Disasters

  • 1666: The Great Fire of London begins

    The Great Fire of London began at around 1 a.m. on Sunday 2 September 1666 in the bakery of Thomas Farriner in Pudding Lane. Within four days, it would burn through most of the City of London and leave around 100,000 people homeless. The first warning came inside Farriner’s household. His journeyman, Thomas Dagger, woke…

  • 1666: The Great Fire of London is brought under control

    On 6 September 1666, the Great Fire of London was finally brought under control after burning through the City for four days. The fire had begun early on 2 September in the bakery of Thomas Farriner in Pudding Lane. A dry summer had left buildings vulnerable, while strong winds carried the fire through streets packed…

  • 1854: The Great Fire of Newcastle and Gateshead devastates both sides of the Tyne

    The Great Fire of Newcastle and Gateshead began shortly after midnight on 6 October 1854, when fire was discovered at J. Wilson & Sons’ worsted mill in Hillgate on the Gateshead side of the Tyne. The mill contained wool, oil and other combustible material, and the fire spread rapidly. Nearby stood a large bonded warehouse…

  • 1878: Princess Alice sinks in the River Thames

    The passenger steamer Princess Alice sank in the River Thames on the evening of 3 September 1878 after colliding with the much larger Bywell Castle near Woolwich. Around 650 people died in what remains the worst single loss of life in a Thames shipping disaster. Princess Alice was a paddle steamer used for excursions from…

  • 1915: Quintinshill rail disaster kills more than 200 people

    On 22 May 1915, a troop train carrying men of the 1/7th Battalion Royal Scots crashed near Quintinshill Junction, near Gretna. A second collision and fire followed. The disaster killed 230 people and became Britain’s worst railway accident. The men on the troop train were part of Britain’s war effort. They were being moved by…

  • 1915: HMS Princess Irene explodes off Sheerness

    HMS Princess Irene exploded off Sheerness on 27 May 1915 while being loaded with mines. The ship was destroyed and sank. The disaster killed 352 people. Princess Irene had been a Canadian Pacific passenger liner before the Admiralty took her into service during the First World War. She was being used as an auxiliary minelayer.…

  • 1934: The Gresford Colliery Disaster Kills 266

    An explosion tore through the Dennis section of Gresford Colliery, near Wrexham, at about 2 a.m. on 22 September 1934. It started an underground fire and trapped hundreds of men. Six escaped from the affected workings. Most did not. The Friday night shift was particularly busy. Wrexham were due to play Tranmere Rovers on Saturday…

  • 1988: Piper Alpha explodes in the North Sea

    On 6 July 1988, the Piper Alpha oil and gas platform exploded in the North Sea. The disaster killed 167 men and became the deadliest offshore oil and gas accident. Piper Alpha stood in the UK sector of the North Sea, north-east of Aberdeen. It was operated by Occidental Petroleum and had become a major…