Medway drowning (1917)

Post date: May 20, 2014 2:9:33 PM

Extract from Kent Messenger and Maidstone telegraph of 25th August 1917

DOCKYARDMAN DROWNED

AT WATERINGBURY .

HIS WIFE A WITNESS OF THE TRAGEDY.

GALLANT ATTEMPTS AT RESCUE.

Another holiday bathing fatality has oc­curred in the Medway, this time at Water­ingbury, where, on Thursday last week, Alfred White, 28, of Longfellow Road, Gillingham, a ropemaker in Chatham Dockyard, was drowned while bathing.

At the inquest held by Mr. A. H. Neve at the Railway Hotel, Wateringbury, on Fri­day evening, the widow stated that her husband was a man of exceptionally good health. On Thursday they came to Wateringbury on a holiday with her brother and sister. They had dinner at Maidstone, and then, taking a boat, rowed up to Wateringbury, where the men went bathing. She always understood

her husband could swim. The boat was brought alongside the bank, and from where she and her sister were sitting they could not see it. Her brother entered the water first, and her husband dived in from the front of the boat. She did not know anything was amiss until there was commotion in the water.

Alfred Peacock, an engine room artificer, said he had never been for a swim with his brother-in-law before, and only had his state­ment that he could swim. Witness entered first, and noticed deceased was rather undecided over the matter, and was a long time before he undressed. No one persuaded him to enter the water. Deceased made a rather clumsy dive off the side of the boat. Witness, who

was about mid-stream, expected him to come up and start swimming, but on coming to the surface White started to struggle for life. Witness swam as fast as he could to him, thinking he needed a little help. He caught the struggling man's wrist, but White immediately clung to him, and they both went to the bottom. Witness managed to get away after a hard struggle, and they both came to the

surface again. He could only see the top of White’s head and his fingers, and there was no chance of approaching him to the best ad­vantage. He caught hold of him, however, but the same thing happened as before, and they went to the bottom a second time. When he got to the surface again witness was him­self half-drowned and absolutely exhausted. He saw no more of deceased. He had shouted to the women on the bank to throw him an oar, and as soon as he had got, breath by

holding on to the boat, he dived several times, but could not find deceased. The women shouted for help, and P.C. White came up, together with a boating party, who were very kind. Witness formed the theory that de­ceased was only what was termed a beach swimmer, and that on this occasion, finding be could not bottom, he lost his confidence, and all his art of swimming left him.

P.C. White said the accident occurred about 500 yards below Wateringbury Bridge, and he found the body there in about 14ft. of water at mid-stream.

Dr. Southwell Sander, who saw the body at 5.45, said it was that of a healthy young fel­low, well nourished, with all the appearance of recent drowning. There was evidence that deceased’s heart gave out in the struggle and he had not taken in much water. It was sometimes very difficult do seize a man struggling in the water and to apply the right method of life saving under those con

ditions.

The Coroner said he was satisfied that Pelcock had done everything he could do in the circumstances, and the jury, in finding a ver­dict of "Accidental Drowning,” commended him for his gallant attempt to save his brother-in-law’s life.