Ongar Station

Ongar Station, at the Eastern end of the Epping Ongar Railway and formerly at the end of the Central Line, and before that, long ago, at the end of the branch in rural Essex of the Great Eastern Railway, has many stories to tell. One of these is the heroic but tragic story of an Ongar resident, one Father Thomas Byles (1870-1912) on the "Titanic". He had a place on one of the limited number of lifeboats, but gave his place to someone else; he went down with the ship.

Ongar Station in 2012,
the Centenary of the Sinking of "The Titanic".

When Father Byles left Ongar Station in April 1912, his local station will have looked similar in 1912 to the way it looked in 2012, with only a few inevitable differences between the two years a century apart. The diligent restorers of England's railway heritage have worked hard to bring back as much as possble of times past.

The Titanic

The "First Sailing" of the "Titanic" was proudly announced in Britain, like this advertisement which was printed on metal. The "Titanic" was the latest addition to the White Star Fleet. She was similar to, but just slightly heavier than, her two sisters, and so, at the time, the largest ocean liner in the world. This sign at Ongar Station may be weathered and may have lost some of its original colours - blues and greens - but still captures the excitment in 1912 of the forthcoming maiden voyage of the then world's largest passenger liner.

"The Titanic"
is proudly announced on Ongar Station.
"First Sailing of the Latest Addition to the White Star Fleet".
"The Latest, Largest and Finest Steamer Afloat".
This advertisement was printed on metal, and looks weathered.
However, it still captures the excitement
of the latest in world travel in 1912.

Heroism in Comforting Others

Father Thomas Byles was travelling from Ongar, to New York, to conduct his brother's wedding ceremony. From Liverpool Street Station he went to Waterloo Station to catch the Southampton boat train. In Southampton, he boarded the "Titanic" at Pier 10 (the White Star Dock, Berth 44).

Little did he and his fellow travellers know that the "Titanic" would never reach the American shores. When disaster struck, Father Byles gave the chances of a place on a lifeboat to others. Father Byles was to die, assisting and comforting others, as the "Titanic" started to sink beneath the surface of the Atlantic, eventually reaching her final resting place on the sea bed, 2⅓ miles (about 3.8 Km) below the surface of the ocean.

On Ongar Station you will also find
this Commemorative Plaque, which was affixed by the
"Ongar Millenium History Society"

The history of the "Titanic" lives on, no less on Ongar Station in Essex, where visitors and day-trippers are reminded of the momentous happening a century and more ago.