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1923 Churwell Tram Crash at Cottingley
A morning tram loaded with workers for Ingle's Tannery (Millshaw), Hepworth's Dyers (Churwell Bar) and the Kirby Screw Company left Morley and started to run away down Churwell Hill at about 7.00am. A dozen or so passengers jumped off, as the driver left his seat to operate the back brake. The tram gathered increasing speed from 4mph to over 30mph, two passengers came forward to wrestle with the brake wheel, turning it 'over a hundred times'. The tram ran for half a mile, negotiated a loop line after the viaduct at the bottom of Churwell and as the electric arm came off the wire, it de-railed and crashed in to a field wall at Cottingley, on the bend (just to the right of this later photograph, which was the former site of a willow farm, beck cottages and shows Churwell Railway Station Master's house on the left, below the embankment where Churwell Station was).The passenger who had remained at the front brake was thrown underneath the tram, he was killed instantly and five others died and thirty five injured. Newspaper headlines read "Hero" regarding the man killed whilst trying to stop the runaway tram and at the inquiry into the accident, the driver was blamed for 'leaving his post'.
Mrs Florence Jones (nee Sandcraft) of Cottingley had heard how "passengers panicked and released the failing brake".
"When the tram ran away down Churwell Hill, it ended up through the wall opposite where we lived. My mother was a witness and first at the scene helping the injured", added Mrs W. Thompson of Moortown.
Mr Inman of Churwell recalled how "the first-aid man from Ingles helped the injured".
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