The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1875-01-12 00:00:00

FATAL ACCIDENT AT A SHIPYARD.

inloet
wan held at the Weymonth Ilisipital no
Friday morning, at ten, before Mr. I Symonds, ronmer,
on the holy tit Francis Cos, a shipwrizht, who WWI killed
at Mr. .%) Isis shipyard on the presioun attermnn lv part
of the ntine•t; Sultan crushing him. It appear- that the
sufaek. wlnla ..nee time ago went ashore on the Break-
water and wan wri,ekeil, hat been towed into Weymouth,
haw in been 'Amelia...A for repair. She was taken to Mr.
A 1,,., diipyard, tu he lengthened, there ,he aunt in
half. And it was while half wan isunz lifted that the
accident happened an detailed in the et i.knee.
The jury were Mr. T. Itoaril, Mr. T. B. !fryer, Mr. FL
Lan 'gi Mr. W. IL P. Jeffery, Mr. W. T. lion-ell, Mr.
Norman. Mr. C. Beale. Mr. s. Charles, Mr. J. Richard.,
Mr. G. 11. Chalker, Mr. James Hood, Mr. I. Bee. Mr.
Riflfard, was chonen foreman.
. . . -

Mr. Robert Andrews Ayles : I am a shipbuilder, and my
yard is at Hope quay, Weymouth side of the water. The
dxsa.e.ed was a shipwright by trade, an.l has been in my
employ for some considerable time, and was a h1:111 of
experience in his soiling Yesterday he was employed in
lit tiiig h:df a vessel, about two or three in the afternoon.
Tl,.' vessel hail been cut 111 twn, sun' they were lifting her
IN,I no to have the slipway clear 111 Cll+lo of any other work
turning up. We were lifting her with jacks, such ai are
the proper things to use. Seven pereons were working at
the jacks, awl two bottls,jacks were used, and two ch.s-ks
were under the keel, and mots setting them :s, the vessel
WWI IMAM.: lifted up. We commenced in the morning pre-
paring. :eel with that and the lifting all day. I Was there
front 010.1 o'clock until the accident. One end of her was
mug's; and :she was also supported under the bilge hy
chocks of wood to prevent her falling over. When she
WM lifted UP it certain height, hegan
called out "',he's striking. The half of the ven.el stag
about 21. Wt. long; it was the stern part. "Striking" is a
term to put the 1111111 on their guard, it meant that she was
....c lug ddeways awl might fall. We hail lifted her
ahout two feelers:la half, and the other end was supports-4
by choeks, so that it would lie firmer as it was lifted, or
would not, be loosens:4. We were lifting about ten tons
weight, awl demise.' was heath, the bettle.j:wks ; he was
under the bilge. Whets I callesfout that she was "strik-
ing," the jacks "tripped," or gave ..ut, and the two blocks
which the men were setting underneath the keel also
tripped, and the vessel fell about 21ft., pitching on is pie-,,
of timber, broke it, and fell sin the men. The timber was
smashed hy the fall. The buttlejaelts were equal to lifting
the weight.
The Cur-suer enquired about the vessel being supported
at the sides and ..use lif the pry endeavoured to esplsin thematter to the 'oruner. Ir. Mussel showed a piece
paper 'sent to represent the lialf-vesseL Mr. Norman
explains,' that the half was lifted at 0130 en.l the breeder
one being clipped by chucks or timbers, AO that the half
inured on a pivot, as it were, and would not ysek about
as the vessel was lifted.
Mr. Ayles continued : The jacks were of the kind COlll.
1Y U,1C.1, and they were used with every precatithe.
The half of the vessel fell, crushing the deessused, who was
under it about five minutes. Two ether men were there,
and one was also hurt. Could not tell the reseses why she
"struck," unless"; the jacks were working antair, there
were three 110111 011 in,, side, and two on the other; but
the vessel fell on the side that the three men were. The ,
fall of the vessel broke a pits,. of wood 16 by I wa. lin
the opposite ai.le, uuid tieeea.e.l, I think, tried to get under
the keel the wrong way, the other man did summed in
getting under the keel.

