged to David John Saer who was the Headmaster at the Alexander Rd Council School in Aberystwyth.
He was born in 1868 in Ciffig nr Whitland Carmarthenshire Wales. On the 1911 census this is spelt Kiffig. His mother Anne was also from Ciffig b 1846 and his father James b 1846 was a Police Constable from St Clears Carmarthen. He had two brothers John Saer b1869 in Carmarthen and William Rees Saer b1877 in Llanelli Carmarthen.
David married Mary Howell in 1896
The 1911 census indicates they had had 3 children 1 had died. The 2 girls were Hywela Annie born 1901 and Gwenllian Margaret b 1905
David John Saer was one of 3 Headteachers at the Alexander Rd Council School in Aberystwyth. According to the Ceredigion County Council the school had one for the boys (which was David) one for Girls and one for infants. Alexandra Road School was built in 1874 for 600 children aged 5-14
In 1910 a new block was built for 240 more boys with a manual room for 20 boys and a new class room for 40 girls with a cookery centre.
David taught at the school for 33 years and left behind a legacy in the form of a no of publications inc The Bilingual Problem … a study based upon Experiments and observations in Wales , Find on Pendinas and Inquiry into effect of bilingualism upon the intelligence of young children. There are many more.
His daughter Hywela obviously followed in the same path and became an Education Lecturer, UCW . She also published books including Modern language teaching in smaller secondary schools,
Modern language teaching in Wales, Note on Dr. Johnson.
Mr Saer was a regular visitor to Llanelli so perhaps hewas aboard the train on this day or the news travelled so quickly that he rushed to the scene to take this photo?
From the Welsh Newspapers Online newspapers.library.wales/home
THE LLANELLY RAILWAY WRECKI Thrilling Stories of the Disaster. LIST OF THE KILLED AND INJURED. The cause of the Breakdown.EXPLODED. H0R3E AND CART THEORY The tale of the dead in the Llanelly railway wreck, concerning which so many conflicting statements were current yesterday afternoon, appears, so far as the official reports to hand this morning show, to be limited to the number which, in our second Pink edition last night, we said would probably cover that side of the catastrophe. On the other hand, the number of injured has increased from the highest figure which we gave yesterday (viz., forty) to fifty. Very little more is known as to the cause of the accident. The horse and cart incident which was reported to us yesterday afternoon appears to have been with- out foundation, and the only suggestion yet made to account for the smash-up is that the banker engine was too light and unfitted for the speed at which the second engine was taking the train. At any rate, whatever the immediate cause the acciident has to be attributed to a mechanical breakdown.
The train which met with the disaster was the morning mail express from New Milford to Paddington, which was drawn by two engines at the time. The express reached Llanelly all right, but just as it was nearing Loughor at a high rate of speed the leading engine seems to have left the rails. By the impact this engine banker was smashed, two of the leading coaches were overturned and tumbled over the embankment, and two coaches were telescoped and reduced to matchwood. The driver of the banker engine was cut in two and killed instantly, the fireman succumbing to his injuries later, and two passengers also were killed, whilst the permanent way was torn up for a considerable distance and traffic interrupted.
