George Phillips

The Reverend John Richards stands in the mangled wreckage of the overnight express from Perth, a local passenger train and an Express train heading from Euston to Liverpool.

Around 1000 people were aboard the three trains and 112 people died in the crash and 340 were injured. It is the worst peace time rail crash in the UK.

The picture won ‘Britannica’ news Picture of the Year for 1952 and appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world. There is something about the picture of the priest surrounded by destruction that makes us realise how loose our grip on life can be. At 0819 people were sitting on the train considering their day ahead and within minutes over a hundred people’s lives had ended.

It was 0820 as the overnight express from Perth crashed at speed into the rear of the 0731 Tring-Euston commuter train standing at the Harrow and Wealdstone station platform.