South Yorkshire Times, January 2, 1943
Reaching For Christmas Toy
Conisbrough Charles Fatal Scalds
How a two-years-old Conisbrough child, Thomas Stevenson, son of Thomas Arthur Stephenson, steel works fitter, of 24, Sandal Road, met his death through reaching for one of his Christmas toys, was told at a Mexborough inquest on Monday.
A verdict of death ” was recorded by the Doncaster District Coroner (Mr. W. H. Carlile).
Catherine Stephenson, mother said on December 23rd at 4.45 p.m. she boiled a kettle of water and placed it inside the fire guard on a kettle stand. The child was playing in an easy chair at the side of the fireplace.
She went into the back kitchen for a few minutes, heard a scream and found her son inside the fireguard and the kettle of hot water on top of him. He was scalded. Her husband came from work and wrapped the child in blankets before taking him to Dr. Bell. Mrs. Stephenson said that the child had reached out for had a ship, one of the toys he had got for Christmas, and had fallen inside the fireguard, knocking the kettle over. The fireguard was one of the “all-round” type.
Dr, P. Cosgrove, house surgeon, said the child was admitted to the heart 5.30 p.m. and was examining by him. There were scalds on his left thigh on the left side of the face extending to the back of the scalp and left shoulder
He suffering from shock. He was treated for the pain of the primary shock and recovered from this.
He was then given a general anaesthetic and his wounds cleaned and dressed.
Unfortunately he developed secondary shock, a common, sod old cases of burns or sal The child cases the cause of death.
The child died on Christmas day.
The Coroner asked if toxaemia was not usually the cause of death to such cases and Doctor Cosgrove replied that it was not so. In this case. Toxaemia developed if the wounds were not clean. Death was due here to secondary shock from scalds.