Almost 50 years after the Granville rail disaster, two of the first emergency workers to reach the scene have been recognised for their bravery.

Ambulance officer Barry Gobbe and former police officer Gary Raymond are among the recipients of this year’s Governor-General’s Australian Bravery Decorations, recognising their actions during the 1977 disaster.

On January 18, 1977, a passenger train travelling from Mount Victoria to Sydney derailed in Granville and was struck by a bridge, crushing three carriages.

Eighty-five people, including two unborn babies, died and more than 200 were injured.

Gobbe was dispatched shortly after 8am after his boss initially described the call as “probably a hoax”. He and his partner were the first emergency workers to arrive.

“I [ran] back to my ambulance and I called in, ‘Send all the emergency teams, all the medical teams’,” Gobbe said.

“I called the code for a disaster and it all started to happen then.”

Raymond was among the rescuers who entered the wreckage to search for survivors.

“I couldn’t believe that these people I saw, some had playing cards on the table in front of them, some had a Women’s Weekly magazine, others had newspapers and they were just going about their normal trip into the city,” Raymond said.

During the rescue, which continued until about 6pm, Raymond was ordered away from the train as rescuers feared the bridge could collapse further.

He had been helping a trapped passenger, Debbie Woodgate, before leaving her with a small pen torch.

“I left one of the trapped ladies I was working on, Debbie Woodgate, and gave her a little pen torch,” he said.

When he was later cleared to return, he crawled back through the carriage, guided by the torchlight.

“She said ‘I knew you’d be back’, and that’s the trust she had that we would be,” he said.

“That’s a moment I’ll never forget.”

Raymond remains in contact with Woodgate and her husband, who live nearby.

The disaster led to major changes in rail safety and emergency response after inquiries found poor rail maintenance had contributed to the crash.

It also prompted further research into crush syndrome, a potentially fatal condition caused when toxins released from crushed muscle enter the bloodstream.

For Gobbe and Raymond, the bravery award is recognition not just of their own actions, but of the many people who worked at the scene.

“Gary and I accept this award on behalf of all rescuers, thousands of rescuers that helped on that day,” Gobbe said.

The awards also recognise other acts of bravery, including that of retired lawyer John Bamford, who confronted an armed attacker in Sydney’s CBD in 2019.

Bamford chased the man, who had been attacking pedestrians, while armed only with a cafe chair. He later helped members of the public detain him.

“It was an instantaneous thing, I didn’t have time to think about it, he was disappearing up the road and I had to do something about it,” Bamford said.

Although he has been recognised for his actions, Bamford described stopping the attacker as a collective effort.

“I wasn’t really going to make a big deal of it,” he said.

Image: Seven News