Heartrending scenes were witnessed. I INTERVIEWS with PASSENGERS I Graphic Stories Told of the Disaster. By the same train which conveyed the injured to Swansea arrived several Swansea gentlemen who had been in the train to which the accident had occurred. These included Mr. Francis, butcher, a. well-known tradesman; and Mr. Haydn Evans, coal merchant. Mr. Francis was somewhat injured, and showed signs of blood on his body. Mr. Evans said he came up from Llanelly by the train. It was very crowded. He was in a second-class carriage, with his back to the engine, and there happened to be only four persons in the carriage. The train, which had two engines on, had, apparently, reached its top speed-it must have been going 50 miles an hour-when suddenly there came a tremendous. check to the speed. It was as if the train had left the rails, and was ploughing over obstacles on the side of the track. It must have gone 50 yards in the second or two it took to stop. He was pitched violently to the other side of the carriage, and, naturally, lost his head a bit. He never realised what had happened, but the carriage did not turn over like some of the others. As soon as he could he got out, and he should never forget the scene which met his gaze. The cries of the, injured and the yells I of others endeavoring to direct the rescue work were confusing. When the injured were got out it was a sickening sight. There were people with feet and legs, apparently, half off; others had deep gashes in their heads; and one man had a, ear hanging almost off. There were a few splendid fellows in the train. In particular Mr. Evans admired the conduct of two of the soldiers. They did splendid work in smashing doors to l get at the injured, and they evidently I had had good experience of ambulance work. They got down doors and lifted I people from the tops of the carriages. There was a doctor present whom Mr. Evans did not L-now-a. traveller by the train. He rendered splendid help, cutting up towels and all sorts of garments for bandages, and altogether did wonders in an emergency; but it was an awful wait. Aid seemed terribly slow in arriving. He (the narrator) was on the spot, surrounded by agonizing scenes, for quite an hour before they got the engine away.
Dr. Abel David, Gowerton, was the first local doctor to arrive. Mrs. Williams, of Loughor, came immediately to the train, and assisted greatly in the relief work. The train was in an awful state. Three or four carriages seemed to be overturned. The second engine kept to the road, but not the rails. It seemed so far as Mr. Evans could judge to have jumped the line. Mr. Evans escaped with a severe shaking, but he, naturally, appeared to be highly nervous and I excited.
Colonel’s Story. I Colonel Graines, of Tenby, who was travel- ling with his daughter, was one of the passengers in the third carriage of the train. He described his first sensations in the accident thus: Everything was being shaken up like a pea in a drum. Things were falling off the tracks, people were staggering about. The glass in the windows all smashed, and then after a big jerk the carriage suddenly became still. We found we had run on to a slag heap at the side of the line. The first two carriages were toppled over on the engines. Someone opened the door from outside, then we got out into a. scene of the greatest I confusion. Some things were very pitiful. There was a poor girl wandering from carriage to carriage asking, Where’s my dada; where’s my dada?" I and the other people who had been in the same carriage knew that her father was mortally injured, but we could not tell her, and some of the ladies looked after her. She was afterwards taken to Landore by a. man who had two of his own children with him. I very much admired the gallant conduct of some gunners of the Field Artillery who had been riding in the train. Aa soon as the accident occurred they rushed to the assistance of the officials, and were of the greatest service in extricating and attending to the wounded. Do you know what was the cause of the accident?No, I do not, but it is a well- known fact that with two engines to a train one is liable to jump the line. The colonel concluded with a. tribute to the railway officials near the accident for the promptitude with which they dealt with it. He was told that one survivor had suggested I that the company might have sent the relief I train earlier. The company did all they could," he said. "They sent the train as soon as it I was possible to do so."
Cardiff Man’s Thrilling Story. I Mr. James Turner, of 12. Corporation-road. Cardiff, was one of the passengers in the m-I fated, train when he reached Cardiff r gave one of our representatives a graphic I description of his experiences. He said: "I was in the fourth carriage from the engine, and we left Llanelly soon after one. Within half a mile of Loughor Station I suddenly felt the carriage give a jump. This was followed by a bigger. jump. Up I sprang from the seat, and said, ‘By Jove, there’a. a collision.’ Then I felt the carriage was shutting up like a concertina, and with that sprang to the. side and jumped clean through the window and fell about twelve or fourteen feet. As soon as I looked up I saw the carriage go over the line and rush down over the embankment. I got up and heard a terrible yell, ‘For God’s sake, help me.’ Looking round I saw a gentleman. who was afterwards recognized as the Rev. J. E. Phillips, of Pontygwaith, lying under a beam. He had his thigh broken. I caught him by the collar and dragged him out, and thus saved him from immediate, death, for directly afterwards the carriage in which be traveled collapsed. "I got away the best I could, and made the rev. gentleman as comfortable as possible, and he then collapsed. I found that he had also received a severe blow on the head. "During this time there was a dead silence, and those who escaped seemed thoroughly cool. The execution was horrible, and what with those killed and injured the scenes were most heartrending. "No one can conceive," Mr. Turner ex- claimed, "the state the wreckage was in- some of it one side, some of it another. The whole line was blocked, and the line was ripped up for about 150 yards. There were a number of poor fellows under the wreckage- it was a crowded train and I saw the engine- driver lying dead, with his body jammed in the remains of the engine."
