Dead man returns to Wateringbury (1886)

Post date: Jun 19, 2012 4:56:15 PM

Extract from North Wales Chronicle, 27 March 1886:

SINGULAR CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY.

Much astonishment was created at the village of Wateringbury, near Maidstone, on Saturday by the reappearance of a man on whom an inquest was supposed to have been held five or six months ago. At that time a body in a somewhat advanced stage of decomposition was taken out of the river Medway, near Teston Bridge. It was recognized as the body of a man named Pledge, who had been missing for a few weeks. An inquest was held, at which a policeman swore to the identity of Pledge, and his landlady also recognised the body, not only by the features, but also by the clothing. She said that the coat had a patch she had sown on to it, the shirt had been mended by her in a particular manner, and the socks of the deceased were unquestionably those she had darned. The jury returned an open verdict of " Found drowned," and the remains were buried in the churchyard at Teston. A few days since Pledge "turned up quite unexpectedly, and announced that he had been in search of work."