September 1 declared National Day of Remembrance for victims of Kendal crash

   

September 1 has been declared a National Day of Remembrance which will be observed annually to commemorate the victims of the Kendal crash in Manchester in 1957.

 

Sunday marked 67 years since Jamaica's worst and the world's second worst, railway crash.

 

Nearly 200 people died in the tragedy.

 

Custos of Manchester, Garfield Green, read the proclamation on behalf of Governor General Sir Patrick Allen at a rose-laying commemorative anniversary ceremony of the disaster, held at the Kendal Missionary Church on Sunday. 

 

Noting the death, grief, trauma and suffering caused by the tragedy, The Governor General said the day of remembrance would ensure "these moments may never be forgotten, but remain etched the memory of our country". 

 

But relatives and friends of the victims continue to agitate for the erection of a monument in Kendal.

 

Addressing the ceremony, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Deanroy Bernard, said $8 million has been committed for the construction of the monument.

 

Still, author Beverley East, who lost 14 relatives in the disaster, bemoaned the tardiness of the relevant authorities. 

 

"So excuse me if I'm not clapping and excited because I've heard it all before and I'm sorry that I'm saying this, but it has to be heard. My mother would always say 'A promise is a comfort to a fool' and I stand here today with heavy heart because every year I come to the programme, and every year it's the same thing that's being said. The monument is not just important for us as a country. It's important as part of our history for the world," she lamented. 

 

The Kendal Memorial Committee of the Manchester Municipal Corporation has been tasked with ensuring the project is completed.