Scene Baffled Description. I A thrilling account of the accident was given by Mr. Richard Smith, who was on his way from Pembroke Dock to Wednesbury, in Staffordshire. Mr. Smith has served five year& on the pay-staff in South Africa, and has only recently returned to this country. Since his return he has been staying at Pembroke Dock, where his wife is now residing, and, being granted leave of absence, was on his I way to see his mother, who resides in King- street, Wednesbury. Mr. Smith was accompanied by his two children, a boy and girl. "The run from Pembroke to Llanelly," he said to our representative. was a splendid one. We had two engines, and the train. which had a. full complement of passengers, made excellent time. I was in the second carriage from the engine. It was a saloon carriage, and in my compartment were four ladies, my two children, and my- self. We started from Llanelly punctually, and had not proceeded far before we heard a most peculiar grating noise. At first we could not imagine the cause, and for a moment the noise ceased. A minute later, however, the noise was resumed, and the carriage in which we were travelling turned over on its side. ‘A collision,* shouted someone in the carriage, and immediately there were scenes which it is impossible for me to adequately describe. The women in my compartment simply lost their heads. They shouted in a hysterical fashion, and implored everyone at random to save them from death. "Personally," continued Mr. Smith, "I quickly grasped what had happened. Seeing the carriage was on its side I smashed the windows, which were then above me, lifted out my two children, and placed them in positions of safety, and then turned my attention. to the women occupants in the same compartment. With difficulty they were got out on to the permanent way. Here the scenes almost bamed description. One man, who was in the same carriage as I was, sustained shocking injuries, and I guessed when I assisted him out of the window that he was mortally hurt. I understand that he died shortly afterwards. A little girl came I running along from carriage to carriage, crying, ‘Where’s my daddy ? Where’s my daddy?’ It was the dying man who was sought .by the little one. We pacified the girl as well as we co-aid, and, at the request of the railway authorities, I took charge of her until she reached Landore, whither she was bound. A woman in the same compartment bound for Devonport, suffered very badly from shock, but after a time was able to proceed on her journey as far as Cardiff. Another woman was cut about in a fearful manner. My two children sustained more or less serious injuries, and, as you will see, I was badly cut on my right hand and bruised on my head. The sights of rescue, the groans of the wounded, and the removal of the bodies are scenes which I shall never forget. I should like to add a word of praise to the medical gentlemen, who were simply indefatigable in their efforts on behalf of the injured." A Fearful Sight. I Our Neath representative says that a Neath I man, an employee of the Great Western Railway Company, was iu the train, and his experiences are interesting. Beinj an old railway hand and having been in nine previous railway accidents, I knew instantly that something serious had happened; in fact, that some part of the train was off the line. We went on for about 80 to 100 yards and then the final crash came. The end of our compartment was stove in with the terrible impact. The gentleman opposite me had his arm broken, and the other gentleman was severely shaken. I was knocked about and badly shaken, but, singularly enough, the lady and the child did not seem much the worse. "My first thoughts were for them. There was no chance of getting them out through either door, so I assisted them out through the roof, which was shattered, on to the roof of the next coach, and then to the ground." "What was the condition of the engines and I the coaches?" our representative asked. "Well, the bank engine was shattered and turned upside down, and the driver, whose name, I think, was Lloyd, was killed on the spot. Poor fellow! I searched for the body, ¡ and found his head among the debris of the l first engine in one place, the trunk in another, and the arms in another. It was a fearful sight. The stoker, whose name I don’t know. was terribly injured, and I hear that he has died since." "Oh, you asked me as to the condition of the engines and the coaches. In regard to the second engine it was virtually shattered. The van following was reduced practically to matchwood, and from this we improvised the splints for the injured. The first coach was turned upside down, and the third had its end telescoped, and had fallen down over the I bank." "The end of the third coach was also telescoped, and the back part stove in. I was in this coach, and I have already told you what happened to the occupants. Nos. 4 and A coaches suffered severely, but ia p6 lesser degree, and the sixth and last coach was the only one which was left on the rails. The occupants of all suffered from severe shock, and when I left the actual number of casualties was not known." "What theory can you advance to account for the accident?" our representative asked. "It has been said that the bank engine collided with a horse and cart when passing the crossing." "There is no truth whatever in that, for we had parsed the crossing some distance before the accident happened." "Then what caused it?" "I cannot account for it. I have tried to account for the accident, but have failed."
