How five drowned in car crash in Tees at Croft 100 years ago

About ten minutes later, the soldiers heard shouts coming from the raging river – “oh help me, save me...”.

As they peered into the rushing water, their lamps swinging in the gale, they saw the top of a man’s head swept past them the current. It disappeared into the darkness through the central arch of the railway viaduct, along with the cries.

At the same time, in Fife Road, Darlington, fishmonger John Tuxworth awoke with a jolt. He had spent the previous day in Leeds with friends, but had caught the evening train to Bank Top when they had decided to stay on for a meal before motoring home.

Yet in his nightmare, Mr Tuxworth had been in the car with them. And at the moment he awoke, he was screaming at the driver: “You’re going over, Noble. You’re going over!”

As dawn broke an hour or so after Mr Tuxworth’s abrupt awakening on Friday, March 5, 1915, the reservists and the local policemen were inspecting tyre marks outside the Comet Inn. The inn stands on the Durham side of the Tees, where the road turns sharply northwards in front of it towards Darlington.

The tyre marks, though, kept on turning. They left the road, went through a freshly-made hole in the low white riverside fence, scrapped over the stone parapet of the Tees and plummeted into the river, which was swollen by snowmelt.

“But there was no car to be seen, and the turbid waters of the river flowed on, successfully hiding the grim secret in their depths,” reported The Northern Echo.

The Croft village blacksmith, Thomas Longstaff, armed himself with a long hoop-iron. He prodded seven feet into the river and struck something solid and metallic – perhaps a car, lying on its side.

Word of the disaster swept around the district, reaching the ears of Mr Tuxworth, the fishmonger. He, along with many sightseers, caught the 2.06pm train out of Bank Top and arrived at Croft Spa station behind the Comet at 2.12pm. He made his way through the crowd on the riverbank and identified himself to a policeman, who showed him two items which had been retrieved from the water.

The first item Mr Tuxworth identified as a cigar box that was identical to the one which Charles Smith, the landlord of the Red Lion in Priestgate, had loaded into the car at the start of their outing so they could have a smoke on the journey.

The second item he identified as a rabbit-skin lined driving glove, very similar to that worn by his friend, W Noble, who was the owner and driver of the 40 horsepower New American motor that had taken them to Leeds.

And which was presumably down there beneath the muddy waters of the Tees.

In it at the time of the accident, said Mr Tuxworth, there would probably have been five men in the vehicle: Mr Noble and Mr Smith, plus William Robinson, who had a fried fish establishment on Victoria Road, Darlington, Alec Cole of Chatsworth Terrace, Darlington, who had a pot and china dealership along with his brother-in-law, Keith Caldwell of Northallerton.

As the afternoon wore on, the river dropped slightly to reveal the iron-studded tyres and the spokes of the wheels of a New American motor lying on its side. The riverbank right round to Rockliffe was searched for survivors – or worse – but it was judged too dangerous to try and lift the car from the rushing water that night.

Next morning, the 9.10am train brought “a good number of persons” to Croft Spa station to witness the day’s proceedings. Spectators were eight or nine deep on the Durham bank. They lined Croft bridge and had already gathered on the pebbles on the Yorkshire side. “Even in the historic churchyard, men and girls were standing among old weatherworn tombstones watching,” said the Evening Despatch newspaper.

The police had arranged for John Sherwood, haulage contractor and brickmaker, to rig up his traction engine outside the Comet to winch up the vehicle – the water had now dropped sufficiently for Mr Noble’s number plate, J3246, to be made out.

John Shepherd, a fish-watcher from Croft, was tied to the bank and waded waist deep into the water to attach a rope to the vehicle, which Mr Sherwood began to raise. A photographer with the Evening Despatch, The Northern Echo’s now defunct sister paper, snapped away, capturing a series of images that made an impressive front page which is today on display in the Comet.

The car cleared the water. Said the Echo: “Anxious men bent forward, ready with boat hooks, to seize any released bodies that might wash out from under the car. A red petrol can and a neatly wrapped brown paper parcel tied with strong bobbed up and down in the water and were carried away by the stream, but there was no sign of any bodies.”

