Gruesome death of Preston signalman knocked over by rail wagon

On the second Monday of December 1868 Preston coroner, Miles Myres, attended to his duties at the Earl Street police station. Like so many days before he had three inquests to conduct.

On the previous Thursday afternoon James Sowerby, aged 67, a flagger and slater by trade had been busy carrying out repairs to the roof on Mr. Charnley’s residence in Grafton Street. It appeared that he had been busy fixing some slate hooks when he slipped and fell backwards off the roof into the backyard. Plummeting over 30 feet he landed crosswise on an upright flagstone and was almost instantly killed. After the usual deliberations the inquest jury directed by Miles Myres returned a verdict of ‘Accidental Death’.

Next to gain the coroner’s attention was an inquest on the death of a woman named as Ann Banks, aged 47, of Melbourne Street. A baker, Robert Salisbury, was a key witness who testified that on Saturday afternoon the deceased had been working in his bakehouse in Lady Street. She had been in the process of bringing a tray of loaves into the bakehouse ready to place them in the oven when she tripped and fell down the steps. He immediately went to her aid, but she was insensible. Her legs being on the steps and her head against the brick wall.

He lifted her up, put her on one side of the steps and called for assistance. She was then taken into another room with blood pouring from the back of her head. Despite the early arrival of medical assistance nothing could be done to revive her and she died shortly afterwards. Once again the inquest jury returned a verdict of ‘Accidental Death’.

By mid afternoon coroner Miles Myres was concerning himself with a railway accident that occurred on the previous Saturday evening. The victim was William Kirkham, aged 36, who lived in Penwortham with his wife Ellen and their five children.

Witnesses testified that shortly after 9 o’clock that night opposite the goods warehouse of the North Western Railway at Preston the deceased, a pointsman, had been busy preparing a goods train bound for Manchester. It appeared that Kirkham gave a signal to the engine driver to reverse steam in order to bring up some wagons at the rear. Initially, the driver did not see the signal and Kirkham crossed the rails and repeated it. The driver reversing as directed with, unbeknown to him, Kirkham standing too close to the rails on his blind side.

Consequently, the first waggon knocked Kirkham over and he was literally cut in two as the wagon passed over him. Assistance was soon on hand and he was carried into a waiting room in the station where despite immediate medical aid he died shortly afterwards. As the day came to a close the inquest jury returned yet another verdict of ‘Accidental Death’ after receiving directions from Miles Myres.

The reality was that three people who had left home to go about their daily work would not return to their grief stricken families. The Kirkham gravestone in Penwortham churchyard reveals the harsh reality of life in Victorian times with three of his children dying at a relatively young age and his wife passing away in 1880, aged just 46.

Miles Myres had taken on the role of coroner in January 1853 and would remain in that role until a few weeks before his death, aged 64, at his Ribblesdale Place home in mid-December 1873. An Alderman from January 1862 he was also thrice Mayor of Preston combining his duties as coroner with great dedication.