Passengers Terror-Stricken Speaking to our representative, Mr. Wilkins (chairman of the Llanelly Urban District Council), who was a passenger by the train, said, that he could give, no explauation of what had occurred. That was for the rail- way authorities to do. All that he knew was that when the train was rattling along at a good speed he felt a sadden shock, and a moment later he knew that the train had left the track and was crushing through the slags on the embankment. He was thrown from his seat, and some flying timber crushed his leg. But this was. not serious. He added that the scene which presented itself to him as he got out of the train was one that he would never forget. The passengers, like himself, were all terror-stricken, and the plight of the ladies was pitiable in the extreme. He spoke in high terms of the kindness of the railway officials, and could not find words to express his appreciation of the splendid work done by the medic.at men, w.ho rose to the terrible emergency in a way that was splendid to see. Occupants of the First Carriage Interviewed. Our Swansea representative met and con- versed with several persons at Swansea who were in the very first carriage of the train- one which split up like matchwood and went down the embankment at the side. In a compartment in this carriage were Miss Church- ward, of Woking, Surrey, who had been staying with her sister, Mrs. Saunders, wife of Dr. Saunders, in Pembrokeshire. Also two little orphap. girls, Muriel and Dorothy Claxton, of Crawley, Sussex. They had been staying at Tenby, and were proceeding homewards. Mr. T. Francis,, cattle dealer, of Swansea, was in the same carriage, but in the next compartment. They had marvelous escapes, for all except the elder Miss Claxton (who sustained a fractured clavicle) were practically uninjured. Mr. Francis was seen by our representative after he had gone home and washed the blood from some nasty little cuts on the left side of his head and face. He asked where the little girls were, as he promised to take them to his home. in Swan- sea, and supply them with what they wanted for their journey, but he had lost them. "It was a terrible affair," said Mr. Francis. "Our carriage was smashed to pieces. After we felt the first bump we must have gone rocking and bumping along for nearly 100yds., during which time we were falling against and bumping each other fearfully. Then, apparently, the couplings of our carriage must have broken. The second engine went off the line to the right, and our carriage and the next one went on, as it were, into the place the second engine had occupied, and lay there side by side. I got up from where I had fallen^ and scrambled, through the. window, which was above that of the carriage next to it. I had to climb over the next carriage. The hot steam from the engine had filled our carriage, and at the same time there were flying cinders and splinters showered upon us, cutting, as it were, into our scalps. I got out, as I say, and I must say it was a terrible sight that met my gaze. The injured people seemed in terrible agony, and what the railway people were doing for about, an hour and a half after the accident I cannot make out. It was a scandalous shame." Miss Churchward and the two little Misses Claxton were taken to the Swansea Hospital by Superintendent Gill, and were not detained. They afterwards went to the Grand Hotel. Miss Churchward said the carriage seemed to go to splinters around them, and then there were splinters of wood driven against their heads. She escaped from the carriage without further injury. She lost her purse and some other things. The two Misses Claxton, girls of about sixteen and ten years of age respectively, seemed quite cheerful considering the experiences they had undergone. They were hatless, and their clothing was covered with dirt. The elder had been treated at the hospital, and her arm was- now bound up inside her coat. They intended proceeding to. London by the next train. Miss Claxton the elder said the whole thing occurred so suddenly that none of them could say really what happened. Her arm was hurt, but whether by being thrown against the woodwork of the carriage she could not say. The smaller Miss Claxton seemed none the worse, and seemed to treat the matter as a huge joke. "You are light, and you didn’t fesl being; thrown about?" "That’s it, I suppose," she said, laughingly, j "I’ve never been in a railway accident uetore. It was a nice finish to our holiday." Later on the girls were seen going to the station at Swansea without any hats, but still full of pluck and go. Miss Churchward had taken them under her charge. SENSATIONAL