The Teme aqueduct on the Leominster Canal: the secrets of a unique military centrepiece in World War Ⅱ

摘要

I was interested in David Slater's account of both the demolition of the Teme Aqueduct in WWII and his researches into how, when and why. There might be a couple of other sources to interest him, if indeed they still survive. He refers to the GWR bridge at Little Hereford as also being 'blown'. This carried the GWR/LMS (technically the Shrewsbury & Hereford Jt Rly) branch from Woofferton to Tenbury Wells. I do not know the history of this branch line but in 1938 (Bradshaw's July Railway Guide, D&C reprint) it carried 8 up trains and 9 down trains on weekdays. So if the line was blocked for any reason (by the bridge being 'blown' in military exercise terms or actually blown up) this would of necessity be recorded in the signalmen's registers at either end of the block section. This would probably be Tenbury Wells and Easton Court. Also the local station master, probably the Tenbury Wells man as Easton Court was a wayside halt, would be obliged to send in a report certainly to his divisional manager, probably at Worcester, if not higher up to Paddington. These reports are more likely to have survived than the signal box train registers.