Culham Station in the news
Press reports 1900-1999
Click or tap to see the back of this card
The Torpids in 1904
Correspondence card from J.Zacharias & Co., Oxford. Author's collection
Floods of 1903/04
Thursday 4th February 1904, The Times
...The low-lying land in the valleys of the Thames and Cherwell in the neighbourhood of Oxford has the appearance of a large lake for miles above and below that city.'
The flooding of the Thames in and around Oxford was mentioned in many other newspaper reports at the time. One typical report said that 'South of Oxford, the peninsular between Radley and Culham is a swamp...The country on either side of the Great Western Railway between Didcot and Oxford is waterlogged. From the carriage windows the fields present an unruffled expanse of lake.' The stretch of track just south of Oxford continued to suffer flooding over the years and was the subject of major flood prevention works in 2016 with the line being closed for two weeks whilst the track level was raised and additional culverts installed.
This postcard illustrating the 1904 floods was first published by Varsity of Oxford City but has been re-printed, omitting the original publisher's name, for use by J. Zacharias & Co., waterproof manufacturers of Oxford, as a correspondence card. It was posted in Oxford on May 13 1905 addressed to Miss Alice de Rothschild at Waddesdon Manor near Aylesbury. Click or tap on the thumbnail image to see the back of this card. Waddesdon Manor was built for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild in the 1870s and, as with Culham and Nuneham House, it had a telephone link between the house and Waddesdon Manor StationWaddesdon Manor Station in 1898
Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
Opened as 'Waddesdon Manor' on 1st January 1897 on the section of the Metropolitan Railway between Aylesbury and Verney Junction, the station was renamed 'Waddesdon' on 1st October 1922. The Metropolitan Railway came under the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933 who closed the station in early July 1936 when they ceased to operate beyond Aylesbury.
Click or tap link for a larger image.
Accidental Drowning
Saturday 26th January 1907, Faringdon Advertiser and Vale of the White Horse Gazette
Whilst not happening at the station itself, we turn to this Faringdon paper for the following report.
'ACCIDENT AT BLACK BRIDGE. - An alarming and fatal accident occurred on Monday afternoon at Nuneham Railway Bridge, which crosses the Thames between Radley and Culham Stations. For nearly twelve months workmen have been engaged in re-building the bridge, for which it was necessary to erect staging overhanging the river, and about 4.45 on Monday some of the staging gave way, and, with two men who were standing on the platform, fell into the river, a third being only saved by clinging to one of the girders. One man, William Williams, was rescued, but unfortunately the other, John Taylor, after swimming some distance, was seen to sink and not rise again, his body being recovered about half-an-hour after the accident. He was a Swansea man, and leaves wife and family. He had only been the job fortnight. The other man was removed to Abingdon Cottage Hospital where it was found he was only suffering from shock and severe bruises. The body of Taylor was removed to Culham Station, and an inquest was held at the Railway Hotel on Wednesday afternoon, before the Deputy Coroner for South Oxon, A. H. Franklin, and a jury of whom Mr Halbrow was foreman. Inspector Hooper was present on behalf of the G.W.R. After a very long enquiry, the jury returned a verdict to the effect that the deceased was accidentally drowned through the breaking of a piece of timber forming part of a staging on which he was at work at the time.'
The bridge originally built for the opening of the branch line from Didcot to Oxford in 1844 was a wooden structure. It was replaced by an iron girder one in 1856 and it was this which would have been receiving attention in the above report. This bridge was replaced by the present steel twin bow arch one in 1929.
Stolen gloves
Wednesday 22nd May 1907, Oxfordshire Weekly News
'BULLINGDON PETTY SESSIONS - Sydney Grimshaw, labourer, Drayton St. Leonards, was charged with stealing a pair of gloves from a carriage at Culham station on the 13th inst., the property of John Richard Reynolds. - The prosecutor said he was the landlord of the Railway Hotel at Culham. The gloves produced were his. He last saw them on Monday afternoon. when they were on a carriage outside the hotel. The carriage was in the railway station-yard. He missed them about five o'clock the same afternoon when he went back to the carriage. He was in conversation with the prisoner before he missed the gloves. There were other people about and he did not see the gloves again until Wednesday morning at Drayton. He saw the prisoner the day before and asked him what he had done with his gloves, and he admitted they were at home. After he found the prisoner had got them he told him if he brought them back he would do nothing in the matter. - Cleorge Whinney said he was a labourer and lived at Drayton St. Leonard. He knew the prisoner and was with him last Monday in the market at Culham and rode home with him. They called at the Railway Hotel at Culham. Witnees left him with the horse in the station-yard while he went to the station master's office. He saw the carriage and Mr. Reynolds, but witness did not see the prisoner go to the carriage. He saw the gloves for the first time when he was driving home. Prisoner asked him if he wanted them and also asked another man at Clifton Hampden. Witness offered him 2d. for them. Prisoner said he had found them in Abingdon market. - P.C. Bolton said on the night of the 14th he received information, and on the following morning he went to Drayton St. Leonard. He found the prisoner and cautioned him, and he replied I stole the gloves from Mr. Reynolds' carriage outside his house on Monday. Witness brought him to Oxford. - Prisoner elected to have the case dealt with summarily and pleaded guilty. There was a previous conviction and he was sentenced to fourteen days' hard labour.'
