Denaby Child’s Strange Fate – Drowned in the Tub

September 1935

Mexborough and Swinton Times, September 13, 1935

Sad Story
Denaby Child’s Strange Fate
Drowned in the Tub

A sad story was related at Conisborough on Tuesday at an inquest conducted by the Doncaster District coroner, onThomas Walker (3), son of John Walker, colliery stone contractor, of 96, Annerley Street, Denaby.

The child’s mother, Mrs. Mary Ann Walker, explained that about 2 PM last Monday she left home with her mother and the child to go to the allotment on the Vyner’s footpath, Denaby. When they got there they walked to the end of the allotment, and the boy followed them for a time, but then ran back and went behind the greenhouse.

She did not miss him until she turned round to go back. She said to her mother, “Oh, he’s gone into the greenhouse.” She went into the greenhouse and found the boy head downwards in a tub of water which is behind the greenhouse.

She pulled him out and called to 2 men about 100 yards away for help. Only five minutes elapsed from her missing him and finding him in the top.

The Tub was sunk into the ground, but two or 3 inches jutted out of the ground. She shouted to a man on a bench to come and aid her, but he would not do so.

The coroner: this small piece out of the ground was just liable to trip the child into the tub? – Yes

The coroner: that’s just what happened. He has probably been running fast and fallen head first in. – He has not been in the tub before.

The coroner: it would have been much better if you had a lid on

Mrs. Walker replied that her husband was going to buy some wood only last week

The husband told Mr Carlisle that he would see that the lid was placed on the tub, and the coroner remarked that the jutting wood was the thing that the child would trip over.

In reply to Mr Carlisle, the husband stated that he had not had a cover before because only his children went to the allotment and he did not think a cover was required.

John Thomas Burns, miner, Adwick Street, Denaby, one of the men summoned by Mrs Walker, said he heard Miss Walker scream. He ran down to the garden path and found the child, who had been taken out of the tub by his mother, about 5 yards from the tub. He sent two girls to the pit offices for an ambulance man and to telephone for the police. He applied artificial respiration.

The girls were away about 10 minutes; they had been for the police, but not the pit officers. He left the child to John William Marshall and fetched an ambulance man. He also summoned a doctor. They continued artificial respiration until the arrival of the Dr, who said the boy was dead.

Dr John MacArthur, Denaby Main, said that even if the artificial respiration had been successful the boy would have died of pneumonia owing to the sepsis from the water in the tub. The cause of this was asphyxiation due to immersion in the water.

Returning and verdict of accidental death, the coroner said that if there were any more of these tubs he hoped precautions would be taken to prevent any similar accidents.