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The inquest on the bodies of the four
persons who were killed outside Barnet Fair ground on
Saturday
The inquest on the bodies of the four persons who were killed outside
Barnet Fair ground on Saturday night, when a motor lorry mounted the
footpath, was held at the Wellhouse Hospital, Barnet yesterday.
A verdict of manslaughter was returned against the driver of the lorry,
who was committed for trial and allowed bail.
The victims of the accident were:- Police-constable James Warrender
Thomson, Mays Lane, Barnet, 32; William Hudgell, 41 and his wife Minnie
Hudgell, 41, of Campsbourne Road, Hornsey; and Jean, their daughter, aged
eight.
Four other persons were injured: Mr. Vyvyan Wells appeared for the
relatives of the Hudgells. Mr R Armstrong Jones represented Mr Elliott
Grover, the driver of one of the motor cars concerned. Mr. A C Ponsford
represented the widow and children of P.C. Thomas
and Mr F Soskoe the lorry driver. Mr E R NcNab watched the proceedings on
behalf of the owners of the lorry.
The lorry driver, John Brooks, Southward Park Road, Bermondsey, said he
was employed by Bulk Deliveries Limited, Hackney.
On September 7 he began his duties at South Mimms at
2.30am after having rested. He went to Chichester,
arriving at 7.30.a.m. and with him was Robert Blake. He
continued his journey to Brighton and Lewes, leaving Lewes
at 1.30 for London, and stopping for food on the way. He
also called at his home.
He was told to leave the load on the lorry until Monday
morning, and went on to South Mimms to spend the weekend,
arriving about 7.45. He went to the Beacon Cafe, where he
had a meal staying there until 11.p.m.
He was at the cafe for the whole of the time, except for a quarter of an
hour when he was in the Middlesex Arms, where he had half a pint of beer.
That was the only alcohol he had that day.
When three men asked him to give them a lift to London he said,
'Certainly, jump in'.
Two of the men sat on the seat and the third on the lap of one of them.
The Coroner - There were four of you in the drivers cab - Yes, sir.
Up to the time of reaching Barnet, the witness added, the lorry was in
good runner order, and the brakes were all right. Going down Barnet Hill
which he knew well his speed was about 20 miles an hour. He changed
into third gear, and the lorry's speed slightly increased.
He tried to apply his footbrake halfway down the hill, but it did not
respond. He pulled on the handbrake but it did not act. He saw cars and a
tramcar in front of him. There were people walking up Barnet Hill on the
pavement.
The near side of the road was blocked, and when he found he could not stop
he took the offside. Passing Fairfield Way he heard a crash.
He felt his front offside wheel strike the kerb. At the time it was very
difficult for him to see on account of the cement flying into his face.
The lorry came to rest underneath the bridge.
Brooks denied that he said to a police officer, 'I had nobody
else on the lorry with me' His speed at the bottom of the hill would be
about 30 miles an hour.
Mr Armstrong Jones.- Do you say that with two people on your left and with
a third sitting on the knees of one of them, you had proper control of
your handbrake on the left-hand side and of your gear lever? - Yes.
Replying to further questions by Mr Jones, the witness said he did not
know that he went practically head on into his clients car and turned it
completely round, facing the direction from which it had come.
A Very long day
Mr E. B. Knight (for the Commissioner of Police) - You had had a very long
day. Had you had any sleep during the day? - About half an hour, between
Chichester and Brighton.
Did you sleep in the lorry? - No, at the side of the road.
Is not the explanation of this that you were going down Barnet Hill at a
very much faster speed than 20 to 25 miles an hour? - No.
I am suggesting the speed was 30 to 40 miles an hour going down the hill?
- No.
Arthur William Wise, Mount Pleasant Road, Lewisham, said that he hired
lorries from other haulage contactors. On September 7 Brooks telephoned
him and the witness instructed him to go to Lewes and pick up a load of
cement.
He understood from Brooks that he intended 'stabling' the lorry at
Bermondsey that night, and he had no idea that Brooks was going to South Mimms.
Frederick Charles Stanton, Ordell Road, Bow, one of the men riding in the
lorry, said that they asked Brooks to give them a lift to Barnet Fair. The
lorry went down Barnet Hill at between 15 and 20 miles an hour and
gathered speed gradually. Suddenly he heard the driver say that the brakes
had gone.
Edward Charles Gore and Benjamin Woolf, both of Bow who were also in the
cab of the lorry, estimated the speed at the top of the hill at about 20
miles and hour.
Police constable Foster said that he saw pedestrians scattered to the
right and left. As the lorry 'flashed by' he noticed that the cab
contained more than one person. Brooks told the witness that he did all he
could. He was in third gear and the lorry was still in it.
A
motorist's evidence
Elliott Grover,
Byng Road, Potters Bar, said that the lorry came out behind a tramcar,
crossed the road, and mounted the kerb. To avoid the lorry the witness
tried to squeeze the front of his car into Fairfield Way, but owing to the
number of pedestrians he could only just get into the corner.
The lorry hit his offside front dumb iron and pulled the car round so that
the front wheels were on the southbound tramlines and the rear wheels on
the northbound lines. The lorry carried on under the bridge and struck
another car in the back.
He estimated the speed of the lorry as it was going across the road at 40
miles an hour. When it struck his car the speed would be 30 miles an hour.
Police-constable Harris, Yeo, Whetstone, said that he saw a motor lorry go
towards the crown on the footpath. Police constable Thompson, with arms
outstretched, moved towards them as if to push them back. The lorry ran
into the crown, scattering the crowd, and he lost sight of Thompson.
Police constable Ralph Kerrison said that Thomson was standing in the
road close to the kerb facing the crown, both arms extended endeavouring
to force them out of the way of the lorry. The lorry mounted the footway
and ran into the crowd, including Thompson.
The witness added that he went to the lorry and looked into the cabin, but
there was no one there. Brooks appeared and leaned on the radiator,
holding his head. The witness said: 'Do you know you have knocked several
people down?' Brooks made no reply. The witness then said: Where are your
three mates? and he said: 'Oh, they got out and ran back'.
Tribute to dead constable
The Coroner (Mr. T.Ottaway), summing up
paid a tribute to Police constable Thomson. He said: Here
you have a young constable who was engaged in shepherding
foot-passengers across the road, and it seems to me that
this young officer, if he had thought of himself, could
have got into safely, because apparently he saw this
vehicle coming upon him.
But rather than desert duty, he was seen trying to press
people back on to the pavement out of the way, and it was
while he was going this that he was struck fatally.
The jury returned a verdict that Brooks was guilty of
gross negligence. They added that they considered the
conduct of the three men accompanying him on the lorry was
highly reprehensible and deserving of censure.
In a rider the jury expressed their appreciation of 'the
gallant act of Police constable Thomson in the sacrifice
of his life in the execution of his duty.
The coroner told Brooks that a verdict of manslaughter had
been returned against him, and he would be committed fro
trial at the next Hertfordshire Assizes. Brooks was
allowed bail in his own recognizance of £50.
Follow-up reports:
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