The Bethnal Green Tube Disaster

The story of the worst disaster in the entire history of the Underground.
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[@philiphowley4243]

A sensitive and appropriate ending to this sad story

[@davidw1518]

Yes, well done, Jago. This subject was not suitable for your usual jokiness - which we all usually enjoy - and your sensitivity and thoughtfulness in maintaining a more sombre and caring tone shone out. Thank you.

[@adonaiyah2196]

It's bothering me how high the mortality 173 ppl crushed by other people the force of flesh 173 I'll never recover from how high that is

[@adonaiyah2196]

@@davidw1518 the number is too damn high

[@Castlebank_Sidings]

Very sympathetically done in the memory of those lost on that fateful day.

[@daveherbert6215]

Excellent but so sad

[@ianmansfield68]

I grew up around Bethnal Green in the early 70s and had no idea about this until years later when I read about it - and then a few years ago there was the Channel 4 documentary 'Ghosts of the Underground' which has a chilling tale about this. This video brought a tear to my eye.

[@katehumm1]

Factual, informative, educational, and sensibly not entertaining. Another great video toned perfectly. Thanks Jago 👍

[@adonaiyah2196]

173 is way more than I expected

[@adonaiyah2196]

I can't even pretend to hype up the presentation its done well but the mortality rate us too high

[@nirgunapa56]

Hiting like feels wrong but you handled this in a factual and sensitive manner and it is your treatment and respect that I am liking. The silence at the end is very telling...

[@FranNyan]

I feel like there needs to be a way to re-label "like" to be "Support" or "Respect" or similar for certain videos on somber topics.

[@eekee6034]

@@FranNyan For certain comments, too.

[@tvandbeermakehomergo]

I actually heard about this from my grandad. He was actually down there that night, luckily he and my great nan survived the disaster!

[@dizzy56]

OMG...thank goodness - they were very lucky ❤️

[@marvintpandroid2213]

Morning Jago. Not a jolly story but one that is well worth telling.

[@cjayos7654]

3rd March 2023 will mark 80 years sinse the disaster. I hope that Tfl, LB Tower Hamlets and local charities and organisations can come together and organise a truly fitting commemorative event. It's the least that can be done to honour the poor victims of this terrible tragedy. A very moving video. Thanks, Jago.

[@dizzy56]

Hear hear. ❤️

[@mogznwaz]

Tower Hamlets won't care, most of the residents are probably celebrating the deaths of infidels.

[@jimtuite3451]

It took nearly 50 years just to get that tiny plaque above the entrance. By the time the staircase to heaven memoral opened in 2017 opened, vertually no survivors were allowed... a disgraceful situation that all the authorities - London Transport, the LCC, the GLC, the Borough of Bethnal Green and its sucessor Tower Hamlets - should all be ashamed of

[@shazanali692]

@@mogznwaz they paid the artist 400k for that pile of shite lol

[@robbojax2025]

My mother was a teenager living in Bethnal Green during the war and spent only a few nights down the underground at the beginning of the Blitz. She refused to go any more because it was so disgusting. The tragedy was not known fully at the time and she told me that rumours were rife as to the cause. By lunch time she realised that a few of the girls where she worked as a machinist had been killed. The empty sewing machines places haunted her more than most of her war time experiences.

[@PLuMUK54]

Very sensitively handled. When I was still teaching (retired now) I used to refer to this event when talking about shelters. I wish that I had had this video then in order to enhance my student's understanding.

[@thomasburke2683]

I am sure you did a sensitive and wise job even without Jago's video.

[@christopherdean1326]

I have visited this memorial, and one of the saddest things about it, which was not mentioned in this video, is that it incorporates comments from survivors. One of these is from a woman whose younger sister was one of the victims. When she got home, her mother would not speak to her again, because she had not saved her sister.

[@sirmeowthelibrarycat]

😢 It was such a traumatic event that need not have happened, given there was no bombing at the time. But enduring air attacks for months was bound to create serious nervousness in people so any hint of an attack made them rush to the shelter. The rest you know from the video. RIP💐.

[@jimtuite3451]

A visit at night would also have shown images of those named of the memorial projected onto the flat side of it ...a very ingenious and thoughtful addition to the memorial

[@apseudonym]

damn... that's rough. grief can be so destructive

[@ShadowebEB]

Best way to lose 2 children instead of 1... Dead seems to be always preferred than the living, the mom should have been happy to have at least 1 alive from the event.

[@XANDRE.]

