Frederick Victor (Tim) Elliott, the younger brother of Arthur James, was killed on a construction site in Westminster, London in 1927. Summaries of the newspaper reports on the two-part inquest carried out to establish the cause of death are given below.
The original articles are available from the British Newspaper Archives, located here.
Westminster and Pimlico News - 17 June 1927
The newspaper reported that a workman was crushed to death whilst working on a construction site on the corner of Horseferry Road and Millbank. Frederick Victor Elliott aged 33 of Sussex Street, Poplar, a labourer employed by J Mowlem and Co Ltd was crushed to death.
Evidence of identification was given by his widow, Elizabeth Florence Elliott, who stated that her husband was in good health.
The Coroner stated that a jury must be present in cases of this kind, and as this was not possible the inquest would be adjourned until Friday.
Westminster and Pimlico News - 24 June 1927
The Inquest was reopened at Westminster Coroner’s Court on Friday, in front of a jury.
A doctor from Westminster Hospital stated that a post-mortem examination revealed that death was due to shock and internal haemorrhage caused by severe injuries.
A fellow worker of Frederick Elliott stated they were shifting a pile-driver, and the hammer was standing on timber when it suddenly fell onto the deceased.
When asked by the coroner as to the cause of the accident, another colleage stated 'the only thing that I can think of is that there must have been a certain amount of vibration from another pile-driver which was working 30 to 40ft. away.'
The Coroner (whos office was adjacent to the construction site in Westminster) had said 'he watched the work on this site many times with great interest and wondered at the skill of the men in charge of it. They were sinking foundations and driving in enormous piles. Mowlem’s were a firm of the highest repute, and it was not at all likely that they would find any negligence on their works.'
The jury returned a verdict of 'Accidental death'.
Notes and Abbreviations:
- 'Jn' stands for 'June'
Notes and Abbreviations:
- 'Jn' stands for 'June'
