Letter, from Queen Elizabeth II to Albert George Powell Marsh, conveying her regret that she could not personally award Mr Marsh with his British Empire Medal for his actions during the aftermath of the Milton train accident, November 20th 1955.

Fireman Albert George Powell Marsh was awarded the British Empire Medal in recognition for his services to the trapped and injured passengers of the train that derailed at Milton on November 20th 1955. The accident report shows that it was caused by driver error, as the train approached a crossover on an embankment at excessive speed. It was exacerbated by poor visibility of the signal caused by the Britannia being left-hand drive on a Western Region line, with the view further curtailed by the handrail and smoke deflector.