John had an accident at Blidworth.
Notes
John refers to grandad’s brother-in-law, John Smith. He had an accident in Blidworth. Initially, I assumed this was an accident at work, that is a mining accident. In February 1926, grandad wrote a note saying “John case came off at Nottm assizes £500 & costs”. I didn’t know exactly what this was but it was presumably a court case involving John and I initially wondered if it could have been compensation for his accident.
However, I managed to find details of the case from a newspaper article the next day. This showed that the accident had been a charabanc accident when John was driving a party from Bourne Methodist Church to Lincoln, see Chapter 18. It had been a serious accident and a Mrs Gascoigne had been killed. Apparently, a settlement was agreed during an interval in proceedings.
This incident is recorded by Edith Searson in her book(let) “I Remember”. She noted, “in 1925, a char-a-banc party of women from the Bourne Church, went for a day’s outing in Lincoln. My mother was one of the party, The coach was proceeding along Rickett’s Lane. When it arrived near Blidworth Church, still on the lane, it overturned, and all the passengers were tipped onto the side of the lane. This was a long drop down. One of the party, Mary, was killed instantly and several were injured. My mother along with others walked home to Kirkby, 4 miles, with slight injuries but in considerable shock. There would not be many ambulances in the 20s”.
I also later found a report of the accident and inquest soon after the accident occured. Both this account and the later report at the time of the court case differ from Edith Searson’s recollections relating to whether Mrs Gascoigne died instantly or later at the hospital. The two articles differ from each other concerning whether Mr and Mrs Gascoigne considered that the driver, John Smith, was at fault.
