DEATH – Inquest CHARNLEY William Henry. 17 years. Boating Teesmouth.

Accreditation The Redcar and Saltburn-by-the-Sea Gazette. 05/07/1878

  BOATING FATALITY AT TEES MOUTH
Two Live Lost

      On Monday, an inquest was opened at the Warrenby Hotel. Near Redcar, before A. Buchannan, Esq., district coroner, touching the death of William Henry Charnley, 17 years of age, who belonged to Middlesbrough, and was a serving his apprentice with Messrs Blair and Co., of Stockton, to be a marine engineer. Deceased had gone down the Tees on Saturday afternoon, in a small boat, for the purpose of fishing, along with David Charnley, his father, who is outside managed of Messrs. Samuelson and Co.’s Newport Ironworks, and Issac Davis, foreman labourer at the same works. They had passed the Tees bar, and are said to have landed at Redcar, and were returning at a somewhat late hour, when it was supposed their boat struck on the foundation of the South Gare breakwater, sustaining injuries to the bottom, and on getting again into deep water it filled rapidly and sank. Deceased could swim, and his father had given him one of the oars, to help him to keep afloat; Davis who was unable to swim, having two. The father managed to float on his back to the breakwater, when he became insensible, and lay there for some time, being found at midnight by some workmen living there. Nothing could be seen of the other occupant of the boat, and from the time that had elapsed since the accident, it was evident that both were drowned. The sea was running rather high, and a thick fog prevailed at the time. The body of the youth Charnley was picked up on Sunday morning, about 200 yards from where the boat was stranded, by one of the workmen employed at the breakwater, but that of Davis has not yet been recovered. At the inquest on Monday, evidence of identification and of finding the body was taken, and a certificate was produced from Dr. Charlton, of Middlesbrough, showing that the deceased’s father was too ill to attend. The inquiry was accordingly adjourned for a week.