ACCOUNT. The Rev. Fuller Mills’ Story. me nev. A. Fuller Mills, when seen by our Carmarthen representative at the hospital, was evidently in great agony. His leg had been fractured and terribly lacerated below the knee. He had just been visited by Dr. E. G. Price, Carmarthen, and seemed quite pleased to see another familiar face. He said he could not then attempt to describe what happened. "It was too terrible," he said. "I was on the grass for a. very long time without assistance, and my poor leg was in pieces. I am very thankful that it was not worse, though." "Can you see my coat?" asked Mr. Mills, who was lying in the cot. Our representative made a search under the bed, where he found the patient’s clothes care- fully packed together. They were covered with blood, and torn. He wanted to know whether papers about which he was anxious were in his pocket. These were missing, and Mr. Mills remarked: "Ah! well, they have gone, I suppose, like my bag and other things. I don’t know where they can be. The whole thing has been too terrible to think of." Screams and Crash of Glass The Misses Farley, of Tenby, who were passengers by the ill-fated train, were seen on Monday evening at Pantmawr, Whit- church, the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Davies, who are related to them, and with whom they are making a short stay, having specially traveled up from Tenby for that purpose. The young ladies were naturally much perturbed, although they were able to give an intelligent account of their experience and miraculous escape. They started from Tenby by the 10.55 train. They were seen off at the station by their friends. Miss Farley, sen., wished to ride in the compartment of a corridor carriage three or four carriages from the engine, but her younger sister and her friends prevailed upon her to get into a compartment at the lower end of the same carriage. The carriage being a through one they did not change at Whitland. In the same compartment were seven or eight other passengers. Everything went well until a short time after they left Llanelly, when they heard a noise, and the luggage was suddenly precipitated upon them. They naturally became alarmed, and soon after they could hear screams and the crash of broken glass. All the passengers in the compartment had by this time become alarmed and agitated. The Misses Farley j made an appeal for the door to be opened, but they were asked to becalm themselves Then the two girls clutched each other. thinking that if they were to die they would die together. A student who was in the same compartment got through the window and jumped down. Then a voice and a cry was heard as if it came from the top of the carriage, and on looking up they could see Colonel Goodeve, of Ivy Tower, Tenby, and a woman with a small baby walking above their heads. Evidently the colonel and the woman with the child had scrambled on to the top of the coach for safety. The little child had a nasty cut on its head. Eventually the Misses Farley were released from their prison and taken down the embankment, where they were told to sit. Every attention was shown to them by the officials, and they were given some brandy, as were the others who had escaped death. The front part of the carriage in which they traveled was smashed, and if the elder Miss Farley had not fallen in with the wishes of her sister and friends to ride in the compartment at the lower end of the carriage there is no doubt they would have been killed. One poor woman, said the elder Miss Farley, who was in the lavatory in the carriage at the time of the accident, had her foot cut off, while Dr. Reid, of Tenby, sustained a nasty cut on the head. She herself was all right, with the exception that her shoulder was slightly hurt by the luggage falling upon it. Asked to describe the scene, Miss Farley said it was impossible. She never witnessed such a thing-women with their arms through their blouses cut and bleeding; men cut on the face and head, with their clothes and shirts saturated with blood, and, above all, the cries and groans of those who had been more severely injured, and of those who were dying. "Ah!" she said, in conclusion, "the scene is one I cannot describe. and is one which I trust..it will not be . I have to thank my sister and my friends for my life. If we traveled in the compartment into which I first entered we should both have been killed." A Terrible Sight. Mr. Samuel, an articled pupil to a. firm of surveyors and architects, gave our Llanelly representative a graphic account of the occurrence
