Albert William Tarr was born in East Anstey in 1880. At the time of his death in 1935, he was living in East Anstey with his widowed mother Harriet. He had been deaf and unable to speak since birth. He became a tailor's assistant.
On January 8th 1935 Albert Tarr was at Dulverton Railway Station in Brushford, waiting for a train to East Anstey. Mrs Ivy Ellen Thomas of Coombe Head Cottage, Dulverton, was also at the station with her 4 year old son Robert John Thomas. She and her son were crossing the railway line using the trolley crossing, rather than the footbridge at the other end of the station. Mrs Thomas was laden with parcels, as she had just returned from a shopping trip to Tiverton. Robert was dawdling behind her.
The porter on the platform heard the whistle of an incoming train from Barnstaple and shouted at Mrs Thomas to hurry up. She turned to grab Robert, but then hesitated for a moment. Albert Tarr realised that Mrs Thomas and Robert were about to be hit by the train, so he tried to save them. The train driver braked, but hit and killed all three of them instantly.
Mr Leslie Sloman, who had returned from Tiverton on the same train as Mrs Thomas, also tried to grab Mrs Thomas, but he was able to jump back just in time and so wasn't hit by the train.
An inquest into the accident, was held in Dulverton on 10th January. The verdict was Death by Misadventure. The coroner was Mr G.P. Clarke. Both the train driver and the railway company were exonerated from blame. However, the coroner recommended that the footbridge be moved nearer to the station entrance.
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