The Blackpool Herald. — 1884-01-25 (Blackpool, Lancashire, England)

THE SUICIDE OF A SOLDIER AT FLEETWOOD: INQUEST.  On Saturday, at the Police Court, Fleetwood, an inquest was held before Mr. T. Gilbertson, coroner, on George Copar, the soldier who committed subide on the p.revieus Thursday. The Jury was composed as follows :—Messrs. A. Davies (foreman), John Chainney, James Pratt, T. Parkinson, J. Salthouse, J. Duckworth, H. Moulding, W. T. Parkinson, P. R. Sumner, P. Williams.  Patrick Murphy, a private in the Royal Lancaster Regiment, said: I knew the deceased, George Copar, who was a private in the same regiment. His age was about 23. I last saw him alive shortly before eight o'clock on Thursday morning in the barrack-room. He was then looking down the muzzle of his rifle. I had not noticed him before then. I then noticed fire homing from the rifle, and heard the report at the same time. He then fell on the ground. I went to him. I did not touch him. There was blood all over his face, coming from somewhere about the left eye. There was a hole in the ceiling, but I did not know where the ball had gone. I noticed nothing about the rifle.—By the foreman: He was top foolish, childish, and strange in bis ways as long as I have known him. When he has been in the barrack-room he would go on playing his antics as if he were a child.  Henry Andrews, a private in the same regiment, said: I knew the deceased, and had known him since the 11th october, 1883. Since I have known him I have always thought him a little deranged. I last saw him alive on Thursday morning, in the barrack-room at Etuiton Barracks, a little before eight. He slept in the next cot to me. I noticed nothing different in his manner either on the previous night or that morning. Next morning he had a conversation with me, and he said he was going to make a complaint about a sergeant. He did not say the nature of the complaint, nor did he name the sergeant. I advised him not to do so. Ido not know yet what sergeant it was for he never told me. He said. "I will take your advice and not do so," ann then said, "Shake hands, you and I have always been good friends, haven't we?" I shook hands with him. He had not his rifle in his hand at that time. I told him to go and clean his straps ready for parade. He said " All right, I wilL" I then lost sight of him and the next I saw of him was five or ten minutes later. I then heard a report in the room, I turned in the direction and saw him in the act of falling. I went to him, and he was On the ground on his back. He was bleeding from his face. I did not se p the nature of the wound. I saw a hole in the ceiling. I did not examine the rifle nor the clothes. Arthur Gibson, a private in the same regiment,. said : I knew deceased, and saw him last alive on the morning of the 17th, between seven and eight o'clock, in the barrack-room. I was in the act of cleaning my bayonet, when I heard a report, and looking round I saw him in the act of falling. I had conversation with him on the night of the 16th. He wrote a letter, and directed it 'to Germany, and handed it over into toy charge. I did not post it. I had to register it, and it was 20 minutes to ten at night when he gave it to me. He said he had no money, and he asked me to pay for it, while he got some. I had no more conversation. He gave me the remainder of his writing paper, saying he had no room for it on his shelf. He told me about a fortnight before he came from the Lancaster Depot, that he had been in an asylum. We were route marching at the time. I was in the same section of fours as him. Some men ran in between them in the ranks, and spoke to Copar, evidently knowing him, and calling him by his name. They said to him, "Well, you've got into the regiment at last, have you ?" He answered "Yea, and I like it a good deal better than being there." He told me afterwards that he had been in Lancaster Asylum for about three months; directly he left Liverpool he got into a little trouble. He did not I tell me the trouble. He said when he came to himself he was in Lancaster Asylum.—By the Foreman: I had no remelt to know that he was going to commit suicide.  The coroner here read two letters, the one Gibson should have posted, and another found in deceased's knapsack. The first letter has already appeared in these columns, and the second was to the effect that his last will was that all he had to get of the pay he I was entitled to, had to be sent to his dear mother. His body had to be given to the doctor for the purpose of learning the structure of the body. P.C. Wilson said: I was sent for to the Barracks, and Igot there about a quarter to nine. I found the i body n the barrack-room near to the door. It had not been touched. There was a deal of blood oozing out of his head. I noticed a large hole over the left eye. There was also one in the back of his head in the line from the other. I examined the rifle then. It was showa to me. There was blood on the muzzle of it. There was an empty ball cartridge in the barrel, There was this piece of string (produced) tied to the trigger. There was a loop at the end of the string opposite to that which was tied to the trigger. I saw the Sergeant-Major take the letter from deceased's knapsack. I did not examine the pockets. The Coroner said the evidence was conclusive as to the cause of death. It was pretty well proved that deceased had been in an asylum, and the strangeness of his manner and the letters he had written showed that there was premeditation. There could be no doubt that the man was of unsound mind. 1 The jury quickly came to a verdict that deceased had committed suicide whilst in a state of unsound mind.