There are several baby cases of interest in small ways, including the Bright case in which the mother went to four doctors seeking help before finally getting assistance, and the White case in which the doctor gives brandy to a virtually dying babe, and in the last line of the inquest we are told that the mother has been ill, they were poorly off and the husband had been out of work for months.
Then there is the Kenchington case, in which we get a clear demonstration of the terrible pressures at work on the teenage mother, a domestic servant who knows that she will be sacked if her pregnancy is discovered, and whose employers are deeply suspicious of her condition.
The Mead case tells us why buses always carry a notice about waiting for the vehicle to stop before alighting, while the Bryant case shows a result of over-tiredness.
The Robinson case demonstrates, not for the first time in this collection, how very many different vehicles were trundling along the country lanes, while the Bolwell case gives us a death through a defective hammer – with some interesting mis-understanding along the way ; but did the GWR take any notice of the jury’s statement at the end?
The Wright case tells us that a hundred years ago – before municipal swimming pools – people did walk a mile or two to private land in order to swim in a pond or lake.
There are then three mechanical cases, the Spudy case featuring a drop of 168 feet, the Jarvis case featuring a long term issue with slam-door trains :viz. the locks. And then the Hallett case, featuring poor scaffolding rope and a 20ft drop, reminiscent of that great working class novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists.
Reece Heal, Reginald Porthcurno/Stapleford
Strong, Harry Winterbourne Earls
Kenchington, infant Fordingbridge
Noyce, Albert Compton Chamberlayne
Robinson, Harry Great Wishford
Bailey, William Charlton all Saints
Weir, Thomas Winterbourne Gunner
Herrington, Frederick Wilton/Wishford
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Wiltshire Coroner's Inquests 1801-1920 