A young Stationmaster at Culham
Thursday 8th December 1910, Banbury Guardian
It is interesting to note an article which covered a prestigious presentation which was held the previous week in the Guild Hall at Winchester. After seventeen years service as stationmaster at Winchester the recipient, Mr. W. P. Knutton, was leaving upon his promotion to Evesham. The report reads 'The Mayor made the presentation, which consisted of a purse of gold and an illuminated address, and referred in appreciative terms to Mr. Knutton's work while holding the appointment, and the regret they all felt at losing him.'
The report continues 'He joined the Great Western Railway in the goods department at Banbury. Two years afterwards was promoted to Devizes, and nine months later was called to the superintendent's office at Reading. Here he remained for three years, and after a useful experience in the running department was advanced to the passenger department at Oxford. At the age of 25 he was appointed stationmaster at Culham, and in 1893 was promoted to Winchester.'
It seems that Mr. Knutton moved around a bit as on Saturday 26 October 1918, the Reading Mercury reported that he had been appointed stationmaster at Oxford, having already been at Salisbury and then Rotherwas, Herefordshire, in charge of a large Military depot.
Mr C.Lewis
Oxford Journal Illustrated
Retired after 43 years service
Wednesday 19th May 1915, Oxford Journal Illustrated
This newspaper carried the story and accompanying photograph of Mr Charles Lewis who retired after a total of 43 years service as a porter with the Great Western Railway, the last 40 of which were at Culham. He and his family were apparently living in Station House which is across the station forecourt from the ticket office. When they first moved into Station House is not known, but they did seem to live there for many years thereafter.
The issue of this same paper dated 9th April 1924 carried photographs of both Mr and Mrs Lewis when it reported on the occasion of their Golden Wedding anniversary. They were still living together at Culham fifteen years later as reported below by the Reading Mercury in 1939.
Presentation
Saturday 17th February 1917, Reading Mercury
This newspaper carried a short report that the station staff made a presentation to Mr. G. W. Townsend, who had been stationmaster at Culham for nearly 20 Years, upon his leaving following promotion to Hanwell.
A near miss
Friday 2nd January 1925, Warminster & Westbury journal, and Wilts County Advertiser
'OXFORD EXPRESS RUNS INTO HOUNDS. - Members of the South Oxfordshire Hunt had dramatic escape near Black Bridge, about three-quarters of a mile from Culham Station, on the Great Western Railway, when the Oxford to Paddington express dashed into the pack of hounds, which was crossing the line, killing one of them and injuring another so badly that it had to destroyed. The fox, said on eye-witness, had made for cover across the line, and hounds were in full cry after it. The line leading on to Black Bridge, spanning the Thames, takes a sharp bend, and evidently the pack failed to see or hear the train as it came round the curve. It was miracle, he added, that the whole pack was not destroyed. Happily the horsemen and women were some little distance from the line, and instantly drew rein. The engine driver pulled up as soon as he could, and after satisfying himself that no lives had been lost, resumed his journey.'
Funeral arrangements
Saturday 18th February 1928, Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer
The much lamented death of Herbert Asquith, the Earl of Oxford, at his home at the Wharf in nearby Sutton Courtenay received extensive national coverage. Whilst a Westminster Abbey burial was offered, his wishes were for a local one. Only relations and a few close friends were invited to the private funeral which took place at All Saints Parish Church in Sutton Courtenay on Monday the 20th. We turn to the Northern press for this notice which implies at least some were anticipating arrival by train. It read 'For the convenience of those not travelling by motor car, the 9.45am. train from Paddington will be met at Culham station'.
Where to buy your train tickets
Courtesy of the Great Western Trust
Appleford Halt
Thursday 8th June 1933, Banbury Advertiser
Whilst not strictly relating to Culham, it is intersting to include this report on the planned new halt at Appleford.
