A Blantyre family had a remarkable escape from death on Saturday 13th August 1927, when a motor car in which they were travelling, ran down an embankment, overturned, and went on fire.

There were five persons in the car. Mr and Mrs Thomas Forrest, Glasgow Road, Blantyre; their son, John, aged 20; their daughter, Christina, aged 7; and friend, Mr Wm. Howie of Burnbank.

At Standhill Bridge, midway between Armadale and the village of Blackridge, the car skidded, turned round, crashed through a hedge, and toppled over a steep embankment. All the occupants were trapped underneath when the car came to stop at the foot. To add to their terrible predicament, the car burst into flames in a terrifying manner.

The accident had been witnessed by the occupants of two buses, and Peter Turner, a driver, Armadale; Andrew Cockburn, Bathgate; and John Russell, conductor, Linlithgow, dashed to the rescue.

They raised the car off the ground and rescued the frightened occupants from underneath. The whole proceedings occupied less than fifteen minutes, and caused created a great deal of excitement.

From “Blantyre Explained” by Paul Veverka (c) 2016
Source: Aberdeen Journal