Portfolio Minister Olivia Grange and Mayor of Mandeville, Councilor Donovan Mitchell, signed the MoU at the ministry’s Trafalgar Road offices in New Kingston.
It is expected to be unveiled on September 1, which will mark the 68th anniversary of the rail mishap, which was the worst in the history of Jamaica.
“Good governance requires us to promote rituals of memory in circumstances such as the Kendal disaster. We will never forget those who died, were injured and scarred for life, those who survived, and a whole nation that mourned when dawn came the following day and news of the incident spread,” she said.
For his part, Councilor Mitchell said it is anticipated that the monument will be constructed within a six-month period.
A memorial park and museum dedicated to the memory of the Kendal disaster will also be established at the site at a later time. The Institute of Jamaica, the Jamaica National Heritage Trust and the National Library will provide support in the undertaking.
The Kendal Rail Disaster took place on the night of Sunday, September 1, 1957, when more than 170 Jamaicans died when their Kingston-bound train ran off the rail at Kendal in Manchester. More than 700 of the 1,600 passengers were maimed or disfigured.
Many of the victims and survivors of the crash were members of the St Anne’s Roman Catholic Church. They had travelled by train for a pilgrimage to Montego Bay and were returning to Kingston when disaster struck.
Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen has proclaimed the first day of September each year as the national day of remembrance of the victims and survivors of the Kendal rail disaster.
– JIS
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