I was standing in a corridor of the express with Mr. Wade when all of a sudden the train dropped on to the permanent way from the metals. It crunched along for a few yards, and then came to a sudden standstill. All who were in the corridor were thrown to the ground. Our compartment threatened to topple over on its side, and as soon as I recovered myself I got out and found a terrible scene. The first engine had turned completely round, and was a mass of ruin, while the coaches had been crushed to pieces. The Montreal was off the metals, but it stood fairly entire, but its tender was a shapeless mass. We found the body of the driver of the banker engine under the wheels of the express engine, death having been, happily, instantaneous in his case. The lot of the passengers was pitiable in the extreme, and I could not help feeling sorry for the ladies, some of whom were in the last stage of prostration, although they had not sustained any bodily hurt. I was carrying with me some of my instruments, including a drawing board, rulers, scales, &c. These were promptly utilized as splints for the service of the injured ones, and I was glad that they should come in useful in such an emergency." "The Shock was Awful."
Another passenger, Miss Williams, of Carmarthen, said: was on my way to London. We were about half a mile out of Loughor, when all of a sudden we found our- selves hurled right across the carriage. Then we heard cries from all parts of tue train. Our own carriage was about the third from the engine, and as soon as the crash occurred we found the carriage swaying and leaping under us, as though we were on a ship. We were not hurt, but the shock was awful. The worst part of it was the agonising cries of the injured. The poor engine-driver was cut up into three pieces, and there were others whose limbs were badly shattered and mutilated. I could not say how many people were killed. The ground was torn up for a long distance, and the first engine appeared to be smashed to pieces. It was a scene I shall never forget. The screams of the injured passengers are still ringing in my ears. It was horrible. We were brought on by a special train, which was dispatched to the scene."
GRAPHIC STORY BY COLONEL GOODEVE. Touching Tribute to a Young Lady. One of the travelers by the train was Colonel Goodeve, who will be remembered by artillerymen, Regular and Auxiliary, in South Wales as having been for some years the officer commanding the Severn Defences. In that position he frequently visited Cardiff, and was on very friendly terms with the late Sir Edward Hill, K.C.B., M.P. Having retirêd i from the Army, he now lives at Ivy Tower, about three miles from Tenby, and was on a. journey to London when the accident happened. It was in the Royal Hotel, at Cardiff, that one of our reporters found him. He said:- "We left Llanelly about two minutes after one o’clock on Monday afternoon. About twenty minutes later we found that some- thing had gone wrong. The carriage in which I was, a corridor one, began to rock violently, and the passengers were hurled about in all directions. It was clear that the carriage had left the track." "What part of the train were you in?" "There were two engines, one, I under- stand being a bank engine, and the carriage in which I was was next to that engine." "Well, what happened next?" "After we got about 50 or 60 yards we found that we were brought to a dead stop on the side of an embankment, and almost parallel with the engine, but about ten feet lower. It appears to me that the couplings must have broken, and ours was pitched head foremost against a bank at the bottom of a rising hill. This brought us to a dead stop, and the whole front of the carriage in which I was riding was smashed up. The fore part of my own compartment was wrecked, but the damage did not reach the side upon which I was sitting. Then I saw on a still lower level, opposite to the compartment in which I was, another carriage, which had turned over partly on its side. just at that moment there was a rush of steam which almost blinded us, and the women who were in our carriage commenced to scream. Every effort was made to allay their fears, and when the steam cleared away a little we could see that we could get out of the window, and get upon the carriage which had turned over just below us. We saw that the women were removed first, nearly all of whom were more or less injured, but so far as I could see not fatally so." "I suppose that the excitement at this time was very great?" suggested the pressman. "It was," came the reply, "but it was nothing to what we had to experience later. One or two of those who had sustained the more severe injuries, such as broken limbs, were left behind until further help