Motor Fatality – How a Miner Met his Death

July 1923

Swinton & Mexborough Times, Sep 29


Denaby Motor Fatality


Sheffield Motor Driver for Trial


How a Miner Met his Death


Conflicting Evidence


At an inquiry held at the Fullerton Hospital, Denaby, yesterday, into the circumstances leading to the death of William Wyatt, aged 34, of Sheffield road, Conisborough.


Jabez Cowley, a butcher, of Clipmone road, Darnall, Sheffield, was committed to Leeds Assizes on a charge of manslaughter for gross negligence in the driving of a car on the night of September 7. Tom Austin, a butcher, of 193, Attercliffe road, Sheffield, was severely censured for the manner in which he was driving his car on the night in question.

The Coroner, Mr. Frank Allen, introducing the case, said that on the night of the 7th of September, William Wyatt was leaving work, after the afternoon shift at Cadeby Main, and was on his way to his home at 139, Sheffield road, Conisbrough, accompanied by John Rufus, a neighbour, who was also returning to his home in Sheffield road.


The time was about 10.30 p.m. Rufus was wheeling a bicycle. Two motor vans coming from Doncaster in the direction of Sheffield overtook the men who were walking on the footpath on the right-hand side of the road. One of the cars, it appears, was trying to pass the other, when both Wyatt and his companion were struck. Wyatt was picked up and carried a considerable distance then thrown off. The occurrence was witnessed by many people. Deceased lay on the side of the road with blood flowing from his head. He was taken to his home by car and then driven to the Fullerton Hospital when it was found he was suffering from a fractured spine. Since that time he was almost entirely paralysed and died in hospital on Tuesday last. Mr. Spencer Baker, of Doncaster, appeared for the widow, and Mr. W. P. Donald, of Sheffield, was introduced by Mr. J. W. Fenoughty, of Rotherham, to appear for Mr. Jabez Cowley.

Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Clare Wyatt, of 139, Sheffield road, Conisbrough, the widow of the deceased, said her husband was 34 years of age, and was employed as a corporal on the road at Cadeby Main.


On the 7th of September, 1923, he was at work on the afternoon shift. He should have been home about 10.50 p.m., but on the night in question he did not arrive. Mrs. Wyatt became anxious, and about 10.25 p.m. the deceased was carried home. He was conscious, but completely helpless. His head was bleeding badly. His first words, as he lay on the sofa in the kitchen were: “I´m done, they´ve smashed me up completely”. He was immediately removed by car to the Fullerton Hospital, where he was attended by Dr. Ford. The witness visited the hospital every day until Tuesday, when her husband died. He was in good health prior to the accident.

Mr. W. P. Donald expressed his sympathy with Mrs. Wyatt. John Alfred Rufus, of 112, Sheffield road, Conisbrough, miner at Cadeby Colliery, left work about 9.40 p.m. on the day of the accident. Witness met the deceased near the general offices at Cadeby, and the two walked on together.


When in the Sheffield road, opposite the gates of Rock House, witness was walking on the right-hand side of the pavement wheeling a bicycle in the gutter, Wyatt was at his side. They heard motor cars proceeding from Doncaster. As the cars drew nearly level, Rufus saw two cars almost abreast of each other. He tried to lift his bicycle on to the pavement and like a flash was struck in the left leg, above the knee. He was hurled as it were, “through space”, and dazed. Witness was carried along and dropped near a lamp post.


When he rallied he found himself lying near Wyatt who was on his right side, on the edge of the pavement. Two men, named Gilmour and Clark, respectively, came running to their assistance. As he looked up he saw the two rear lights of the cars disappearing over Hill Top. Witness´s left leg was useless. About this time one motor car came back from the Sheffield direction and the occupants gave them assistance and Wyatt was lifted on to the motor lorry. He was driven home. Two men assisted the witness, who thus reached home.


