Memorial Service for the 20th Anniversary of the Clapham Rail disaster

Attention: All students who were at Emanuel in 1988

I am sure you are aware that the 20th Anniversary of the Clapham Rail disaster falls on Friday, 12th December this year.

As you know, many members of Emanuel School were directly involved in the rescue effort and several students were commended personally by Mrs Thatcher in the House of Commons following the event. For ten years after the disaster the School organised a memorial gathering each year for the families of the victims of the crash.

Now, twenty years on, we have been asked by many people if we are willing to organise a 20th Anniversary Memorial Service in the School Chapel on that day 12th December and, of course, we are delighted to oblige.

With this in mind we are sending out letters of invitation to the families of the victims, members of the emergency services, our local MPs and representatives of local Government and others and to those who were at the school in 1988. The sermon will be preached by the Bishop of Kingston.

If you were at Emanuel in December 1988 I would be grateful if you could let me know if you would like to attend and if you would like to bring any guests.

Please note that space in the School Chapel is strictly limited to 200 and so an early reply would be very welcome. I have allocated 50 places to students who were at the school in 1988, and their guests, and I will be assigning these places on a first come, first served basis.

Admission will be by ticket only and we will send these to you. Tickets are free, of course - this is simply a way of controlling numbers.

The Memorial Service will start at 6.00 pm and will be followed by a drinks reception in the Library at about 6.45pm. There will be some parking available in the school grounds although I would encourage you to come by public transport if you can.

Finally, if you are in contact with other students in the school in 1988, and if they tell you that they have not received a letter of invitation from the school, please ask them to contact Sarah Fisher in our Alumni Office.

Sarah Fisher srf@emanuel.org.uk Tel 020 8875 6978

It is possible that we no longer have their contact details.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Mark Hanley-Browne

Headmaster