Wow

[@michaeldegroot1327]

The "Stairway" had about 110 family names by my count. That means many families lost multiple members and there were also probably injuries to others in the same family. So not just the worst disaster, but extremely impactful on a relatively small number of families. To me that makes it even worse. I shudder to think of the impact on the local community.

[@SynchroScore]

On one of the bronze plaques seen in the video, I saw three sets of "Snr" and "Jr". And to see my own last name on there is also rather chilling, even though my family left Britain a couple centuries ago.

[@sirmeowthelibrarycat]

💐 RIP. Jago, the ending of this video brought me to tears. It is so moving and deeply respectful. Silence offers so much in this context.Thank you.

[@brucewilliams8714]

Me too.

[@johnjephcote7636]

Apparently, sounds of screaming (especially womens' voices) can still be heard (though it has been suggested that the noise is from surface traffic filtering down).

[@MrGreatplum]

What a horrific loss of life. Thank you for telling their story so respectfully.

[@TEBEnthusiast]

It was horrific

[@bethfourskin3942]

❤😊

[@Mr._E]

After discussing this tragedy, I noticed Jago ended the video without his usual spiel. That was in very good taste. It makes me suspect that he, unlike a lot of other creators, truly cares about what he produces.

[@fantasyproduct1042]

An exgirlfriends nan told us that they couldn't fit her in this night so she was turned away. How lucky she was.

[@mikeclifton7778]

Nicely done, the silence at the end particularly poignant, thank you.

[@MetroTitanD78]

The Kray twins were nearly killed in that crush and only just got out of it which makes you wonder how different things in London would later be without them.

[@jojoUK120]

Not so different perhaps, there's never a shortage of gangster psychopaths.

[@jimtuite3451]

Urban myth

[@davidvines8141]

You presented this video very respectfully, as the subject deserves, thank you. My Grandfather was one of the policemen involved in the rescue operation.

[@ianmaddams9577]

Only you Jago could have done this sad story justice . Thank you

[@kevinludlow7561]

I worked at Bethnal Green in the late 80s early 90s as you left the station there was a plaque with the names of those that died. It was stark and hard-hitting, illustrating that families lost generations of their members. Walking down the steps you feel how steep the incline is and as you descend that you can reach up and touch the top of the entrance tunnel as you walk through. A very informative and sad addition to the channel, thank you

[@stevebluesbury6206]

A tragic tale told with sufficient gravitas to underline the human tragedy. Well done Jago.

[@Peasmouldia]

Although well known about in the area, it wasn't until the 70s and 80s that this tragedy became more widely known. My Mum was in the Mile End station with my older brother and sister at the time. She also narrowly missed being the victim of a bomb that fell on a house in our street. They had just got in the new Anderson shelter in our back garden. The shelter later became a rockery and survived until they sold up in the late 70s. Could still be there for all I know.. True story.. Thanks JH.

[@gilgameshofuruk4060]

My mother in Stafford had heard of it. She has no connection with anyone in London, but I remember when a TV documentary was broadcast about it in the 70s, she said she could remember it happening.

[@alexandraclement1456]

Let those who died at Bethnel Green rest in peace.🇵🇫

[@TEBEnthusiast]

Indeed, R.I.P.

[@adonaiyah2196]

Im so hurt by the dact 173 people died in the most nonsensical unfair way i feel distraught

[@worldcomicsreview354]

@@adonaiyah2196 Human crush accidents are some of the most horrifyingly preventable disasters there are. Several have happened as a result of fires, when people run back to the entrance they came in by, rather than the nearest fire exit, no matter how well signposted it is.

[@RoseMSBproductions]

Silence at the end is poignantly appropriate 🤍 MAY THEIR SOULS REST IN PEACE🤍

[@WMD4929]

As a side note: the wood for the memorial came from a sunken freighter. I think it's teak; the architects didn't fancy chopping down forest and regarded farmed teak as not being of good enough quality. The freighter went down in the Irish sea during WW2 and the wood's still quite usable.

[@brianartillery]

An excellent and sobering video. Your tone is exactly right, treating such a terrible event with the respect it deserves. In David Long's wonderfully informative 'The Little Book Of The London Underground', there is a list of all the casualties, along with their ages. It's a very hard read, especially when there are several members of the same family listed. Most depressingly, are, of course, women, and young, often very young, children.

[@oiaintred1]

I lost my grandad in this disaster, he was 32. RIP Grandad! RIP to all that lost their lives too.

[@janehollander1934]

😔🕊️

[@altymogo3781]

wait what..?

[@oiaintred1]

@@altymogo3781 Wait, what???