On reaching home, he rested for some 15 minutes and then visited the Wyatt house, where he found the motor lorry. Witness was driven to the hospital by Cowley, one of the drivers included in the case. On reaching the hospital he saw Clark, one of the witnesses, talking to P.c. Bowans, Cowley said: “If anybody has knocked him down, it must be me, as I was the offside man”. The constable asked Cowley: “Have you had some drink?” Cowley replied: “I have only had a bottle of stout”. No warning was given.


Replying to Mr. Baker, witness said one of the cars must have come on to the footpath. The two men were about two or three minutes´ walk from home. Mr. Donald suggested to the witness that deceased was on his left-hand side and that he (the witness) was walking on the road at the time. Rufus denied the truth of the suggestion. The whole business took place so quickly that it was difficult to say what did happen. The drivers of the lorries rendered every possible assistance.

Ellen Rufus, the wife of John Rufus, expected her husband home from 10 to 10.30 p.m. At 10.15 she went to the front door which looks on to the Sheffield road. She saw two motor cars coming up from Doncaster. The first car stopped at her front door. The other one stopped and turned round, near the cemetery gates. Two men got out, they were wearing butchers smocks. One of them, a short fat man said: “We have either run into a wall or knocked someone down, but anyway we will go back and see”, both went back, shortly afterwards her husband came home, accompanied by two men in butchers smocks.

Wm. Henry Gilmour, of 79, Sheffield road, retired school teacher, was in the road at the time of the accident. He was standing almost opposite Rock House, George Edward Clark was with him at the time. He saw two men returning home from work, walking on the footpath in the direction of Sheffield. Two cars approached from Doncaster. When they passed the witness they were side by side and were travelling at a terrific pace ….. Missing text …..

The witness took over Wyatt, who said “they have done for me”, or words to that effect. Wyatt was helped on to a passing lorry. The roads were well lighted by the headlights, and three road lamps in addition. He would say that the car which struck the deceased was on the footpath. Witness did not actually see the car strike anyone.

George Edward Clark, of 14, March street, a miner, was standing opposite Rock House, talking to Mr. Gilmour, when he noticed the two cars approaching from Doncaster, all lights were on. He estimated the speed to be 50 miles per hour. The cars were travelling side by side. It was impossible for the witness to see the two men at the time of the accident. He heard a grating sound as if a car was grating the causeway edge, and a scream. He picked up the injured man, who was lying about 8 yards above Rock House gateway. Deceased said : “Oh, George hold my head up”, Wyatt was bleeding and helpless. One of the cars was numbered W.A. 6759. The witness stopped a motor lorry and Wyatt was taken to his home in it. There were several people in Wyatt was then taken to the hospital. Clark accompanied deceased in the lorry. When at the hospital he saw P.c. Bowden, who made some enquiries. While this was going on another vehicle came along – a meat van. The driver of the van came up to the constable and said: “I have done that accident”, and later “I have only had one bottle of stout”. Jabez Cowley was the name of the driver. After the interview the witness returned to Wyatt´s house. On reaching the home he found Cowley and another man named Austin. They were talking about the accident and Cowley said : “It´s all right, I have done the accident”. One of the man asked the witness to go and look at the car. Witness was taken to Back lane end, but there was no car there.

In reply to Mr. Spencer Baker, the witness said Cowley made no other remark at the hospital, but that he “seemed to be half drunk”.

In answer to Mr. Donald the witness said Cowley did not return to the scene of the accident. The witness admitted telling the constable when at the hospital that Wyatt was run over by Austin´s car. Cowley was not present at that time.

During the cross-examination between Mr. Donald and the witness, Clark said that the cars passed him near Kearaley lane like a “Flash of Lightning”, From where he was standing to the point where Wyatt was picked is a distance of some 35 yards. Witness knew both Rufus and Wyatt, but at the time of the accident they were in their pit clothes.

Thurlwall, the Surveyor to the Urban District Council of Conisbrough, agreed that the plan produced and signed by him was prepared from an actual survey made on the 18 and 20 of September. It showed the Sheffield road between Lime Grove and Mount Pleasant, a distance of 650 yards.

