Hanham has a long list of names which figure strongly in its history, like Mary Griffiths who was the first person to cross the Clifton Suspension Bridge. But Hanham's favourite son was John Chiddy, whose name is still remembered by an event which thrilled not only Bristol but the whole of England.It took place when he was working at a quarry siding near the St
Anne's side of the River Avon. "The Flying Dutchman" express train which ran
from London, through Bristol, to Exeter, was the fastest train in the world
in the 1870s with a top speed of around sixty miles an hour. On March 31st,
1876, at about 2.20 pm, when the train was within two miles of Bristol, a
terrible accident seemed imminent. A large stone had fallen on to the track and derailment at this point would certainly have resulted in a twenty foot drop into the River Avon-in short a major disaster.
This was anstretch
of line between Brunel's two tunnels and close by was the Birchwood Quarry
where John Chiddy worked. Quarried stone had been stacked near the track ready for loading on to a freight train; this was usual practice. This stone
on the line become dislodged from the stack. It was fortunate for the passengers on this train that John Chiddy saw the stone and was fully aware
that The Flying Dutchman was due at any moment. He made a dash for the stone and with superhuman effort managed to get it clear of the line but the train was bearing down upon him at fifty miles an hour. It hit John Chiddy and killed him instantly, throwing him some nine yards down the track. He was
forty-seven years of age and left a widow and eight children unprovided for
Chiddy's bravery was reported and commented upon in almost every newspaper in the Kingdom and it was generally recognised that he saved not only the train, but the lives of the passengers. It seems incredible that the first appeal for subsciptions to provide funds for the widow and family, so suddenly deprived of their breadwinner, should have resulted in a meagre
sum of only 3 Pounds being collected-and the train was filled with well to do
passengers. The heroic deed became the main topic of conversation in East Bristol throughout the summer; there was great regret that there appeared to be no compensation payable. The case was taken up by Lord Elcho, Member of
Parliament, and in August of 1876 The House of Commons heard the whole story from him of how John Chiddy had by great promptitude and energy managed to remove a large stone from the path of the oncoming Flying Dutchman, and in all probability had averted a great catastrophe, but at the cost of his own life, and so leaving his family destitute. Lord Elcho continued "Bravery in the field is recognised by the Victoria Cross and at sea, by the Albert Medal:
and if a civilian is called up to preform such an act of bravery it ought to be recognised..." In view of the great publicity given to the case and because it had been an issue in the House of Commons, the prominent citizens of Bristol were impelled to call a meeting for the purpose of starting a Chiddy Memorial Fund.
The meeting was held in September of the same year, and it was decided to buy a plot of land and to build a house upon it. This
was done in 1877, and so the Chiddy Memorial Cottage was built on a spot which gave a clear view of the site where the brave deed took place, being one
of the most picturesque along the River Avon; here, the river makes a horse-shoe bend skirting the railway and sweeping around meadows. The key of the Memorial Cottage was handed to John Chiddy's widow on January 8th, 1878, and this brave man is also remembered by Memorial Road, Hanham, named as a tribute
in 1926. Nature has taken over healing the scars in the landscape made by Birchwood and other quarries along the banks of the Avon, the fact that they ever existed is almost forgotten. But thetrack between the two tunnels will go down in the annals of the Great western railway, as the scene of remarkable and courageous deed.