The car was surprisingly undamaged and once set upright on the road was towed on its own wheels back to Darlington by the traction engine.

By then, word was spreading that the first body had been found about a mile downstream on Rockliffe Island, surrounded by water. Henry Simpson from a nearby farm had mounted a chestnut mare and had boldy attempted to reach it but had been forced back when the water was up to his saddle.

In the riverbed nearby were the ruined pillars of a carriagebridge which banker Alfred Backhouse had built in the 1860s when he was creating an expensive pleasuregarden in what is now Rockliffe Hall hotel. By tying ladders and planks across the pillars and then down onto the island, a brave party led by Harry Sayers, landlord of the Anchor Inn in Darlington, eventually reached the body, which was sitting upright among willow saplings.

Documents in the pockets revealed that it was that of Charles Smith, 42, from the Red Lion. The gold watch on a chain in his waistcoat pocket was stopped at 4.37 – the time, it was surmised, that the New American had entered the water on Friday morning.

His inquest was held on Monday, March 8, in the Comet. It emerged that the party had been on a jolly to Leeds – part business, mostly pleasure.

As they departed early that Thursday morning, Mr Smith’s last jokey words to his wife were: “Goodbye! I may not see you again. Be sure and bury me in Darlington.”

On the Thursday evening, they dined in the Griffin Hotel – a grand-looking building in Boar Lane in the city centre – before heading for home.

At 1.15am, they were stopped at Northallerton by PC J Stott who examined Mr Noble’s licence. All was in order, but the travellers were peckish and PC Stott directed them to the Golden Lion in the High Street for sandwiches and a little whisky. At 4.20am, PC Stott noticed them restart their journey – Mr Noble, said both policeman and barmaid, was perfectly sober.

About 20 minutes later, the car was spotted by the reservists “jealously guarding” the East Coast Mainline railway viaduct against German attack. With its distinctive bright headlight, it was travelling slowly and sensibly in the rainy night towards Croft bridge.

But of course, having crossed the bridge, it plunged into the river.

The jury and the Durham coroner agreed. The accident was caused by “an error of judgement on the part of the driver who mistook the river for the road”.

On Tuesday, March 9, the body of Mr Cole, 30, a father of three from Chatsworth Terrace, Darlington, was recovered from Rockliffe Island, and on the Thursday, William Robinson, 45, the fried fish proprietor, was discovered at Girsby, more than 15 miles downstream from the accident. His body had passed through Hurworth, Neasham and Sockburn before becoming lodged by Girsby footbridge.

Because he was retrieved on the Yorkshire bank, the Yorkshire coroner held the inquest in Northallerton, revisiting all the evidence. He agreed that Mr Noble must have been sober and driving well because he had negotiated steep turns on what is now the A167 at Great Smeaton, Black Man and coming onto Croft bridge.

Like the Durham coroner, he concluded: “The driver has mistaken the river for the road, a very easy thing to do at night, especially with biggish headlights.”

So on that dark night 100 years ago on Thursday, as the New American rounded the 90 degree bend outside the Comet, the road must have dipped away so that it was invisible to Mr Noble at the wheel. But the bright headlight must have caught on the foaming, rushing river, reflecting back through the rain, and the driver made the tragic error of judgement that cost five lives.

SOME questions: what is a New American 40 horsepower vehicle? Where is Black Man corner between Smeaton and Croft? And can you finish the story: despite ploughing through the newspapers of the day, we can’t find when the bodies of Mr Noble and Mr Caldwell were recovered. Are any of the travellers who lost their lives that night in your family tree?

THE framed Despatch front page was given to Lesley Jones, landlady of the Comet, last year along with the picture of Alec Cole. It is understood to have come from a family which was friendly with the Coles 100 years ago.

Last week, the Comet was named as the Durham Country Pub of the Season 2014 by the Darlington branch of Camra.