could be obtained. They were safe for the time, and we might have done more harm in attempting to remove them than by allowing them to remain. "How many were in your compartment?" "Seven or eight." "You seemed to have had a marvelous escape?" "Yes, I only had a Blight cut across the nose. Most of the others were bleeding badly, gome from the head, while others evidently had received bodily injuries." "Now, I understand you got out from your carriage on to the other which was on a lower level, and which had partly turned over?" "Several got out in that way, myself among the number. The more agile ones climbed down the embankment, but I waited until some steps were brought. A friend of mine, I may mention, was riding in the same train â Dr. Reid, of Tenby. He was a good bit cut about the head, and went away somewhere. He was in the next compartment to me towards the rear, but the train being of the corridor description, we walked to and fro." "Now, I am afraid, we are coming to the worst of it. What took place when you got clear from the wrecked carriages?" "Yes, you are right. It was, indeed, a terrible scene. What with the hysteria of the women and the groans of the dying it was a scene which was to the last degree saddening. One man, who was in the same carriage as myself, only lived five or six minutes after he was brought out. As a matter of fact, he never spoke after he was brought out. He appeared to be smashed up altogether, so that it was impossible for me to say what his injuries were. So far as I could gather, most of the killed were in the first coaches." How many coaches were there on the train?" "I believe the number was eight. The two first ran down the embankment, three turned turtle,’ and three remained on the rails. My opinion is that the first engine was’ stopped as quickly as possible for some reason; that the second, with the weight of the load behind, was smashed up in a. most marvelous way, and the two first carriages broke away. My idea is that the whole thing was due to a subsidence in the track." "Now, what assistance was there?" "In that respect the passengers were rather unfortunate. Loughor is a little place, and it was an hour before any help came from there, and it was an hour and a haJf before any assistance came from Swansea . There was a doctor there, who rendered ail assistance he could but he could not attend to all." I A Brave Girl. Our reporter had thanked Colonel Goodeve for his information and left the room, when he was called back to receive one of the most interesting parts of the sad story. I should have told you," said the colonel, that all the passengers rendered every possible assistance. Among those was a fair-haired girl, who, badly hurt herself, did all she could to bring comfort to others. She remembered that she had some brandy in a small travelling-bag, and brought it out. and went round among the more severely wounded giving them mouthfuls of the liquid until the doctors arrived." Colonel Goodeve added that he saw the driver of one of the engines with his head across the rail and a wheel upon his neck. That, he added, was sufficient to unnerve anybody. The rails were torn up, and the end of one section was about 18ft. above the permanent way. I SINGULAR INCIDENTS. I Heroism of the Injured. The list of the injured includes the name of a man who had his two legs injured and an arm fractured. He was brought down to Llanelly in a special train, but instead of going to the hospital he chose to return to his home in Swansea-, and accommodation was, therefore, provided for him in the branch train from Llanelly. In spite of his terrible injuries, he was perfectly composed, I and the last seen of him was his calmly smoking a, cigarette as the train steamed out. Scenes at Llanelly Station. The scene at the Llanelly Station on Monday, evening upon the arrival of the train conveying the injured passengers was most pathetic. There was a crowd of anxious lookers-on ‘who had relatives in the ill-fated train. No information could be given as to the identity of the sufferers, and a period of anxious suspense followed, as each of them was care- fully removed to a conveyance in waiting and driven to the hospital. Llanelly was practically denuded of the services of its medical men. Among those who were quickly on the scene were Doctors D. J. Williams, S. Williams, A. Brookes, S. J. Roderick, J. L. Davies, Edgar Davies, E. Evans, and Harry Roberts. All these were in the evening in attendance at the hospital completing the good work they had commenced in the afternoon. Passenger’s Strange Delusion. A young man, gesticulating amongst the crowd of spectators, declared