Dr. Thomas Ford, of Denaby examined deceased on his admission to the hospital on the 7th of September. He was suffering from a fracture of the spine, scalp wounds and an injured kidney. There was no possible chances of recovery. He died on the 25th. There were also slight abrasions on the right hip. The scalp wounds were on the top of the scalp.

Mrs. Jessie Brennan, of the Woodlands Inn, the wife of John Wm. Brennan, the landlord of the Inn, noticed a party of men in the concert room among whom was a Mr. Austin. The men were supplied with drinks, Guinness and whiskey. Time was called and two of the men went out and Mr. Austin came to the counter and asked for three whiskeys quickly. Austin was the last to leave the house. The drinks were for him and his two friends. I would be 10 o´clock when he left the house. In witness´s opinion Austin was not the worse for drink.

Answering Mr. Donald, the witness agreed that as far as her recollection served her four or five drinks were called for.

P.c. J. Bowen was on duty, in Denaby at time of the accident. Later in the evening he had a point at Red House adjoining the hospital. About 10.57 he saw a motor lorry drive up to the hospital. The constable followed it up and saw a man removed to the hospital. Witness went for Dr. Ford, and returned with him on the same lorry. They reached the hospital about 11.10. The constable saw Rufus and a man named George Henry Taylor. At the time the witness was speaking to Clark, Cowley approached witness and said “If any man has knocked that man down, it is me. I was on the off-side of the road”. He gave his name as Jabez Cowley 44, Clipstone Road, Darnall, Sheffield. The number of the van was R.7232. Witness overheard a conversation between Cowley and Clark. Clark said to the constable in Cowley´s hearing, the van was W.A. 6759 that knocked the man down. Cowley replied “It´s a lie. If any man knocked him down it was me. I was on the off-side of the road”. The constable noticed the man, Cowley´s manner was peculiar, and on questioning him, that man said: “I have had one bottle of stout”. After witness got the information he required, Cowley drove off, and the constable accompanied him for half a mile, and satisfied himself that the man was capable of driving. The constable was quite satisfied that whatever drink the man had had it was not sufficient to affect his capability as a driver.

Sgt. Albert Elliott, of the Police Station, Conisborough, visited Sheffield Road early on the morning of the 8th
September, between2 and 3 a.m. He examined the Sheffield road some 15 yards from the Rock House gateway, and found blood on the kerb, footpath, and gutter of the road. The kerb stone showed white as if recently grazed. Later, he made certain measurements. Later, he interviewed Austin at the South Elmsall market, and asked a question. A car was near, W.A. 6759. The question was: “Who was driving the car in Sheffield Road, Conisborough, on the previous night?” Austin answered, “My son, George James Austin”. The sergeant replied that he would report him for driving in a manner dangerous to the public. Austin said he had been to Carcroft, Brodsworth, Stainforth, and back to Brodsworth, and left the Woodlands Inn at 10.50. He was on the proper side of the road when the accident occurred. The car was travelling uphill. After the man was knocked down the other car crossed in front of them, as the driver of it wanted to be first there was no wheel marks on the pavement.

Jabez Cowley, of Clipstone Road, Darnall, Sheffield, a butcher said he had held a driving licence for eight years without an endorsement. In response to his solicitor, he gave an account of a very strenuous day´s work, visiting numerous markets on the day in question. Witness met Austin, who said he was calling at Woodlands to fetch his son. At the hotel, he had two small bottles of stout and a small whiskey. Witness drove one, the last of three cars, which left the Woodlands about ten o´clock. At the Dearne Valley bridge at Conisborough, Austin, in the second car, passed the first car, and then, witness passed Austin. Austin, later, seemed to slow down, and witness had got his car half a length in front when he saw three men in the roadway. Austin had one head light and two small oil lamps, Cowley said he was travelling about 12 to 14 miles an hour. One of the three men he saw was in the gutter, and the other two were side by side. It was impossible to avoid an accident except by swerving to the left in front of Austin´s car. He went on for 15 yards and stopped. The driver of the other car was unaware of what had happened.

