The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-01-06 00:00:00

A MIRACULOUS ESCAPE.

On Friday morning a boy was rescued alive and
well after having been imprisoned in a cellar of a
building for about 27 hours. The lad, whese name
was David Charles Brewer, was, at the time when
the chimney fell, working with several others in one
of the cellars of the building. Early on Friday morn-
ing it was ascertained that some one was alive in
the cellar, and efforts were at once directed to his
rescue. This was a work of great difficulty and
danger, as the cellar was completely choked up by
beams and the debris of the fallen building, which was
piled over it in places to the height of fully 20ft.
Nevertheless volunteers wt re not wanting for the work,
and, after considerable exertion, the lad Brewer was
discovered, and some brandy was handed to him.
He stated, that although he was jammed in he
was not hurt, and this news stimulated the two men
who had gone to his rescue to renewed exertions.
By the aid of implements which were handed down
to them, Of 3, were at last successful in raising
the beam which held the lad a prisoner sufficiently
for him to be brought out. Their appearance in
the open air with the boy, so marvellously rescued
from what appeared to be a hopeless death,
was hailed with frantic cheering by the crowd
which had collected round the place in anxious ex-
pectancy of the result. The lad who appeared to be
little the worse for his long imprisonment, complained
more of hunger than of anything else. He was taken
to a room in the adjoining shed, his father, who had
watched the work of rescue, and was naturally over-
joyed at the miraculous rescue of his son, accompany-
ing him. Here some beef-tea and hot milk were
given him, and so rapidly did he recover from
his exhaustion that in a few minutes he was taken
home in a cab. He states that when the accident
occurred a large beam fell immediately above him
with one end resting on the top of the cellar wall,
thus preventing any of the superincunabent material
from falling upon him. A bag of bobbins fell
slightly past the beam and hung suspended so as
just to touch his back when in a semi-crouching
position, but when he stooped down the bag did not
descend any further, so that he was able without danger
to vary his position a latte. An old man whom the
lad described as " Charles " and his son were in
the cellar when the accident happened, and he
beard both of them speak for some time after the acci-
dent. The lad he could tell was crying bitterly on
Friday morning, and the man was groaning, but from
an early hour all was still; therefore it must be con-
jectured that these two succumbed to their injuries or
to suffocation. Brewer himself was so little hurt or
frightened that he slept the greater part of the night.
The lad Brewer has been questioned as to how he
paced the long period in which he was beyond the
reach of help, and has made a statement in which he
said :—" I was just pouring something out into my can-
lid, and eating a piece of biscuit, when the chimney
came down. There was an old man sitting about five
yards away, and his lad, getting their breakfast. The
man's name is Charley Smith. They called his lad
Arthur, and he was as old as I am. Just after we fell
I heard the old man say, Oh, dear me ! ' and the
boy was crying out about five minutes, but I heard
nothing more of them. After that I couldn't see them;
it was as dark as pitch all the time. They were near
the weft oven—much nearer than I was—and some bags
and skeps fell between me and them. I was
laii face downwards with my arms by my sides. I
couldn't move them, and when 1 lifted my head it
went against a bag of tubes, so I had to lie still.
There was a bag in front of me and there were some
skeps on my right hand side, and I could feel some
bags on the other side. The tin oven had fallen over.
and I was part way under it. The skeps held it up. I
heard people pulling iron about and knocking up above
me all the time, but I did not think they would find
me. I said my prayers. I knew the chimney had
fallen on me, though I thought at first there was an
earthquake. When I thought it had been an earth-
quake I said to myself I should die underground
where I was. I could hear water rushing all the
time, but when I thought about the chimney I
said to myself that my father would come and fetch
me out. While they were working up above me bits
of small rubbish fell down. I think I was lying as
low as the cellar floor when the sounds seemed to come
near me. I shouted 'Hullo, hullo!' There was a
man with a lamp, and I shouted at him. He said,
Hullo I wheare are tat, lad ? ' I said, I'm here,'
and then they shouted, and somebody said, Keep
still till we come.' They said, Let's have that lamp
here.' and then they brought joiners and sawed some
wood away. They were more than two hours getting
me out. I thought it was Wednesday. It seemed a
week I'd been in the mill."

TUESDAY'.

The search for bodies buried in the ruins of Newland
Mills has been vigorously prosecuted with little cessa•
tion since Thursday morning, and is continued still
with unabated energy. Between twelve o'clock on
Sunday night and seven o'clock 3, esterday morning,
six additional bodies were recuvered, some of them
crushed and mutilated under brokcn machinery.
Another death occurred yesterday morning, that of a
young girl of eleven, named Crowther, who on the
day of the disaster had taken their breakfasts to her
two sisters, who were employed at Messrs. A. Haley
and Co.'s mill. One of her sisters was killed inatan-
taneously, and the other was removed in an injured
condition to the infirmary.

The coroner's jury met again yesterday afternoon,
and viewed the six additional bodies at Upper Castle
street, and also the body of the girl Crowther. On
their returning to the Town-hall, formal evidence of
identification was taken. Six bodies, found in the
ruins, were identified, but one was so frightfully
mutilated that its recognition was doubtful. At the
close of the evidence, the coroner, Mr. J. S.
Hutchinson, stated that 47 bodies had now been
identified.

