Kendal crash monument to be upgraded

MANDEVILLE, Manchester — A museum and park are expected to be built at the Kendal train crash monument site in time for the 70th anniversary commemorative ceremony next year. Permanent secretary in the Culture Ministry DeanRoy Bernard said the monument, bearing 177 names of the close-to-200 people who died in the September 1, 1957 train crash, has already been declared a national heritage site. “Once a site is declared that means there is a special interest that the [Jamaica National] Heritage Trust takes to ensure it is preserved and developed. There is a programme of development that we are going to be looking at as we look forward to the 70th year. There are some things that we are going to do. You notice that there is no electricity and there is no bathroom,” he told the Jamaica Observer Tuesday on the sidelines of the 69th anniversary commemorative ceremony in Kendal. He pointed to an agreement between the Culture Ministry and the Manchester Municipal Corporation to facilitate upgrading of the monument site.

Permanent secretary in the Culture Ministry DeanRoy Bernard addressing the 69 th anniversary commemorative ceremony for the Kendal train crash on Tuesday. (Photo: Kasey Williams)

“There needs to be a common area and bathroom facility, at least, and the [memorandum of understanding] that we have with the parish council is that we have continued work on the site. We will look at the MOU and work with the Manchester Municipal Corporation and you will see some improvements next year [with] a proper park and museum,” he said. “We are in the business of museums. The budget is tight; it took us a while to be able to fulfil our promise to have the monument, but we are going to make the sacrifices to ensure that we deliver under the terms of the MOU,” he assured. Peter Espeut, Roman Catholic deacon and pastoral administrator of St Anne’s Church, welcomed the announcement and said plans are also being made to have a large turnout from the church.

Members of the Manchester Scouts Association at the 69th anniversary commemorative ceremony for the Kendal train crash on Tuesday. (Photo: Kasey Williams)

“My understanding is that the ministry wants this to be a site of memory, a pilgrimage site. Our dead are here… For next year we want to bring a few bus loads of people from the church,” he said. “The people who died here were not from Manchester, but look at how the Manchester people have responded to us. We are grateful to the people of Manchester for the way they are being sympathetic with our dead,” he added. According to accounts of survivors and people in the parish who heard about or witnessed the event, on Sunday, September 1, 1957, hundreds of members of St Anne’s Catholic Church in Kingston boarded a train and went to Montego Bay for an all-day excursion. On their way back to Kingston, the overcrowded train crashed at Kendal, just north of Mandeville, leaving close to 200 people dead and hundreds injured.

Former Custos of Manchester Sally Porteous laying a wreath in honour of the unknown dead at the 69th anniversary commemorative ceremony for the Kendal train crash on Tuesday. (Photo: Kasey Williams)

On Tuesday, Mayor of Mandeville Donovan Mitchell called for more children to be in attendance at the yearly ceremony. “Sixty-nine years have passed, but the tragedy that occurred here at Kendal reminds us of an important part of our history. Today we gather not merely to recall a tragic event, but to remember the lives that we lost, honour the survivors and acknowledge the families and communities where those people lived,” he said. “It is a pity that when we have events like this that school is always out, because this is a moment in history that students should be here to see. This [train crash] was an event that shocked the entire world,” he added.

Peter Espeut, Roman Catholic deacon and pastoral administrator of St Anne’s Church, dedicating the monument at the 69 th anniversary commemorative ceremony for the Kendal train crash on Tuesday. (Photo: Kasey Williams)

Custos of Manchester Garfield Green used the reflection on the country’s worst transport crash to appeal to motorists to take personal responsibility in road use. “Transportation safety is not the duty of the Government only, it is the duty of all of us including the drivers, the pedestrians, the passengers, the operators and the policymakers. We must learn from this Kendal crash that when safety fails the consequences can echo for generations,” he said. “As we honour the memory of those who lost their lives in this tragic Kendal crash, let us use this occasion to recommit ourselves to be vigilant, disciplined, and exercise care on our roads and in every part of the transportation sector,” added Green. His predecessor Sally Porteous, a child when it happened, recalled the events after the Kendal crash.

Custos of Manchester Garfield Green addressing the 69th anniversary commemorative ceremony for the Kendal train crash on Tuesday. (Photo: Kasey Williams)

“At that time I lived with my family in a small farm house in Spur Tree. I remember my parents explaining to me and my sister what had happened and telling us that we must do all that we can to help,” she said. “One of the memories that has remained with me all these years was of my mother coming to my room and stripping the sheets from our beds, washing them, ripping them up into strips... to be used as bandages at the hospital,” “It was a simple act, but it showed us that we must all do what we can no matter how small the gesture,” she added.