Durham Mining Museum - Newspaper Articles (original) (raw)

7th February 1901

Death Of A Whitehaven Joiner

An inquest was held at the Anchor Vaults, Tangier-street, Whitehaven, on Tuesday afternoon, by Mr. Gordon Falcon (coroner for West Cumberland), on the body of James Shepherd, joiner, employed at William Pit top, Whitehaven, who died on Sunday last. There were present at the inquest :— Mr. W. Leck, H.M. Inspector of Mines, and Mr. T. H. Brockbank, for the Whitehaven Colliery Company, who were also represented by Mr. S. Turner, the manager.

Deceased was 70 years of age, and resided near to the National School, Whitehaven. It appears that while deceased was following his occupation at William Pit, the week before Christmas, Mr. Shepherd and another workman were carrying a plank of wood. The ground being wet and sloppy, deceased's fellow workman, Mr. Shepherd he states, slipped, and the wood scraped deceased's left leg. The deceased was able to walk home, but he had to take to his bed, and he never recovered. Evidence to this effect was given by John Shepherd (nephew of deceased), who had visited him, but to whom no mention of the accident had been made. — Henry Bateman Quirk (who was employed along with deceased) stated that he had never heard any complaint from the deceased or from any of the workmen. Witness never heard anything of the supposed accident until yesterday (Monday), when Sergt. Hodgson was making inquiries at the pit-top. There were four other workmen in the shop, but none of them knew anything of the accident. — Dr. I'Anson, who was called to see deceased on the Saturday following Christmas, stated that he found the deceased's leg and foot very much swollen. Deceased told witness that his condition was caused by the fall of a plank at work. The gangrene increased, until death ensured, on Sunday last. — Sergt. Hodgson stated that he had made inquiries into this case, but none of the workmen at the joiner's shop knew when the accident occurred or anything about it. That was all the evidence witness could get from the men. — A verdict of "Death from gangrene brought on by an injury to the leg" was returned, but how or when the injury was caused there was no evidence to show.

Newspaper transcript kindly provided by
West Cumbria Mines Research.