by Clive Holden

This was the headline of an article in the Lancaster Guardian of 18th May 1867, which wasted no time in telling its readers that the incident might have a fatal termination’. It told how one railwayman with an iron lever had ’thus murderously armed’ attacked another, whose life is in danger’

The 13th May 1867 was not a lucky day for either James Burns or William Armstrong. At about 7.30 pm Armstrong, a twenty year old London North West Railways [LNWR] breaksman, arrived at Carnforth with a luggage train from Tebay which was due to return the same night with some empty coke wagons, and some carriages which were in No. 9 siding. There was shunting to be done, and it was this that was the cause of the subsequent trouble.

Richard Cock was the yardsman in charge of the goods yard, and he directed James Burns a pointsman, to turn Armstrong’s train into No 9 siding, but when Armstrong saw what was happening he became enraged, and demanded that Burns should have them shunted into No 10 siding. Burns considered himself responsible to Cock rather than to Armstrong, and ignored the demands of the latter, who became even more angry, and a heated argument ensued It might have come to no more than words had not Burns remarked that Armstrong would look better without his moustache, at which point Armstrong lost control of himself and the two came to blows, and then wrestled one another to the ground. Armstrong briefly held the advantage but Burns soon gained the upper hand and thumped Armstrong’s head several times against the ground. Armstrong begged to be allowed to get up so Burns, assuming that his opponent had yielded, rose and moved a few yards away with one hand in his pocket. Armstrong, however, was far from finished, for he walked over to an iron points lever, unfastened it, swung it over his shoulder, walked back towards the unsuspecting Burns and whacked him across the forehead with it. Fortunately for Burns he was wearing a cloth cap with a leather peak which absorbed much of the force, but the bar made a hole in the leather peak and Burns collapsed to the ground bleeding and unconscious.

Only after Burns had lost his senses did Armstrong partly come to his, but he was in a quandary as to what to do next. If he were to seek medical assistance the circumstances of the ‘accident’ would come to light, and he would be instantly dismissed from the service. Burns seemed to be in a bad way, lying bleeding and unconscious until Cock and fireman William Lindsay (whose evidence was later to help Armstrong) carried him to the pointsman’s cabin, where he was left until the train was ready to make its return journey, when he was taken in the van with Armstrong, and put off at Holme near to his lodging.

When Burns arrived home his landlady was not unnaturally appalled at his condition and sent for a doctor, but it was two days before the doctor could attend, and not long after that the police learned of the incident and matters took a more serious turn.

Armstrong was arrested on Friday 17th May. At his first court appearance he was opposed by Police Superintendent Jervis, who stated that the matter had first been reported to the railway officials, who had discharged Armstrong, and only later by chance had information reached the police. He (Jervis) had sent one of his sergeants to sec Burns, who was being attended by Dr Royle who considered it unsafe to remove Burns’s bandages. Jervis was doubtful whether Burns would recover, and urged the magistrates not to allow bail as the offence had been committed with a certain amount of deliberation and was likely to terminate fatally.

At the next court appearance Dr Royle when questioned, stated that on his examination of Burns two days after the incident, removal of the bandages showed only slight injury considering the weapon used. Although Burns was very weak through loss of blood, he (Royle) had never considered it to be a serious accident. Nevertheless Jervis, again in attendance, was determined that Armstrong should face the full rigour of the law, and in spite of the efforts of Armstrong’s solicitor to have the case dealt with summarily by the magistrates, Jervis’s influence prevailed and the case went to the sessions, with Armstrong being allowed bail.

Some weeks later before a jury Burns, by now recovered after being confined to bed for five days and off work for three weeks, declared that he did not wish to prosecute, but things had gone too far and the trial went ahead on a charge of unlawful wounding Mr. Knowles, representing Armstrong made great play of the fact that Armstrong had been handcuffed and marched through Skerton ‘like a felon’ although he had offered not the slightest resistance, but it was the evidence of William Lindsay, the fireman, which probably swayed the jury. He maintained that in addition to making a derogatory remark about Armstrong’s moustache, Burns had tweaked Armstrong’s nose, removing the skin, and this had led to the fight Burns had then ’brayed’ Armstrong’s head against the rail, and when Armstrong was rising having submitted Burns had kicked him. He also stated that Burns had walked unaided to the engine to have his wound attended to and then to the pointsman’s cabin, and that when he had been taken to the metal bridge north of Burton and Holme station, he had alighted and walked unaided to his lodging.

The Chairman charged the jury that there could be no doubt about the verdict, and the jury duly declared Armstrong guilty, but with a recommendation to leniency in view of the provocation he had suffered. The Chairman must have felt some sympathy, as he decided that in the circumstances a fortnight’s imprisonment would be sufficient punishment, which doubtless did not appease Superintendent Jervis, and would seem even in these enlightened days to have let Armstrong off remarkably lightly.

It would be interesting to know what became of the two protagonists. We know that Armstrong lost his job and went to prison, but no more than that. Burns must be assumed to have remained in railway employment after his three weeks off work, and probably looked at points levers with deep mistrust for ever after.

Published in Moueholme Magazine Issue 38 2000