[@altymogo3781]

@@oiaintred1 how can a gradpa be 32

[@altymogo3781]

Oh I get it now sorry. My bad. He was 32 when he died right? 😢

[@annstewart4731]

Very, very, good and sensitively presented. Your work has reached a higher standard. I sort of knew about this but not about the memorial. Thank you.

[@lukasbarnes]

It’s mad to me that this is a living memory to some alive today, you’d only have to be 90 years old or so and from around this area to remember this when you were about 10.

[@mattscudder1975]

Thank you for doing this and handling it in such a respectful and sensitive manner!

[@BrianSeaman]

A very moving tribute to those who lost their lives that day. Thank you.

[@adlam97531]

They had used the new “Z battery” which was a version of rocket unlike normal anti aircraft guns which were rounds and shells .The metal working firm G. A. Harvey and Co of Greenwich was given the contract to manufacture the rocket bodies, who were more used to making drain covers and radiators . There were a number of them sited around the South East of England.

[@pbsa1979]

Silence at the end speaks volumes. Respect dude...

[@anomalousoddity]

Beautiful and respectful video. I worked on the BG memorial history project that built the schools lesson pack and the memoryscape trail and we did a touring exhibition too. We interviewed all survivors and relatives of those who died - Bishopsgate Archives have all the oral history tapes of those interviews. The nurses had their doors knocked on and were told to keep quiet about the scale of it, and the church next door was turned into a morgue with all the bodies laid out for identification. Awful event. The community should have been told about the new rocket testing so they could expect a new sound. The government failed them. Anyway that's my local area I'm absolutely gutted that I missed you!! Not that I know what you look like haha

[@mickho7910]

This video keeps alive the memory of those who died so sadly. Lest we forget.

[@EdGoodman]

A beautifully told story of such unimaginable tragedy. Well done, Jago.

[@deeser]

Genuinely touching, respectful reporting. Thank you,

[@mickeydodds1]

I used to use that entrance/exit everyday. The only memorial was a small bronze plaque attached to the wall.

[@toni4729]

Thank you for the warm respectful thoughts. You did it very well.

[@tomgirldouble3249]

Respectfully done, very sad, thank you for telling us the tale so well.🤔💙

[@SkepticalSteve01]

I’m a little bit teary now. I wasn’t expecting that.

[@noelbowman8052]

Jago Once again you bring life to a story. I was alrady very much aware of this disaster. However as ever you succeed in turning a distant story into such a real event . I love how you suspend your usual quiet flipancy and irony to give proper respect and dignity to this horrible event. Well done

[@capabilityred3606]

This is the history of 'real' people. Very well and sensitively presented.

[@neilchisholm797]

Very sensitively done video. Were there other similar disasters during the use of the Underground stations during WW2? I recall that there was a flooding of Parsons Green station during a raid that hit a water main. It would be interesting to hear of others. The underground stations saved so many lives during the blitz. It’s all part of the rich history of the London tube. I love your videos, I loved the tube when I lived in London for 8 yrs in the 1980s. I now live in rural Australia but your videos bring me back to the great days of my youth where I would travel every where by the tube. I had many adventures on the system! Oh I have many a funny story of what happened while travelling! You see it all on the tube! A great channel, Jago. I always enjoy your dry humour and great knowledge.

[@jshicke]

"Grandma loved being carried up the escalator into the naked light" I liked that sign. It carries a message of hope.

[@Tevildo]

The work as a whole (across the whole system) is entitled "You are deeper than what you think", by Laure Prouvost, April 2019.

[@adonaiyah2196]

I dont like it

[@ZGryphon]

It seems mildly incongruous to me, but then, civic art has that effect on me pretty generally. I think I'm missing a gene somewhere for appreciating it...

[@roderickmain9697]

Very well done Jago for a sensitive piece. Fitting tribute from you.

[@kenclarke1952]

There is a song that reminds me about this tragic event sung by Fairport Convention called Rosemary's Sister. Makes me well up every time. Great work thank you.

[@irongoatrocky2343]

Not all killed in war are military personnel, I think this is a fitting tribute to the civilian causalities of an incident during a wartime event, for they should not be forgotten.......

[@worldcomicsreview354]

This wasn't even caused by a "warlike act", such as a bomb hitting them. I know another Underground station was hit, a water main was burst too, and some people drowned.

[@TheRocketbabydoll]

Beautifully done. Informative, respectful and touching all at once, you should be very proud.

[@melodynelson2694]

very interesting and moving. One of your best to date!

[@Rigiroony]

I'm confused on how so many died...the entrance is so small you'd think it'd pile up only so far. When I first heard about this I thought it was a collapse.

