A memorial service to mark the 60th anniversary of the Harrow & Wealdstone train crash, which killed 112 people, will be held next month.

The three-train 1952 disaster, which also injured 340 passengers and remains the worst peace-time rail crash in the UK, will be remembered at a service on October 8, Harrow Council says.

Just after 8am on that day, 60 years ago, a Watford to Euston train made its usual stop at Harrow & Wealdstone.

Seconds later, an express train roared in to the station and ploughed into the rear of the stationery train, before another express careered into the wreckage to add to the carnage, creating a pile of tangled metal and splintered wood which demolished the footbridge connecting the platforms and changed people's lives forever.

The legacy of the rail disaster also helped to develop modern emergency services, as US Air Force Lieutenant Abbie Sweetwine, who became known as the ‘Angel of Platform Six’, helped the injured in the aftermath.

By treating patients at the scene in the same way as soldiers were on the battlefield, she helped to introduce the modern triage system to a fledgling NHS.

Lt Sweetwine started to mark patients with a tube of lipstick, giving those who had already been treated an ‘X’ on their forehead, and those who had been given morphine an ‘M’ – preventing overdoses and helping hospitals work out what treatment had been administered so far.

In 2002, a memorial plaque honouring the victims was unveiled above the main entrance on the eastern side of the station.

The council is appealing for witnesses, rescuers and relatives of those who died to contact them to take part in the memorial by calling Collette Bird on 0208 420 9361 or emailing collette.bird@harrow.gov.uk

Councillor Keith Ferry, who represents Wealdstone ward, said that it was “only right that we honour those who lost their lives” and pay tribute to rescuers and volunteers who helped in the aftermath of the crash.

Were you onboard one of the trains that crashed in the disaster, or did you help to rescue those trapped by the wreckage? If so, the Harrow Times would like to hear from you. Call reporter David Hardiman on 0208 359 5906.