A unique piece of history at the K&ESR

This unassuming railway van, photographed at Rolvenden station on the Kent & East Sussex Railway in 2009 actually holds a unique place in history.

SE&CR PMV 132 at Rolvenden, K&ESR, 8/9/09

Built at the South Eastern & Chatham Railway's Ashford Works in 1919 No.132 was the prototype Parcels and Miscellaneous Van, the design of which continued to be built by the SE&CR's successor the Southern Railway and also by British Railways as late as 1951 and as a result most, if not all heritage railways are home to at least one preserved example.

But this particular specimen is unique… It carried three bodies from Dover to London after the end of World War One.

The first was Edith Cavell in May 1919. Trained as a nurse, during 1914-15 she helped more than 200 allied Prisoners of War to escape from German-occupied Belgium before she was arrested and subsequently executed. Her body was repatriated and a state funeral was held at Westminster Abbey before her burial at Norwich Cathedral.

The second was Charles Algernon Fryatt, captain of the SS Brussels. In March 1915 his ship was ordered to stop by the German submarine U-33 but Fryatt attempted to ram the U-boat which crash-dived and escaped. In June 1916 Fryatt's ship was captured by the Germans and he was Court Martialled and later executed. His body was repatriated in July 1919.

The third body was that of The Unknown Warrior, his body was carried to London on 10 November 1920, prior to the funeral service at Westminster Abbey the following day.

Since the above photograph was taken the van has been fully restored following an appeal to raise £35,000 and was unveiled on the 90th anniversary of the carriage of the body of The Unknown Warrior.

Industrial Action - BTH Bo-BoDE 'Ford No.1'

BTH Bo-BoDE 'Ford No.1 (b.1932) at Rolvenden on the Kent & East Sussex Railway, 8/9/09

This boxy, American-looking locomotive was actually one of three built in Britain for the Ford Motor Company in 1932 for their new car plant at Dagenham in Essex.

The original specification was for a 150hp diesel electric locomotive with a weight of 44 tons and also stated that "all materials will be of British manufacture", something difficult to imagine these days.

The locomotives were fitted with American fixed-pattern buckeye couplers, sanding equipment, automatic bell and air whistles and at the time of building were unique in Britain and attracted considerable interest being regularly seen crossing the former London, Tilbury & Southend Railway mainline that passed between Ford's sidings to the north and the company's jetty on the River Thames to the south.

Built by British Thomson-Houston Co Ltd in Rugby they had bodies and frames made from Sheffield steel by Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd and six-cylinder engines supplied by W.H. Allen, Sons & Co Ltd of Bedford thus fulfilling the 'British manufacture' part of the specification.

BTH Bo-BoDE 'Ford No.1 (b.1932) at Rolvenden on the Kent & East Sussex Railway, 8/9/09

After 34 years of service at Dagenham, Ford No.1 was acquired by the Kent & East Sussex Railway where I photographed it (at Rolvenden) in 2009 and it still sees occasional use at special events.