Cavell Van
Encyclopedia
The Cavell Van is the prototype
Parcels and Miscellaneous Van (US: boxcar) built by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway
in 1919. It is so named because it was the van which carried the body of Edith Cavell
when it was repatriated to the United Kingdom
following the end of the First World War
. The van also carried the bodies of Charles Fryatt
and The Unknown Warrior
.
It served with the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, the Southern Railway
and British Rail
ways before entering into preservation at the Kent and East Sussex Railway
. The van was fully restored in 2010.
. It was built to Diagram 960 by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway at Ashford Works in 1919 and was the prototype Parcels and Miscellaneous Van. In 1919, it was used for the carriage of the bodies of two people killed during the First World War - Edith Cavell
, Charles Fryatt
. It carried the body of The Unknown Warrior
in 1920.
Edith Cavell was born in Swardeston
, Norfolk
in 1865. She trained as a nurse in 1907 and worked at various hospitals in Belgium
. During 1914-15, she helped over 200 allied POWs
escape before being arrested and subsequently executed. Her body was repatriated from Belgium in May 1919, and was transported in the Cavell Van from Dover
to London
.
, Hampshire
in 1872. A merchant mariner, he joined the Great Eastern Railway
in 1892 and took command of his first ship in 1913. On 28 March 1915, his ship, the was ordered to stop by , but Fryatt ordered full steam ahead and attempted to ram U-33, which crash dived. On 25 June 1916, Fryatt's ship was captured by the Germans and escorted into Zeebrugge
. Fryatt was Court Martialled and later executed. His body was repatriated in July 1919, and was carried in the Cavell Van from Dover to London, prior to his funeral at St. Paul's Cathedral, London.
on 11 November 1920.
and Brighton Works. Under British Railways
it was numbered DS734. It was transferred to the internal user pool in October 1967 and renumbered 082757. The van ended its service at Guildford
cable depot. The van was withdrawn from service in 1991 and stored at Hoo Junction
. It was sold to the Tenterden Rolling Stock Group in 1992 and moved to the Kent and East Sussex Railway. It was delivered to on 22 January 1992. The van is numbered 93 on the Kent and East Sussex Railway stocklist. In 1994, the van was moved to the Rother Valley Railway
at . During its stay at the Rother Valley Railway, the van was sold and its condition deteriorated. It was sold again in 2003 and returned to the Kent and East Sussex Railway in 2004.
In December 2009, an appeal was opened to raise £35,000
to fully restore the van, with the intention of completion by 10 November 2010, the 90th anniversary of the carriage of the body of The Unknown Warrior. The fully restored van was unveiled on 10th November 2010, and will now be used as a museum to commemorate The Unknown Warrior, Cavell and Fryatt. The exhibition mounted inside the van was put together by pupils from Homewood School
, Tenterden
, in a joint project between the school and the railway. The pupils carried out research at the Imperial War Museum
, London, where they were allowed access to letters written by Cavell. The project was entered in a competition organised by the British Interactive Media Association
. Homewood School were declared the winners of the competition on 8 July 2010. The van's historical importance is assessed as "very important" by the Vintage Carriages Trust.
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
Parcels and Miscellaneous Van (US: boxcar) built by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway
South Eastern and Chatham Railway
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee , known by its shorter name of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Eastern Railway and London, Chatham and Dover Railway , that operated services between...
in 1919. It is so named because it was the van which carried the body of Edith Cavell
Edith Cavell
Edith Louisa Cavell was a British nurse and spy. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from all sides without distinction and in helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during World War I, for which she was arrested...
when it was repatriated to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
following the end of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The van also carried the bodies of Charles Fryatt
Charles Fryatt
Charles Algernon Fryatt was a British mariner who attempted to ram a German U-boat in 1915. His ship, the was captured by the Germans in 1916. When it became clear who he was, Fryatt was court-martialled and executed, although he was a civilian. There was international outrage following his...
and The Unknown Warrior
The Unknown Warrior
The British tomb of The Unknown Warrior holds an unidentified British soldier killed on a European battlefield during the First World War. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, London on 11 November 1920, simultaneously with a similar interrment of a French unknown soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in...
.
It served with the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, the Southern Railway
Southern Railway (Great Britain)
The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...
and British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways before entering into preservation at the Kent and East Sussex Railway
Kent and East Sussex Railway
The Kent & East Sussex Railway refers to both an historical private railway company in Kent and Sussex in England, as well as a heritage railway currently running on part of the route of the historical company.-Historical Company:-Background:...
. The van was fully restored in 2010.
History
The Cavell Van was designed by Richard MaunsellRichard Maunsell
Richard Edward Lloyd Maunsell held the post of Chief Mechanical Engineer of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway from 1913 until the 1923 Grouping and then the post of CME of the Southern Railway in England until 1937....
. It was built to Diagram 960 by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway at Ashford Works in 1919 and was the prototype Parcels and Miscellaneous Van. In 1919, it was used for the carriage of the bodies of two people killed during the First World War - Edith Cavell
Edith Cavell
Edith Louisa Cavell was a British nurse and spy. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from all sides without distinction and in helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during World War I, for which she was arrested...