[@bryansmith1920]

Thank you Jago My Mother was a teenager living in Victoria/Lambeth during the war so I have many memorises of stories at the knee That particular Story Is one of the Reasons That although I used the Underground for many years BUT I have never Lingered long And to this day at 67rs old panic in a Crowed

[@i1113]

is it just me who feels like a “stairway” is a horrible memorial, it feels like a bad joke.

[@MrSpruce]

Honestly.

[@msives]

a sympathetic and touching memorial to this tragic loss of life. Thank you.

[@terry9965]

Many handrails and fences were removed for the metal required for the war effort

[@OofusTwillip]

In the 1940s, the law didn't requre centre handrails. Today, central handrails are mandated by law.

[@thomasburke2683]

The station had not yet opened for passenger service.

[@dambrooks7578]

My god, that is such an incredible part of history. Incredibly well dealt with, I am impressed you managed to get your voice to stay even when delivering such tragically upsetting news.

[@ABCDEF-yf4yu]

Bethnal Green is the area of London famous for Ronnie and Reggie Kray born 1933, brother Charlie in 1926, and their mother Violet about 1908/1909. Also granddad Jimmy known as Cannonball Lee about 1875.

[@Froobyone]

I had no idea about this. Thank you for telling their story.

[@grahvis]

It is a fact that large crowds in confined spaces are very dangerous places to be.

[@garrywallace1007]

One of the millions of stories about the evil of war.....so many tragedies :(

[@harryfaber]

My grandfather, who was in the Civil Defence, was involved in the rescue efforts.

[@iankr]

Thank you, Mr H.

[@jonstout9236]

Thank you, Jago, I live but metres from this and it is a constant reminder of those who lost their lives. I am still stunned to this day that it took the organisers so long to reach their funding target and disappointed that they had to rely on public donations to complete it.

[@user-pw3tr1xg2x]

Thank you Jago. Did not know there were no hand rails given the width of the steps.

[@andrewgwilliam4831]

I suppose it was because that's the sort of thing that's typically only installed as a project reaches completion. A lot of fence railings and other such fittings had also been removed early in the War for recycling, although I think in practice much of it was never used and simply remained in storage.

[@OofusTwillip]

Safety laws have improved dramatically since then, as tragedies have revealed a need for higher standards. In the 1940s, centre handrails weren't required on wide stairways. Today, laws require additional handrails at specific intervals of wide stairways.

[@paulevans9307]

@@OofusTwillip most safety rules are written in blood

[@worldcomicsreview354]

A shopping centre near me only installed a centre handrail on a small staircase (about 8 steps) in the past couple of years. I remember suddenly noticing it.

[@davidford85]

Very sensitive and sympathetic video. The silence at the end was just right.

[@luciuscornelius7177]

I think it a BBC audio clip where I heard a father talking about the Bethnal Green disaster. His baby was amongst the dead and before they took her (I think it was his daughter) body away he was asked if he'd like to kiss her goodbye. For whatever reason he said he didn't and he'd always regretted not giving her that last kiss. Just a fragment of torture in so many broken families.

[@Bunter.948]

I found it odd and extremely unsettling to hear you describing such a terrible tragedy without a touch of your usual whimsey. Sensitively done, and let us all hope that it remains the greatest tragedy, because we don't want there to be worse. Thanks you, Mr H Simon T

[@rossallen6789]

It's never really at the forefront of your mind, but things like this can and do happen.

[@Riiddz]

Thank for making these videos. I live in the east end and have always knew how historically rich london is, yet given the busy life we have ive never really been able to explore much (even being born here). This channel brings the history to me and i can tell my friends about it. Appreciate it.

[@flemmingsorensen5470]

What a terrible story, taking place in terrible times.

[@Problembeing]

Oh, the finally finished building it then. All the years I lived down the road when it first got the initial instalment done, no one knew it would remain unfinished for so long.

[@stychentyme7903]

You’ve been excellent at knowing what to say. This tine, you were excellent at knowing both what to say and what not to say. This was informing and respectful of the sad events of that evening.

[@BlaiddLlwyd]

A well-made video on a difficult topic, yet one which needs to be told. As others have said, it has a suitable and respectful ending. All keeping to your usual high standards.

[@Pesmog]

An interesting and thought provoking video Jago. As you have also covered the Balham WW2 Tube disaster can we hope for similar sympathetic coverage of the Bounds Green and Bank WW2 incidents where there were also significant casualties due to enemy action?

