97 years ago, the residents of Burnley were shocked to the core after  one of worst tragedies to befall them occurred on a wintery, cold  mid-day on the 21st December 1923.

Burnley Corporation Tramcar Number 10, which was being driven by 47 year old, William Norris,  had been out in use over in nearby Rosegrove before making its return  to Lane Head.  It had been a relatively normal morning, and just like  most other days, no issues with the tramcar had been reported either  prior to leaving the depot or during its use that day.

Norris had taken over the tram at around 11.15am at Duke Bar, Burnley before making his way up towards Rosegrove, leaving the Burnley Centre for Harle Syke at 11.55am.

Outside, it had been a cold morning with snow and ice patches forming  on the roads and Norris was aware of the risks posed to the tramcar and  therefore, journeys between the stops had taken a little longer than  normal due to the poor travelling conditions.

Also out that day was 37 year old, Charles Lofthouse,  a lorry driver working on behalf of haulage contractors, Messrs. John  Stanworth and Bros, and he himself had been having some issues with the  icy conditions, also at times being delayed visiting the mills he was  delivering too, such as Spen Brook Mill which was further afield over at  Newchurch-in-Pendle.

Approaching from the direction of Harle Syke, he was  driving a wagon that was carrying a load of cloth weighing roughly 5  tons as he turned off Marsden Road and onto the incline of Briercliffe  Road.  It was just after noon and the area was becoming busy due to some  children from nearby schools making their way to the stops to await the  arrival of the tramcar.

Making its way slowly up Briercliffe Road and towards the junction  leading onto Marsden Road, William Norris slowed the tram down as it  approached what was known as the ‘roll over’.  Coming in the opposite  direction,  Charles Lofthouse was making his way down the incline on the  opposite side of the road.

Knowing how poor the road conditions where, Lofthouse was  intermittently pressing down on the breaks, trying to keep his wagon  from gaining speed, but as the wagon and the tramcar came within a few  feet of each other, the rear of the wagon began to waver.  Panicking,  Lofthouse pressed down harder on the breaks but it was too late.

The wagon began to veer from side-to-side.

Out of control, it collied with the tram, smashing into the cabin  windows on the drivers right hand side.  Glass shattered onto several of  the passengers and a metal side bar buckled with the impact.

Six bundles of cloth where flung from the wagon’s flatbed as the  vehicle shunted forwards several feet before coming to a standstill,  with one front wheel mounting a footpath and the other resting next to  the kerb.

The impact was so strong that it had managed to push the tram backwards which forced it to slowly roll back down the tracks.

Two of the passengers on board where those of Jennie Eastwood and  Gracie Whittaker, both of whom were travelling on the lower deck.   Immediately after the collision, Gracie shouted over to Jennie, “Come  along, Jenny!” but Jennie replied back, “No, I’m frightened!”

Norris then shouted to conductor, William Simpson, to, “Look after that child!”.