'NEW HALTS. - New halt at Appleford between Didcot and Culham Stations is to be constructed by the G.W.R. It will have two platforms each 200 feet long, with shelters. The halt will serve the villages of Appleford, Little Wittenham, Long Wittenham. and Sutton Courtney, situated in one of the most attractive parts of the Thames, with a combined population of 1,700.'
This new halt was not the first to serve Appleford as a short lived station was provided when the line first opened but it had been closed by 1849. The newspaper report of the line's opening on the Introduction page suggests that this original station was on the Culham side of the road bridge, however it has been suggested by some to have been sited closer to Didcot and near Appleford level crossing, placing it further away from the village as existed at that time. This is not supported by contemporary land plans or the timings of trains in early timetables, so the concensus is that the station was indeed on the Culham side of the bridge.
The new halt was, and still is, located immediately adjacent to the road bridge on the Didcot side, being accessed by steps down from the road. This arrangement is particularly hazardous as the narrow road curves near the top of the approach embankment and, lacking a footpath, the steps open directly onto the roadway. Being an unstaffed halt there were no facilities to buy tickets and a sign at the top of the steps leading down to the platforms proclaimed that 'Railway tickets may be obtained at the POST OFFICE'. At that time the Post Office was located on the main road near the bottom of the bridge embankment at the junction with Church Street. Interestingly, this sign was attached to a post formed from a length of re-purposed broad gauge bridge rail. As with Culham, modern travellers must obtain a ticket either on the train or at their destination.
Wedding anniversary
Saturday 8th April 1939, Reading Mercury
'MARRIED 65 YEARS. - Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lewis, of Station House, Culham, completed 65 years of married life on Tuesday. They are both aged 87. Mr. Lewis is one of the oldest living retired G.W.R. men. A native of Faringdon, he is known all over the G.W.R. system. He has lived at Culham for 60 years, before which he was at Appleford, at both places a porter. He retired during the Great War. Until recent years his hobby was pig breeding.'
The Great Western Railway Magazine from January 1944 notes that Mr. Lewis had died on 29th November 1943 at the age of 91, but does not record whether he was still resident at Culham at the time.
Evacuees at Culham station
North Berks Herald
Wartime evacuees
September 1939, North Berks Herald
In September 1939 Culham became one of the designated reception stations in the GWR London Evacuation Scheme, and went on to receive around 4,000 evacuees. There is an article in the October issue of the Great Western Railway Magazine on the evacuation scheme in general but it doesn't go into the details of participating stations.
The order for evacuation was given on 31st August and at 8:30 the next day the first train left Ealing Broadway which was the principal concentration point and railhead for the GWR evacuation scheme. A great deal of planning had been carried out to ensure the availability of trains and to enable these specials to fit in with other rail traffic. It was planned to run 64 trains a day (60 from Ealing Broadway), each having up to 12 coaches and carrying 800 evacuees. Trains were timetabled to leave every 9 minutes between 8:30 and 5:30 on each of four consecutive days. The first two days were principally intended for teachers and school children. In the event 58 trains were reported to have left on the first day carrying a total of 44,032 passengers, diminishing to 28 trains on the fourth day carrying 17,796. Over the four days 163 trains ran in all which carried a total of 112,994 evacuees. Stations as widespread as Maidenhead, Reading, Oxford, St Austell and Penzance were the destinations, together with many others not mentioned in the article.
Appleford Crossing
Courtesy of the Great Western Trust
Collision of 1942
Courtesy of the Great Western Trust
Appleford Crossing
Courtesy of the Great Western Trust
Collision of 1942
Courtesy of the Great Western Trust
Rail crash at Appleford Crossing
November 1942, Evening News
A collision occurred on November 13th 1942 when an express passenger train and a goods train collided at Appleford crossing. It is believed the locomotives involved were 2975 'Lord Palmer' and 4088 'Dartmouth Castle' but no other information such as the cause of the incident is presently known. Whilst no actual press reports have been found this photograph of the scene, possibly from the 'Evening News', has come to us courtesy of the Great Western Trust archive.
Plane crash blocks line
Wednesday 10th October 1945, Western Daily Press
'CRASH LANDING - The G.W.R. main line between Oxford and Didcot was blocked and traffic delayed for some time, yesterday afternoon, at Culham, where a Fleet Air Arm 'plane made a crash landing. Nobody was injured. The line was cleared later.'