[@terezar880]

When he covered the Moorgate crash, he said in the comments that he plans to do more of these tragedies like Bethnal Green, so I would say it's likely

[@matthewhodder3029]

My dad lost a schoolmate in the disaster. My Dad attended 8 schools during the war. He was never evacuated

[@maureen669]

What a beautiful sculpture. Hope and faith. I wonder what became of the surviving baby.

[@matthehat]

It's a beautiful memorial, but I have to wonder who it was that signed off on that sign at 4:37. Comic Sans is hardly appropriate.

[@cjayos7654]

Misuse of Comic Sans drives me mad!

[@meebmeeb2902]

Comic sans has been proven to be easier to read for those with dyslexia and similar conditions so it could be for accessibility.

[@Mike-739]

@@meebmeeb2902 they could have chosen another easily readable font that isn’t associated with other things...

[@tornadoe13]

Comic sans is the easiest font to read.

[@matthehat]

@@meebmeeb2902 there are other, better fonts that are similarly easy to read that aren't so informal

[@simonwhitlock9189]

Done with respect and dignity, thank you.

[@ChakatSandwalker]

I'm stumped at how the stairs at the top of the memorial were constructed, since it looks very heavy, and doesn't appear to have any support except at one corner.

[@Andrewjg_89]

I take it that the Bethnal Green tube disaster was the worst disaster on the London Underground in history. Such a sad fateful day.

[@mysterium368]

Your pronunciation of Luftwaffe is pretty good.

[@englishciderlover7347]

In German, w is pronounced as v. ('Luftvaffe')

[@stevev3664]

I was born in Bethnal Green in 1952. My mother who was 16 at the time of the disaster in 1943 told me that she had just got down to the platform when it happened. A narrow escape for both of us.

[@psammiad]

I suggest doing the Balham tube disaster for its anniversary on 14th October, famously shown in the film Atonement.

[@chrisg6086]

Jago has already covered that subject: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYSygI2Eos5sm6M

[@influenceitconsultingptylt2080]

Informative and sensitively addressed. Thank you.

[@eattherich9215]

This is a grim start to my day, but I thank you for educating me on something that I had noticed on the several visits to Bethnal Green via the station.

[@adonaiyah2196]

It's horrible

[@darmtb]

Beautiful monument 😔

[@eggyboy123]

Very well and sympathetically done sir

[@nawbus]

Thank you. Very sensitively done

[@TEBEnthusiast]

Your videos are very informational, I feel bad for the 173 people being crushed there, so sad

[@richardcochrane1966]

There have since been reports of hauntings at Bethnal Green Station ever since - the most common being the sounds of women and children's cries being heard by railway employees after the station has closed for the night....

[@johnmurrell3175]

To be correct Bethnal Green was not part of the Underground at the time - the Eastern Extension had not yet been opened.

[@crayzmarc]

Felt weird liking this one. And very repectful for you to end it differently to how you normally end your videos.

[@gilgameshofuruk4060]

I know what you mean. It's difficult to think of an alternative word. "Appreciate" is the nearest I can think of, but that doesn't sound right.

[@skuzzlebutt33]

My nan used to go down to bethnal green tube when the blitz happened, she said it was the most exciting time of her life.

[@SimonRML2456]

How many people in this video going in and out of the station even know about this tragic story? . Thank you Jago, you covered this story really well and sensitively 🙂

[@dirkjenkinz595]

There was a 1975 TV movie about the disaster called 'It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow' which was written by Bernard Kops. Sadly, it seems no copies of it survive.

[@taztazzy7895]

A story well worth noting and done in the best way possible! Well done on producing this video in such a sympathetic and thoughtful manner!

[@Westlondontransportguy7045]

Is this why the station is still haunted to this day

[@BibtheBoulder]

Fascinating yet tragic story, told beautifully with the usual Jago slant. No wonder your channel continues to grow....

[@jayhuss4263]

Bethnal green is my scene I try to keep very clean, every time I'm smoking green i am getting very lean. Blue pitch massive 1996- 2006

[@peterharris3006]

The second worst disaster on railway premises in Great Britain, exceeded only by the Quintinshill disaster of 1915. Ignored by most books on railway disasters, I only became aware of what happened at Bethnal Green when my old chief clerk mentioned that it was the 50th anniversary of the incident, and described in vivid detail what happened, he had been brought up in the area and was a teenager at the time. Some years later I passed through the station and to say that the place gave me the creeps is an understatement. According to "Rails Through the Clay" wooden hoardings were erected over this type of station entrance after the disaster, so that the lighting of stairs could be improved without falling foul of blackout regulations.