that he had seen a boot with a foot inside by the embankment. A search was immediately made for the supposed body. The man seemed to be terribly in earnest about his discovery, but the searchers found no trace of what he had imagined. This was one of many incidents which went to show how highly strung the frightened passengers were after their terrible experience. Providential Escape. Among those who traveled by the express was Vr. M’Bride, who entered the train at Tenby, He had intended going to Swansea, but upon arriving at Llanelly he decided to break his journey there and go on by a later train. He was sitting in a smoking compartment in the forward part of the train which was completely’ wrecked, and turned over OIl the embankment, all the occupants of the compartment being severely injured. Mr. M’Bride looks upon his escape as provident. Policeman and the Little Girl. One very pathetic incident is recorded by Police-constable Williams, of Loughor. He was one of the first police officers to arrive on the scene of the catastrophe, and, having r studied ambulance work, he asked Dr. Trafford Mitchell (Gorseinon) whether he could render any assistance. "Yes," replied Dr. Mitchell, "there is a little girl over there with a, broken arm. Go and see what you can do for her." Williams went over. The little girl was pale, crying in great pain. She told him that her arm was extremely painful. Williams went off to find splints and bandages, and after a few minutes he went back to the little girl. But his charge had vanished. She had been., hurried off to either Llanelly or Swansea, Hospital. Sympathy from Llanelly. At the meeting of the Llanelly Borough. Council on Monday the Chairman, Mr. D. J. Davies, said that he had just heard that a serious disaster had occurred on the Great. Western Railway near Llanelly, and that a large number of persons had been seriously injured, if not killed. It was impossible to ascertain exactly what had occurred, but they could well understand the anxiety that prevailed in the town, knowing as they did that a large number of Llanellyites were in the train. He was glad to state that one of the members of the council, in the person of Mr. W. Wilkins, who was a passenger, had escaped without injury. Their deepest sympathy went out to the relatives of the men who had been killed, and he proposed a vote of sympathy with them in their bereavement. This was seconded by Mr. D. Bees Edmonds,, and carried in silence. The news of the disaster was officially communicated by the local branch of the Bail- waymen’s Association to Mr. D. Bees Edmonds, their Llanelly legal representative. Mr., Edmonds at once placed himself in communication with Mr. Richard Bell, M.P. It is expected that Mr. Bell will visit the scene to-‘ day (Tuesday). Heroic Suflerer at Swansea. A heroic sufferer was Private Savage, of that Shropshire Regiment, who, although found at, Swansea Hospital to have shocking injuries to the head which made his case a serious one, when the doctors came to look at him. on the platform, said, Never mind me, boys; go and assist the others. I’m all right." He limped away to the cab which. took him to the hospital. Soldiers’ Good Work. Some seven or eight of the soldiers belonging to different regiments, who traveled by the train, were among the most heroic workers of & very heroic band. They proved themselves veritable "handy-men." Whether in removing the wreckage from its resting- place upon some poor unfortunate sufferer. or in conveying the wounded to the special trains for conveyance to the hospitals, they were equally energetic. A Guardsman who had two medals on his breast was very prominent among the soldier workers, and another ma-n with four medals worked like a Trojan. as indeed did all the gallant members of the, Army, one of whose number was among the injured. The splendid services rendered by the soldiers was one of the bright features of a terribly tragic affair. No Money for Telegrams. Two little girls travelling together to London dictated to Mr. Pugh, of the Y, a wire to relatives. Desiring to pay for it they searched for their purses, but found they were lost beneath the debris. Miss Churchward, of Pembroke, found her- self in similar trouble from which, however, she was at once relieved by Mr. Pugh, who dispatched the telegrams by special messengers. A little girl, named Finn, travelling to Cadoxton with her father, escaped injury herself, but her parent was badly hurt, and the grief of the child was heartrending. The farmers, colliers, and cottagers of the neighborhood treated the strangers with kindness.
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