&rather curiona incident occurred lati on Btuzday

night in connexion with the searching operations.
While in the act of removing the body of Lavina
Cooper, one of the men, named Thomas Conway,
came acros:.‘ a heap of to pa of wool, comfortably coiled
up, in the middle of which was a gray and white cat.
The tops were surrounded by large pieces of stone
from the chimney, and there seemed to have been no
pasmge through which fresh air could have reached
the cat during its fur days' incarceration. When,
however, it was released, it was found to be unharmed
and not very much exhausted.

Up to seven o'clock last night no more bodies had
been extricated from the ruins, although one other
body had been in eight for two or three cloys. The
body in question, plough parts of it b.re visible, is
under a heavy from girder with which are embedded
immense layers of, broken machinery and rubbish.
Though five or six persons are stated to be missing,
the Chief Constable thinks there is some mistake in
reference to two of them. A mournful interest was
excited on Sunday and Monday by the funerals of
some of the victims of the disaster.

At noon yesterday a meeting, convened by the
Mayor (Mr. F. Priestman), was held in the Council
-
chamber at the Town-hall for the purpose of origi-
nating a relief fund on behalf of the bereaved families.
The attendance was large and included many of the
most influential inhabitants. The Mayor, who occupied
the chair, said he supposed it would be the wish of
those present to raise a subscription for the relief
of suffelers by the terrible calamity which had
visited the town. It would probably be a question
whether that meeting should Appoint a relief committee
or accept the services of some existing organization.
His own opinion was that they should not appoint a
relief committee themselves but accept the assistance
of the Charity Organization Society, which had an
excellent staff equal to undertaking the work. It
would be necessary, first of all, to relieve those
families which had suffered by death. Then the
larger 'question would come whether they should
relieve those who were thrown out of employment for
an indefinite time. Among the letters which he had
received was the following :

"My dear Mr. Mayor,—l need not say with what sorrow
and sympathy I have read the accounts of this terrible
calamity at Bradford. The details of what some of the poor
people must have suffered before death are almost too dia•
tressaing to read. The only relief is the courageous devotion
of the rescuers. It is a sad beginning of your mayoralty,
but I am sure you are doing all you can to alleviate the
misery and sorrow which must be the lot of many. You
will, I am sure, let me know of any public movement in aid
of the sufferers or their families, in which I shall be glad to
take soy share. —I am, my dear Mayor, yours very sincerely,
W . E. FORSTER."

After some discussion as to the most effective course
to be adopted a committee was appointed to raise
funds to relieve those in a state ef necessity, A sub.
scription list was opened and £950 was collected at
once, the Mayor contributing £100; Messrs. Mitchell
Brothers, £150; Messrs. D. Illingworth au i Sons,
£100; Meters. A. and St Henry, £5O ; and Messrs. C.
Waller and Co., £5O.

WELDNISDAT.

The labours of the workmen engaged in searching
for the bodies were resumed at six o'clock yesterday
morning, and the result was the recovery of several
additional bodies.

The Coroner's jury met again at the Town-hall in
the afternoon to receive evidence of the identity of
four bodies. Lieut.-Colonel Sodden, RE., representing
the Government on the inquiry, was present. Several
bodies having been identified, the Chief Constable stated
that 50 bodies had been recovered, and all but one had
been identified. He believed no more bodies would be
found, and that it was a mistake to suppose other
persons were missing. It was then decided that the
coroner and jury should; in ccrr.i.ny with Lieutenant-
Colonel Sedden, meet on the premises in Upper Castle.
street this morning in order to make an inspection
thereof. It was also arranged that the general
inquiry as to the cause of the disaster should be com-
menced at ten o'clock on Tuesday morning next at the
Town-hall.

The list of killed and missing appears now to have
been exhausted, although there are three or four
claimants for bodies. These, however, come from
Leeds and Halifax, and apply to persons who have
been missing from their homes for some time and
were believed to have gone to work at a Bradford mill.
The high wind that caused a cessation of work on
Monday night did not abate for several hours, and had
the effect of sweeping down large quantities of slates and
other loose material from the remains of the building.
Operations were resumed at 6 o'clock yesterday morn-
ing, and within a couple of hours three bodies had come
to light within a few feet of each other. In addition to
the woman, part oft.whose body had been exposed since
Saturday, they were all in what was the bottom room of
Haley's mill, but so covered in and weighed down
with machinery and girders that the greatest de-
licacy and care were necessary in order to release
the bodies without further disfigurement. The body
which had given so much trouble to extricate proved to
be that of a woman named Hall, 22 years of age, but so
distorted and shattered that it was only recognizable
from one or two articles of clothing. Decomposition
had also sat in, and as showing the difficult circum-
stances under which the operations were yesterday
conducted, it may be mentioned that it was found
necessary to sprinkle deodorizing powders in close
proximity to the remaining victims, and supply the
workers with brandy and water to prevent sickening.
In the dead-house, too, precautionary measures have
also been found necessary. The task which those who
have reePived the bodies from the searchers have been
engaged in has it 1: en an agreeable one, but their
devotion is pray, and may to some extent be
estimated from the tact that from the time of the
disaster until last night not one of the women has had
six hours' rest.