Birth
marriage and death records show that Henry Lewis Titheridge was born late in
1855 and christened in Cheriton parish church on Christmas Day 1855. The records show him to be the elder son of
James Titheridge and his second wife Charlotte Freemantle. He was the four times great grandson of John Titheridge and Ann Quallat of Cheriton.
The death records show him to have died at an
early age of 12, a few months before his thirteenth birthday with his death
registered in September 1868 at Cheriton.
The records do not show the sad story about
his death. Supplementing these records
with articles from contemporary newspapers helps paint a picture of the life of
our ancestors and the conditions in which they lived and worked.
The
story of Henry Lewis appears in two articles In the Hampshire Telegraph of 1868
The Hampshire
Telegraph 26 September 1868
Fatal accident
ON Friday
(yesterday) morning a boy named Titheridge in the employ of Messrs Vokes and Son
corn seed and coal merchants, Winchester was employed to hold the coal sacks
for the men to fill in the goods department at the railway station. Relinquishing his work for a few minutes to
have a game with some other boys in the yard they commenced running between the
wagons. In passing between the buffers another
wagon was sent down which closed the whole of the wagons and he was severely
crushed. As soon as it was discovered he was taken to hospital where he only
survived a few minutes.
The Hampshire Advertiser 3 October 1868
Under Winchester and district local news
An
inquest was taken on Saturday upon the body of Henry Lewis Titheridge, who met
with an accident at the railway station on Thursday. He was engaged by Messrs Vokes and Son, and
whilst at work in the goods department he leant against a buffer of a railway
truck, and within 2 feet of other trucks which had just been shunted. Whilst so leaning the trucks were moved and
he was crushed and being taken to hospital died very shortly after from the
injuries. Verdict Accidental Death”
What would current Health and Safety regulators make of a twelve year old boy working and playing on the railway lines?
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