The Coroner : The man who succeeded in getting under
the heel, you may say had ii very narrow escape.
In answer to the Coroner, witneas said there was the
other way to escape, by running hack but there WaS a
cradle in the way, and deceased would have hail to get
over that. Part of the cradle was broken by the timber.
Dr. Griffin : I tun snout the surgeons to the hospital.
About three o'clock yesterday afternoon I was called to
the shipyard to see Franeis Cat,,; but when halfway there,
I was stopped by the information that lie was .41 the way
to the Hospital. I returned and directed ahe I to he got
ready, and in live laillat“ Ile act. la ought. Ile was com-
pletely Ulletlasei.al4, and appeared t,,, he dying, Ab„at a
hour and a half afterwards, after slightly rallying, lie
416,1. Ili% was & 1101a11.14.1 CAMS from the einumeneenients
se account of the injuries. lie received a severe blow on
the side of the forehead and face, which pnslueml ,sin•
cus_sion of the brain, anal was the callse of his being
unconsciou-s, he had severe f011t11.1i.1114 on the upper part
of the chest, and on lath shoulders ; on the right side
live rills were broken, and the broken extremities driven
into the lung, producing considerable bleeding into the
chest and escape of air. Ile hail • simple fracture of the
left thigh, and a very severe compound fracture of the
right leg. The injuries to the lungs were sufficient to
cause death, anal the other injurnw put tozether were also
sufficient, The injuries were such ill might be caused by
the fall of the vessel.
By The foreman: Ile was dashed against the ground,
and rruuLasl in a InUlliellL
. .

by the Comer: lie waA eland .7.1) can of
tie!
e and had been to sea and a ship carpenter, Joo-d hi,
_ . . . .

Mr. E. Luning asked whether it would not he ad.ibable
in a future case to isolate the COrptle from the living t Ile
was touch surprised to see two living men near the
Dr, cohlin said that was.,.. °obis to the ward, being all
full. It was removed to the waiting town ilurinftlie
night, lest the living :nen should be tiervourn hut the
corpse could not he kept there dluring the day thee, asi
there would le many people there. They had A risno at
the top of the hoax: where the tedy could he kept hut
the .ervant4 of the hospital were not strong enough to
convey he corpse there.

The Coroner a 4 the renietly wa, in the Weymouth's
twople's hands—they could duirwribe, and Isaso a ro•na
buith

Jr. Nornum -lid it WWI of no use to have a &lid-house
at the top of the house.
A screen We. saggeste4, to conceal the sight from the
living patients.
It appeared that the corpse was remove.' from the room,
as loam as the jury left. The hospital. It transpiri.A was
now very full
By this time William Keel. Innl been called. Ile -.aid:
I was employed at Mr. Ayle.'s ship-yard yederday, and
the decease.' was working beside 'me haat in, at tin, ,ore
the I.ttlejack. I can't tell what happenisl ; I lint know
myself, I heard a scrunching, and I was hit throutai under
the keel somehow, and which war I went I don t know.
The vevwl hit me through. something took ne, on the neck
and on the pinbone. I did not hear anything at oil; did
not hear anylssly say the ve• SV:IN btriklug." I laid
the liar of the jack in my hand at the moment, and how I
let go, I don't kn.m.
Mr. Ayle.:: flu jacka are worked by a diifting liar, not
a fired handle.

Witness, in answer to the Coroner, could not iIl how
big was the hole he was knock."' throu,,,h, should :sly it
was as big as the space under the table (about three feet).
Found deceased afterwards under the vessel, the Lapel
way as witness Was: it looked as if deceased had been
going the tame way, awl had been caught.
The Coroner wild the main question was whether ordinary
care and caution bail heen proterly used. The artieles
seensesl to have been the ordinary UM, used for such work.
they seemed to have been proper of their kind, and the
ben were nem of experience in owl work, in 4 If,.
A yles was there direetin4 thew.
It wa. stated that this Sc, the first death that haul
occurred at Mr. Atic.. aldi.yant awl the Coroner
said there was not the least reflection on Mr. A 1,,..
The jury immediately retunied a verdict of "Accidental
Death.:

-;"l;l7e—deceased leaves a wife, and four grown up children.
The jury gave their fees to the wife of deceased.
_
GIRL FOUND DROWNED.
••-- • • -

An inquest was held in the same afternoon, on the
body of Elizabeth Cox, a girl 17 or IS years of age, who
wae found drowned in front of Victoriw Hotel, on Friday
tuorning. The following were the jury :- Mr. Alfred
Rolls (foreman), Mr. James Green, Mr. James Ghelmian
Mr. John Mowleui, Mr. James Newport, Mr. Joseph Low'
mail, Mr. William Hall, Kr. Richard Shianar, Kr. .1