IN THICK fog on December 4, 1957, a train went through a red signal and ran into the back of another stationary engine between St John's Wood and Lewisham stations.

The impact was devastating but then carriages knocked out bridge supports and tonnes of metal and concrete entombed passengers in the wreckage below.

A third train was stopped just short of the bridge by its alert driver just feet from the carnage below.

Even so, more than 90 people were killed and 176 were injured.

Emergency services worked through the night to get the badly injured out of the wreckage but their efforts were hampered by the thick fog.

Despite the 45th anniversary of the tragedy having come and gone there was still no lasting memorial to the victims and survivors of that night.

After News Shopper called for a lasting memorial, a plaque

commemorating the victims was unveiled at Lewisham station on Sunday.

MORE than 120 people attended a memorial service for the victims of the Lewisham Train Disaster. Lewisham Mayor Steve Bullock was joined at the ceremony by MPs Bridget Prentice and Joan Ruddock, the borough's police commander Chief Superintendent Archie Torrance and borough fire chief Dave Smith.

A religious service was led by local clergyman the Reverend Geoffrey Kirk and a plaque dedicated to the memory of those who died was unveiled by former train driver Don Corke.

Speaking at the ceremony, held on Sunday at Lewisham train station, Mr Corke said: "It was not commemorated at the time but if it happened in this day and age it probably would be.

"We were on the edge of the bridge, another few yards and a lot of people on my train would have died.

"I won't hear of being called a hero, I was a train driver and I just did my job.

"I know a lot of lives were saved by me but I was just in the right place at the right time."

Mrs Prentice said: "I am very pleased that News Shopper has taken this on as it is an important way of remembering the people who died in this tragic crash.

"It is a very fitting way of commemorating them and the sacrifices they made."

Mr Bullock, who praised the work of emergency crews who attended the incident, added: "One of the points about memorials is that it is not just about honouring the dead but also reminding the rest of us about our own mortality.

"Any of us can set off for work and expect we are going to get there but some are not so lucky."

He added: "We must also remember the brave work of the rescuers and the terrible job they had to do.

"It is a fitting tribute and will act as a reminder to the thousands of people who travel through this station."

Rev Kirk said: "I think it is a tribute to everyone who has organised this event particularly News Shopper.

"It is fitting and proper that it goes up in this new station. It sends a message to those who survived and the relatives of those that died that they are not forgotten."

He added: "Our technology is always vulnerable so we must remain vigilant. In fact, it makes us more vulnerable to disasters like this and we must show solidarity with the victims."

News Shopper Editor Andrew Parkes said: "I was surprised that nothing was already in place to commemorate the victims, 45 years is a long time to wait.

"I think this is a perfect example of what a community newspaper should be getting involved in. Now the thousands of people passing through this station will see a lasting memorial to the victims."

Mrs Ruddock MP added: "One lady walked up to Don Corke and said thank you for saving my life'.

"That was the first chance she had to say that, 45 years on. That is symbolic of what News Shopper is trying to do here today.

"When a tragedy is in living memory it should be commemorated, and I am glad to be here."

OF ALL the amazing stories to come out of the disaster, train driver Don Corke's must be one of the most remarkable.

He managed to stop his train before it could plunge over the bridge on to the devastation below.

The 75-year-old grandfather-of-one, of Hectoridge Road, Tonbridge, who retired as a train driver in 1993, remembers the night well.

He said: "I was driving the 5.22pm Holborn-to-Dartford eight-car electric train. The fog was so thick I couldn't see far ahead.

"I was coming down from Peckham Rye to Lewisham when I saw one yellow signal but didn't stop because two yellows then a red is the signal to halt."

The young train driver did not know it but his engine was just yards from the collapsed bridge.

He said: "As I approached the bridge, I lost the headlight because the current went but I didn't worry too much as this often happened in rush hour.

"But then I spotted a girder sticking out of the fog and slammed on the brakes. One carriage was already on the bridge."

Without knowing it Mr Corke had saved the lives of hundreds of passengers on his train and in the wreckage below.

He said: "Another 10 feet and we would have gone down onto the other engines. We would have been part of the disaster."

Mr Corke did not yet understand the scale of the tragedy.

"I still didn't know what had happened, just that the bridge had collapsed. I got out of the carriage and used a phone by the signal to call in.

"The signalman said there had been a terrible accident and to get the passengers out. I had to lead them all through a back garden."

Mr Corke brushes off any suggestions he is a hero.

He said: "I felt lucky to be alive when I realised the scale of it.

"It was sheer good fortune and I am no hero. Yes, I managed to stop the train but I just did my duty."