When he swerved in front of Austin´s car, he felt a bump on the right side of the car. He said to his companion: “I think I have caught one of those men, I will go back and see”. The car did not mount the side walk. Cowley returned to the scene of the accident. Witness saw the deceased in the roadway. Wyatt was lifted on to the lorry, and driven to his house, about 200 yards away. Cowley called at Wyatt´s house and later accompanied the injured man to the hospital after calling for the doctor. When Cowley arrived at the hospital he met P.c. Bowden, and heard a man (Clark), say he had seen the car that knocked the man down, the name was Austin.


Witness said: “I think you have made a mistake, I knocked him down”. The man replied: “Liar!” Cowley went back to Wyatt´s house. There was no suggestion of racing at the time of the accident. He was quite familiar with the Sheffield and Doncaster Road. Witness could only account for the accident because of his passing Austin´s car. The men were only three of four yards in front. Witness could not see the men in the road. He estimated that it took them 40 minutes to get from Woodlands to the scene of the accident. Witness could not account for the third man. He might have become confused by the bicycle. Austin´s car threw a beam only on the left-hand side of the road. His own light was not very good, and he could only see the men four yards away. It was as “dark as pitch” at the point of the accident. He did not remember telling the constable that he only had one bottle of stout.

Mr Tom Austin, of 183, Attercliffe Road, Sheffield, a butcher, the driver of the second car, accompanied Cowley to the Woodlands Hotel on the night of September 7. There he took two bottles of stout and a small whiskey. He estimated the speed of his car to be from 14 to 15 miles per hour. Going up the hill, his car slackened speed, during which time, Cowley´s car passed them. He saw no men on the road. The car darted in front of them, went on for a short time, and stopped. Witness´s car went on until the driver pulled up, thinking that something had happened to the other car. Austin returned to the scene of the accident, and later to the house, until Wyatt, the injured man, was taken to the hospital. Later, the three of them went on to Sheffield together. In his (Austin´s) opinion, Cowley did not mount the footpath, and neither was he travelling at an excessive speed. He could give no opinion as to why Cowley passed them, unless it was because they had slowed down. There was plenty of room for Cowley to pass them without his going on to the footpath. Cowley did not sound the horn, until he was trying to pass them.

George James Austin, the driver of the car, son of the last witness a butcher and mechanic, said he did not enter the hotel at Woodlands. His car never attained a speed of 20 miles per hour. He heard Cowley sound his horn behind him. When the engine of Cowley´s car was in front of him he swerved swiftly to the left. Austin had seen no cause for the move. The other car came to a standstill in front, and he continued for 100 yards, when, he witness stopped the car, thinking something had happened to Cowley. At the time of the accident, witness said Cowley did not pass him in a flash, Cowley was steadily overtaking him. The two cars were running together abreast for about 30 yards.

George Henry Taylor, of 490, Attercliffe Road, Sheffield, said he was a butcher and salesman, working in partnership with Jabez Cowley. He said Cowley pulled to the left, when he saw the danger, with such swiftness that he risked a collision. Cowley was a steady driver, and their car passed the other car gradually.

The jury inspected Cowley´s car.

The Coroner congratulated the jury on the interest and intelligence they had shown during the hearing.

The Coroner, in summing up, described the rulings of the law on the question of criminal negligence. He referred to the conflicting evidence, and stated that Cowley was able to drive a car without any sign of the effects of drunkenness. The story of the swerving was highly improbable, recognising the width of the road at that point. On the question of lighting, the Coroner said the driver should take precaution to render his vehicle sufficiently safe as not to jeopardise the life of pedestrians.

The jury retired, and Mr. Harry Hulley, the foreman announced the considered judgement of the jury as stated:


Cowley was guilty of gross negligence, and was to be committed for manslaughter . Austin was to be severly reprimanded.

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