, Charles Fryatt
Charles Fryatt
Charles Algernon Fryatt was a British mariner who attempted to ram a German U-boat in 1915. His ship, the was captured by the Germans in 1916. When it became clear who he was, Fryatt was court-martialled and executed, although he was a civilian. There was international outrage following his...
. It carried the body of The Unknown Warrior
The Unknown Warrior
The British tomb of The Unknown Warrior holds an unidentified British soldier killed on a European battlefield during the First World War. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, London on 11 November 1920, simultaneously with a similar interrment of a French unknown soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in...
in 1920.
Edith Cavell
Edith Cavell was born in Swardeston
Swardeston
Swardeston is a village four miles south of Norwich in Norfolk, England, on high ground above the Tas valley. It covers an area of and had a population of 540 in 246 households as of the 2001 census.-History:...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
in 1865. She trained as a nurse in 1907 and worked at various hospitals in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. During 1914-15, she helped over 200 allied POWs
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
escape before being arrested and subsequently executed. Her body was repatriated from Belgium in May 1919, and was transported in the Cavell Van from Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Charles Fryatt
Charles Fryatt was born in SouthamptonSouthampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
in 1872. A merchant mariner, he joined the Great Eastern Railway
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
in 1892 and took command of his first ship in 1913. On 28 March 1915, his ship, the was ordered to stop by , but Fryatt ordered full steam ahead and attempted to ram U-33, which crash dived. On 25 June 1916, Fryatt's ship was captured by the Germans and escorted into Zeebrugge
Zeebrugge
Zeebrugge is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and a seafront resort with hotels, cafés, a marina and a beach.-Location:...
. Fryatt was Court Martialled and later executed. His body was repatriated in July 1919, and was carried in the Cavell Van from Dover to London, prior to his funeral at St. Paul's Cathedral, London.
The Unknown Warrior
The Unknown Warrior was a British soldier killed on a battlefield in Europe. His body was carried from Dover to London on board the Cavell Van on 10 November 1920, prior to the funeral service at Westminster AbbeyWestminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
on 11 November 1920.
Service history
The van was numbered 132 by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway. It passed to the Southern Railway in 1923 and was renumbered 1972, then 374S on transfer to departmental service in August 1946. The van was used as a stores van serving Lancing Carriage WorksLancing Carriage Works
Lancing carriage and wagon works was a railway carriage and wagon building and maintenance facility in the village of Lancing in the county of West Sussex in England from 1911 until 1965.-History under the LB&SCR:...
and Brighton Works. Under British Railways
Southern Region of British Railways
The Southern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992. The region covered south London, southern England and the south coast, including the busy commuter belt areas of Kent, Sussex...
it was numbered DS734. It was transferred to the internal user pool in October 1967 and renumbered 082757. The van ended its service at Guildford
Guildford (Surrey) railway station
Guildford railway station is an important railway junction on the Portsmouth Direct Line serving the town of Guildford in Surrey, England. It is 30.3 miles from London Waterloo....
cable depot. The van was withdrawn from service in 1991 and stored at Hoo Junction
Hoo Junction
Hoo Junction is a rail yard on the North Kent Line. It is located near the village of Higham, Kent and also Shorne Marshes; it is operated by EWS...
. It was sold to the Tenterden Rolling Stock Group in 1992 and moved to the Kent and East Sussex Railway. It was delivered to on 22 January 1992. The van is numbered 93 on the Kent and East Sussex Railway stocklist. In 1994, the van was moved to the Rother Valley Railway
Rother Valley Railway
The Rother Valley Railway is the original name of what became the Kent and East Sussex Railway. Nowadays, the Rother Valley Railway refers to the ‘Missing Link’ between Robertsbridge, a station on the Tonbridge to Hastings mainline, and Bodiam on the Kent and East Sussex Railway, a heritage...
at . During its stay at the Rother Valley Railway, the van was sold and its condition deteriorated. It was sold again in 2003 and returned to the Kent and East Sussex Railway in 2004.
In December 2009, an appeal was opened to raise £35,000
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
to fully restore the van, with the intention of completion by 10 November 2010, the 90th anniversary of the carriage of the body of The Unknown Warrior. The fully restored van was unveiled on 10th November 2010, and will now be used as a museum to commemorate The Unknown Warrior, Cavell and Fryatt. The exhibition mounted inside the van was put together by pupils from Homewood School
Homewood School
Homewood School and Sixth Form Centre is a comprehensive school in Tenterden, Kent, England. It has over 2500 students and 250+ staff. Homewood is a comprehensive school but is situated within the Kent selective system so it has a student profile that is half way between comprehensive and secondary...
, Tenterden
Tenterden
Tenterden is a Cinque Port town in the Ashford District of Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother....
, in a joint project between the school and the railway. The pupils carried out research at the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
, London, where they were allowed access to letters written by Cavell. The project was entered in a competition organised by the British Interactive Media Association
British Interactive Media Association
The British Interactive Media Association or 'BIMA' is an industry body representing the digital industry in the United Kingdom.Formed in 1985, BIMA is a membership organisation primarily made up of digital agencies...
. Homewood School were declared the winners of the competition on 8 July 2010. The van's historical importance is assessed as "very important" by the Vintage Carriages Trust.