Such Was Life: A Right Royal Train Wreck

A stray cow on a railway track near Bridgetown, Western Australia, almost killed the future King of England and changed British history.
Written by
Paul Barron

Were it not for a stray cow, the railway near Bridgetown might be remembered as the place that Edward, Prince of Wales, died. In which case there would have been no King Edward the Eighth, no Wallis Simpson, no abdication and no British Royal praising Hitler and the Nazis.

It was 1920 and Prince Edward, heir to the British throne, was sent on a tour of the Empire to shore up support after the horrors of the first world war. Styled as the Digger Prince for his service in the Grenadier Guards during the war, Edward led a colourful life of scandal, controversy and glamorous extravagance.

But he was incredibly popular among large sections of Australian society. The 1920 royal tour of Australia lasted for 3 months and took the prince and his entourage to over 100 cities and towns throughout Australia. It was highly planned and very tightly scheduled. It involved a seemingly endless series of receptions, balls, race meets and welcomes by local notables. To our modern eyes perhaps the most notable feature of such tours were the elaborate decorations that greeted the prince in every town and city.

 

About
Paul Barron

Paul's producer credits range from award-winning feature films such as Shame to the popular children’s/family TV series Ship to Shore and the international co-production Kings in Grass Castles. As a writer he created the series Serangoon Road, Stormworld, Parallax, End of Empire, Turning Point and Wild Kat. He loves history and describes Such Was Life as his “passion project.”