MANCHESTER, Jamaica – A monument commemorating the memory of the 187 people who perished in the Kendal train crash of 1957, in Manchester, was unveiled at the location on September 11, by Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange.

To be named a heritage site, which was developed at a cost of $7.9 million, it will house a memorial park and a museum, said the minister in her address.

The monument was built through the ministry, in partnership with the Kendal Crash Committee of the Manchester Municipal Corporation. September 1 marked the 68th anniversary of the tragedy.

“I am also pleased to inform you that the Kendal train crash site will be recommended by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT), for Declaration as a National Monument on the basis of its historic and archaeological significance,” the minister said.

The site covers 2.29 acres, and now that a defined area has been established, the JNHT has started the process of having the Kendal train crash burial site declared a national monument, Minister Grange explained.

September 1 last year was proclaimed by the Governor-General as a National Day of Remembrance for the victims of the crash.

The minister envisions the site becoming a place where, in the future, students and others can visit and relax while learning about the crash.

The crash was described as the worst in the world at the time it happened. The train was taking some 1,700 passengers  from Montego Bay to Kingston when it derailed approaching the Kendal stop and 187 died, while more than 700 were injured.

“I lost relatives on that crash and I get goosebumps every time I think of it, because I was scheduled to be on that train,” said Grange.

“My mother was the village dressmaker, so she was busy sewing for everybody and she ran late and we did not make the train.  So, today I am alive and my mother lived to age 92. I think we were here for a purpose, as here I am to be a part of this occasion,” the minister said.

Meanwhile, a survivor of the crash, Cynthia Desulme, said the six members of her family on board the fateful train survived.

“Thank God we all survived and bless those who didn’t make it. I choose to forget what happened. I came in 2019 when it was in the making and I thank the minister for the wonderful job in executing this project,” she said.

Also in attendance was author and document examiner Beverly East, who lost 14 members of her family in the crash.

Her book, ‘Reaper of Souls’, tells a fictional tale of the sad event.

– JIS