As the approach to one of the runways directly crossed the main railway line a crash bell and telephone were fitted in the signal box to allow direct communication with the control tower. Whilst it is believed that there were a total of four incidents involving either a crash landing or runway overshoot during the operational life of the airbase, this is the only one which is known to have affected the railway.
Sad death
Wednesday 19th January 1949, Eastbourne Gazette
This paper reports on an inquest which was held in Littlemore the previous Saturday into the death of a student teacher at Culham College whose decapitated body was found on the line between there and Culham station on the 12th. Apparently he suffered fits of depression following his release from several years in a POW camp in Germany. The Coroner returned a verdict of suicide while the balance of his mind was disturbed.
Collision near Appleford
Photograph by Harold H.Gasson
Courtesy of Crécy Publishing
Thursday 25th September 1952, Portsmouth Evening News
'OXFORD LINE CUT - Railway lines between London and Oxford were cut this morning near Didcot by a collision between a light engine and freight train. A locomotive and 25 trucks were derailed, a signal box damaged, and a signalman injured. The drivers escaped injury. The signalman. Mr. Gordon Churchman, had a miraculous escape. Flung bodily from the cabin, with bruises on his face, legs, and arms, he staggered to the cottage of another signalman. Mr. Gordon Butterworth, who was awakened by the crash. After helping Churchman into the house, Butterworth raced along the line to Didcot Station to give the alarm. The fireman of the goods train ran in the opposite direction, and was in time to stop a light engine travelling from travelling from Oxford. Breakdown trains started clearing the track and re-railing the trucks, but normal working was not expected to be resumed until late this afternoon. Meanwhile, trains between London and Oxford and Worcester were being diverted through Princes Risborough. Buses were taking local passengers between Didcot and Culham. The accident occurred soon after 2 a.m. at Appleford, three miles from Didcot, when the light engine, joining the Oxford line at loop Junction was in collision with the goods train travelling from Paddington to Worcester.'
Photograph by Harold H.Gasson
Courtesy of Crécy Publishing
Photograph by Harold H.Gasson
Courtesy of Crécy Publishing
Photograph by Harold H.Gasson
Courtesy of Crécy Publishing
Photograph by Harold H.Gasson
Courtesy of Crécy Publishing
A local railwayman, Harold Gasson, wrote a series of four books about his life on the railway. These three photograph taken by him of the aftermath of the crash were included in his third book Signalling Days which was originally published by Oxford Publishing Co. in 1981. Crécy Publishing republished the four books in a combined volume entitled Steam Days in June 2020 (ISBN: 9781910809679) and the images have been reproduced here with their kind permission. The locomotive shown in the first photograph is number 7311 which was derailed by trap points after overrunning a signal. The signal box was well and truly demolished and looking at the photograph it is hard to believe there were no serious injuries as a result.
Proposals for a prison at Culham
Thursday 2nd May 1963, The Times
Something which could have had a major impact upon Culham station and the surrounding area featured in a short article which said that on the previous day the Home Office had informed Oxfordshire County Council that it would like to build a maximum-security prison for 500 men on part of the former Royal Naval Air Station at Culham. This was to occupy 320 acres of the former air station and relace the existing prison in Oxford city centre. Reasons cited for the proposal included the fact that the Oxford prison was 'not only exeptionally unsuitable for modern methods of penal treatment but occupies a site urgently needed by the council for redevelopment'. It also states that efforts to close the existing prison 'had been going on since the end of the last war'.
Plans for Culham prison dropped
Thursday 4th November 1982, The Guardian
'PRISON SCHEME THROWN OUT - A scheme for a new prison on green belt land at Culham, Oxfordshire, has been thrown out by the Department of the Environment. The Environment Secretary, Mr Michael Heseltine, said that the Lockwood prison proposals were open to serious planning objections. He said the plan would have a substantial impact on the surrounding landscape, but it might still be possible to find an alternative site within the wider area.'
Seriously injured
Friday 26th October 1990, The Times
'MAN IS HURT BY HURLED EXTINGUISHER - A nuclear physicist was in hospital last night after being struck by a two-gallon water fire extinguisher hurled from an InterCity train travelling at 75mph. Peter Cripwell, aged 25, was hit by the missile as he stood on the platform at Culham station, Oxfordshire, on Wednesday night. Mr Cripwell, from Cowley, Oxfordshire, has undergone an emergency operation for a fractured skull and serious leg and chest injuries. British Transport Police were last night due to interview passengers on the same Manchester to Paddington service to try to find out who threw the extinguisher.'
