Grave of William Petch
William Petch (d.1927)
William Petch was working as a railway signalman when his vigilance prevented a train disaster in Conwy.
William’s ancestors worked for the Bryn Eisteddfod estate, Glan Conwy. His father Robert was a coachman, living at Bryn Eisteddfod Lodge. William married Elizabeth Jane Jones of Bryn Llywelyn, Betws-y-coed, in 1878 at a ceremony in St Mary’s Church, Conwy. They had at least one child. Elizabeth died aged 45 in 1900.
William was on duty at Conwy signal box early on Sunday 11 March 1894 when, despite a noisy gale, he thought he heard unusual sounds from an eastbound goods train. The wind extinguished his lantern more than once as he inspected the track, but he eventually found a brake block from a wagon wedged tight between one of the main rails and the parallel check rail (placed along the curved track to reduce the risk of derailment).
Protruding about 5cm (two inches) above the track, the block would have derailed the next train had William not detected it. The next train happened to be the Irish Mail express, conveying passengers and post from Dublin to London.
William raised the alarm. The station master and two other railwaymen chipped away the brake block, bit by bit. They finished just in time for the Irish Mail to pass without delay. The London & North Western Railway formally thanked William for his action.
He lived long enough to see the LNWR absorbed into the LMS (London, Midland & Scottish Railway) in 1923. He died in 1927, aged 70.
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