Prosthetic limb issued to Harold Jarvis

Harold lost his leg when he tripped when slowing down a moving wagon. The wagon crushed his lower leg, so he needed a prosthetic replacement. After his accident, Harold was moved from shunting work to switchboard duties at Banbury station, a lower paid position.

Working on the railway in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was extremely dangerous, especially for those involved in the movement of freight and shunting. Hundreds of men lost their lives annually and many tens of thousands were injured. Health and Safety regulations that we have today, were then, non-existent. Railway Companies regarded the safety of their employees as the responsibility of the employee and not the Company’s. The companies issued Rule Books to all their staff and placed warning signs and notices around the workplace. They expected workers to follow these safety rules and disciplined those who broke them. It was claimed by the railway companies that the main cause of accidents was the carelessness of railway workers, but long working hours, defective equipment and lack of safety measures were the real causes. Over time Railway Companies took greater responsibility for workers’ safety and the prevention of accidents.

When a worker experienced a disabling accident, the company supplied them with an artificial limb and found them a less active job but at a lower pay rate. Some of the larger companies like the London and North-Western and Great Western took over the production of prosthetics themselves and created wooden legs, feet and hands in their railway workshop for disabled staff.

Harold lost his leg when he tripped when slowing down a moving wagon. The wagon crushed his lower leg, so he needed a prosthetic replacement. After his accident, Harold was moved from shunting work to switchboard duties at Banbury station, a lower paid position.

Working on the railway in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was extremely dangerous, especially for those involved in the movement of freight and shunting. Hundreds of men lost their lives annually and many tens of thousands were injured. Health and Safety regulations that we have today, were then, non-existent. Railway Companies regarded the safety of their employees as the responsibility of the employee and not the Company’s. The companies issued Rule Books to all their staff and placed warning signs and notices around the workplace. They expected workers to follow these safety rules and disciplined those who broke them. It was claimed by the railway companies that the main cause of accidents was the carelessness of railway workers, but long working hours, defective equipment and lack of safety measures were the real causes. Over time Railway Companies took greater responsibility for workers’ safety and the prevention of accidents.

When a worker experienced a disabling accident, the company supplied them with an artificial limb and found them a less active job but at a lower pay rate. Some of the larger companies like the London and North-Western and Great Western took over the production of prosthetics themselves and created wooden legs, feet and hands in their railway workshop for disabled staff.

Harold lost his leg when he tripped when slowing down a moving wagon. The wagon crushed his lower leg, so he needed a prosthetic replacement. After his accident, Harold was moved from shunting work to switchboard duties at Banbury station, a lower paid position.

Working on the railway in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was extremely dangerous, especially for those involved in the movement of freight and shunting. Hundreds of men lost their lives annually and many tens of thousands were injured. Health and Safety regulations that we have today, were then, non-existent. Railway Companies regarded the safety of their employees as the responsibility of the employee and not the Company’s. The companies issued Rule Books to all their staff and placed warning signs and notices around the workplace. They expected workers to follow these safety rules and disciplined those who broke them. It was claimed by the railway companies that the main cause of accidents was the carelessness of railway workers, but long working hours, defective equipment and lack of safety measures were the real causes. Over time Railway Companies took greater responsibility for workers’ safety and the prevention of accidents.

When a worker experienced a disabling accident, the company supplied them with an artificial limb and found them a less active job but at a lower pay rate. Some of the larger companies like the London and North-Western and Great Western took over the production of prosthetics themselves and created wooden legs, feet and hands in their railway workshop for disabled staff.

Harold lost his leg when he tripped when slowing down a moving wagon. The wagon crushed his lower leg, so he needed a prosthetic replacement. After his accident, Harold was moved from shunting work to switchboard duties at Banbury station, a lower paid position.

Working on the railway in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was extremely dangerous, especially for those involved in the movement of freight and shunting. Hundreds of men lost their lives annually and many tens of thousands were injured. Health and Safety regulations that we have today, were then, non-existent. Railway Companies regarded the safety of their employees as the responsibility of the employee and not the Company’s. The companies issued Rule Books to all their staff and placed warning signs and notices around the workplace. They expected workers to follow these safety rules and disciplined those who broke them. It was claimed by the railway companies that the main cause of accidents was the carelessness of railway workers, but long working hours, defective equipment and lack of safety measures were the real causes. Over time Railway Companies took greater responsibility for workers’ safety and the prevention of accidents.

When a worker experienced a disabling accident, the company supplied them with an artificial limb and found them a less active job but at a lower pay rate. Some of the larger companies like the London and North-Western and Great Western took over the production of prosthetics themselves and created wooden legs, feet and hands in their railway workshop for disabled staff.

Harold lost his leg when he tripped when slowing down a moving wagon. The wagon crushed his lower leg, so he needed a prosthetic replacement. After his accident, Harold was moved from shunting work to switchboard duties at Banbury station, a lower paid position.

Working on the railway in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was extremely dangerous, especially for those involved in the movement of freight and shunting. Hundreds of men lost their lives annually and many tens of thousands were injured. Health and Safety regulations that we have today, were then, non-existent. Railway Companies regarded the safety of their employees as the responsibility of the employee and not the Company’s. The companies issued Rule Books to all their staff and placed warning signs and notices around the workplace. They expected workers to follow these safety rules and disciplined those who broke them. It was claimed by the railway companies that the main cause of accidents was the carelessness of railway workers, but long working hours, defective equipment and lack of safety measures were the real causes. Over time Railway Companies took greater responsibility for workers’ safety and the prevention of accidents.

When a worker experienced a disabling accident, the company supplied them with an artificial limb and found them a less active job but at a lower pay rate. Some of the larger companies like the London and North-Western and Great Western took over the production of prosthetics themselves and created wooden legs, feet and hands in their railway workshop for disabled staff.