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Workers killed at work (builders)

Categories: Property, Tragedy

Group

The thousands of building workers who have lost their lives at work.

Researching one of these terrible events reminded us that we have found other memorials to people who died in 'accidents' at work. We don't like the word 'accident', since it suggests that nothing could have been done to prevent the death and that is seldom true. We've put together a list of these memorials to deaths at work (many but not all, building workers). To keep it manageable we have excluded: those serving in the emergency services, those killed in terrorist attacks or by war-time bombs, and those killed in rail crashes or on the road.

1853 - ten workmen killed at the Sydenham Crystal Palace construction site.

1877 - six crew members killed during the voyage bringing Cleopatra's Needle to London.

1895 - four men killed at the sewage pumping works, East Ham (Postman's Park).

1899 - one man killed in a boiler explosion at a Battersea sugar refinery (Postman's Park).

1899 - one stewardess drowned (Postman's Park).

1901 - three workmen poisoned by gas at a Stratford distillery ((Postman's Park).

1912 - about 900 crew members lost on the Titanic.

1917 - 73 people were killed in the Silvertown explosion, at a factory producing TNT for the war.

1969 - one demolition worker killed in the Dudgeon's Wharf explosion.

1975 - two engineers killed trying to rescue a third who also died, at Watneys' Mortlake Brewery.

1979 - four men involved in the design of Burgess Park killed in an air crash near Biggin Hill (not certain this was work-related).

1990 - three men killed by the gases in a sewer in Commercial Road.

2000 - three men killed in a construction crane at Canary Wharf.

The death toll at each of the events recorded on plaques in Postman's Park may be higher, but the plaques do not mention deaths of any except those attempting rescue.

In 2006 the statue to the thousands of building workers who have lost their lives at work was erected.

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Workers killed at work (builders)

Commemorated ati

Ainsworth & Sharp

We could find nothing about this incident, until we asked Richmond Council's ...

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Burgess, Clark and Whittard

In memory of Martin Burgess, Peter Clark and Michael Whittard, who died on 21...

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Burgess Park designers - 1979 air crash

Geoffrey Mills was the pilot - see his page for more details. Our information...

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Cleopatra's needle - crew members lost

{A list of 6 names, oddly not in alphabetical sequence - see Subjects commemo...

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Crystal Palace workmen's grave

Twelve workmen were killed, but we are unable to find out where the other two...

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Show all 12

Other Subjects

redevopment of Stonebridge Estate

redevopment of Stonebridge Estate

Not to be confused with the Stonebridge Estate in Brent which sounds very rough but if you believe Iain Sinclair, in 1991 the one in Haggerston was not much better.  Wikimapia shows the boundaries...

Building, Property

1 memorial
Winchester Palace

Winchester Palace

A nearby information board gives: These ruins are all that remain of the palace of the powerful Bishops of Winchester, one of the largest and most important buildings in medieval London. Founded i...

Building, Property, Religion

1 memorial
Apthorp

Apthorp

The home of Fanny Cradock's maternal grandparents and named after Apthorp Villa, in Weston, Somerset, where Fanny's grandfather Charles Hancock had been born. This all implies that it was built by ...

Building, Property

1 memorial
Australia House

Australia House

Home of the High Commission of Australia. Designed by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie and built by Dove Brothers. Construction commenced in 1913, but as many of the building materials came from Austra...

Building, Property, Australia

1 memorial
Bartram House

Bartram House

This Georgian house was on The Green, Hampstead, in an area now occupied by the west-most part of the Hampstead Royal Free Hospital. It was Sir Rowland Hill's home for 30 years, during which time S...

Building, Property

1 memorial