The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-03-01 00:00:00

OFFICIAL REPORT..

The official report returned. to Captain Shaw by
Palmer is as follows: "The cloak--
room, a building of one floor, about 30 feet by 36
feet, and contents nearly destroyed by fire and explo—
sion; booking offices and restaurant adjoining and
contents seriously damaged by explosion; covered
way by breakage. W. Fulford, 27 years, and Karl
Batton, aged 20 years, both seriously hurt,. and taken,
to St. G'eorge's Hospital."'

On Tuesday an investigation was commenced, in the
course of which a cloak-room porter named Thomas.
described the luggage which came into the cloak room
on the previous night. It included a package very
heavy for its size, and handled with great care by the
person who left it. Of this person he gave some
account The package in question, brown in colour,
must have been about 15 inches in length,
a foot broad, and a foot deep. Moreover,
the man gave in a canvas-covered portmanteau
of what the witness thought was a foreign make.
This was larger and longer than the first one
mentioned, but was relatively lighter in weight.
The other articles deposited by this man, the
witness thought, were two boxes. On taking up the
heavy small bag he was told by the man to be very
careful about it. The witness put the other parcels on
the top of it. The passenger, or presumed passenger,
requested him not to do so, but to put them on the
floor separately but close together. The witness sub..
sequently set other luggage on the top of these articles,
and left the cloak-room secure and all right at 12
o'clock. It was about half-past 8 when this luggage
was delivered. He did not know from which line it
came. It was followed by that of some sailors who
were going to Liverpool. Inquiries were then set on
foot to ascertain what luggage was brought from the
other lines on the previous night to this cloak-room.
Colonel Majendie and Colonel Ford, who were
joined by Sir Frederick Abel, then proceeded to the
spot where the lumbermen were removing the
wreckage. The building material cleared away,
the men came to piles of all sorts of luggage, and
it was soon made obvious that the explosive
material had been concealed under some part of
the mass. Some articles, such as tin boxes, were
bent in on one side, and heavy packing-cases, with
wood an inch thick, were burst at particular angles.
Some portmanteaus were altogether uninjured by
the explosion; others had beeen completely des-
troyed, and their contents were scattered about.
The further the men went down towards
the wall of the London, Chatham, and Dover sta-
tion, in the direction of the spot where the witness
said he placed the luggage he had described, the
more were the effects of the explosion apparent.
Thomas, who was kept near to Colonel Majendie
and Colonel Ford, said he noticed in the cloak room
a sound as of a ticking from a clock, but this fact
does nnt prove that there was a time machine set,
inasmuch as a case of clocks was found, and the
ticking might have come from them. All the rubbish
was turned over as the articles of luggaga
were taken out, and in the destroyed things
were found some curiously shaped tins, about 14
inches long, hexagonal in shape, and about nine
inches in circumference. These contained some
vegetable substances like sawdust, and they had
had small funnels. Colonel Majendie ordered these
to be saved, as well as portions of bottles found
wrapped in zinc, and pieces of metal which had been
torn asunder by a violent wrench. After many
hours' work the flooring was reached, and then the
full effects of the explosion downwards were
seen. There are no underground rooms to the
station at this part, and the flooring was laid upon
heavy beams for rafters. The explosion had com-
pletely smashed up all the material within the im-
mediate reach of its force, and even a great beam
,was cracked; while the flash of the explosive was
seen upon the party wall which is between the two
stations. Colonel Majendie ordered the wall, which
was specked for a good space, and had the " bloom "
of the explosive upon it, to be photographed, and the
photographer, while fixing his instrument, was so
observant of his work and unobservant of his steps
that he slipped under the boards, whence he presently
emerged, covered with dirt, and cheerfully declaring
that he was unhurt.

With regard to the character of the explosion the
experts speedily came to one conclusion, and that of a
negative character. They were certain, Colonel
Majendie, Colonel Ford, and Professor Sir Frederick
Abel said, that the explosion was not duo to an
accumulation of gas, and it was apparent, from the
investigations being made, that they entertained no
doubt as to its being due to "unlawful explosives,"
apparently to some form of nitro-glycerine com-
pounds.
In the course of the day the spot was visited by
several members of the House of Commons, including
Mr. Forster, who examined minutely, in company
with the Home Office experts, the character of the
outrage. Sir H. Havelock-Allan went to the station
during the evening and was shown Over the ruins.
His belief is that neither gas nor gunpowder would
have caused the havoc without their presence having
been previously detected, or a distinct trace being
left behind. Among the other visitors to the scene
was the eldest son of the Duke of Edinburgh,