DEATH OF A SOLDIER
AT ST. KILDA.
A shed in the yard of the Ocean Beach Hotel, St. Kilda, was the scene of a sad ending of a soldier’s career this morning.
Quartermaster-sergeant Charles Henry Quinn, of the New Zealand Medical Corps, belonging to the staff of the transport last arriving at Port Chalmers, had been away from his ship for the past three days, and inquiries as to his whereabouts resulted in the military police tracing him to the hotel mentioned. The police wished to see him safely on the afternoon train to Port Chalmers, and, after locating him at 9 o’clock, intended to return later for that purpose. When they did return, however, they found Quinn in the shed dead, with a revolver beside him. The body was removed to the morgue, where an inquest was hold late this afternoon.
The deceased is said to have been a married man, and was formerly an attendant at the Nelson Mental Hospital. He had been three trips on the transport, and bore a good name with his officers. -Evening Star, 11/5/1917.
INQUEST
A SOLDIER'S SUICIDE.
WORRIED OVER HIS WORK.
HIS MIND UNHINGED.
The Coroner (Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M.) began an inquiry yesterday afternoon concerning the death of Charles Henry Quinn, who was found dead that morning in his bed in an outhouse at the Ocean Beach Hotel, St. Kilda. Sergeant Hodgson represented the police.
Elizabeth Raynes Hardy, residing at the Ocean Beach Hotel, stated that deceased boarded at the hotel at different times when his troopship was in port. He stayed at the hotel from Thursday, 3rd, till Tuesday morning last, when he left to catch the train to Port Chalmers. Witness had only casual conversations with deceased.
Myrtle Stenhouse, daughter of the licensee of the hotel, said she knew the deceased as a boarder. She last saw him alive on Monday at tea time. He went away on Tuesday morning. Witness did not see him again until yesterday morning, when, on going to the outhouse, she saw him lying on a shakedown leaning on his hand. His face was very red; ordinarily it was pale. Witness thought Quinn was asleep. Later someone rang up from Port Chalmers, and asked if deceased was there, and on being told he was, they had asked to leave him there until they sent for him. Then the military police came and found him dead. Deceased was not in the outhouse when an inspection was made at 10 o'clock the previous night.
Thomas John Traill, military policeman, said that about 10.30 yesterday morning he was instructed by Sergeant Washer, of the military police, to go with another military policeman to see if they could find deceased. They went to the hotel, and there found him in the outhouse. Deceased was lying in bed, with the bedclothes partly covering his face. Witness thought he was asleep, and pulled the clothes down, but then found he had been shot. There was a wound where the bullet had entered the right temple, and another in the left temple where it had come out after passing through the head. The bullet then passed through the wall of the outhouse. The pistol was lying on deceased's right shoulder, and his right hand was at his side. Deceased was fully dressed in his uniform, except for boots, putties, belt, and hat. Witness did not disturb anything until the police arrived. He then found a spent cartridge near the pistol.
Christopher Henry Gallagher, sergeantmajor in the Royal New Zealand Artillery, said the pistol submitted to him for examination was a .32 calibre Colt automatic. There were two cartridges in the magazine, and from appearances the weapon had been recently discharged. It was not a service weapon, and he had never heard of them being issued to the service.
Albert Robert Price, engine room storekeeper on the troopship, who knew the deceased as a quartermaster on board for about two years past, last saw him alive at tea on Monday at the Ocean Reach Hotel. Deceased was a steady man.
Constable Lean gave formal evidence, and said he found on the deceased a letter addressed to the coroner and a note book.
The Coroner said he would require the evidence of Captain Buxton, and adjourned the inquiry until 10.30 a.m. today for that purpose.
The letter written by deceased and addressed to the coroner contained the following statement: — "Am writing to you in my full senses. The step I am going to take is a very drastic one; but that does not matter. I do not want you to bring in a verdict of temporary insane, as at the moment of writing and shooting myself I quite know what I am doing. I think I am better out of the way. If you will communicate with the Minister of Defence, and tell him that all shortages on the ship are my fault, through my own neglect, it will save a good man, Captain Buxton, from trouble. I would also like you to keep this thing as quiet as possible."
References to himself and messages to relatives completed the letter.
THE VERDICT.
The inquest was resumed this morning at the Courthouse.
Thomas John Linton Buxton, captain in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, said he had been on the ship since August, 1915, and had known deceased since that date. Deceased had been ship's quartermaster. Witness would say he was about 31 years of age. His character and conduct were excellent during the whole time: he was a perfectly steady man. Deceased was not absent from the ship on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. He had leave to live in town, and came down to the ship in the early morning. He left without leave on Saturday at 11.30 by launch, witness understood, and witness never saw him again. There was nothing in his conduct to show that there was anything on his mind, and it struck witness as decidedly strange that a man of his character should leave in the way he had. From what witness know of deceased, drink had nothing to do with the matter. On the Monday morning the ship storekeeper (who lived in the same hotel), in answer to witness's question, said deceased was all right, and apparently had missed the train down. Witness got a report of him from time to time. He was in Port Chalmers all Wednesday night, and stayed there all night at an hotel. Witness presumed he was away "on the bust" until he learned different from the storekeeper. On hearing that he was in Port Chalmers witness visited the hotel on Thursday on several occasions, and told the hotelkeeper to deliver a message, to deceased to report to the ship and remain there. Later, witness went again to the hotel (at night on Thursday), and the proprietor said he had delivered the message at 6 p.m., and the man had left within 10 minutes with the expressed intention of reporting to the ship forthwith. Witness went back to the ship at 7 p.m., but was told Quinn had not been there. On Friday morning witness rang up the Ocean Beach Hotel, and found the man was there. He then gave instructions for the military police to take charge of deceased and return him to the ship.
The coroner handed witness deceased's letter. "I don't wish," he said, "to lead the inquiry into military matters, but I want to make inquiry as fully as possible into his mental condition. As to the matter referred to there, had that been worrying him?"
Witness: I think so.
Had he any occasion for any worry in that matter? — That I cannot say at present. In answer to further questions as to an inquiry, witness said the coroner was referring to a different matter altogether. Perhaps the best way to put it was that deceased was worried over his work.
The Coroner said the evidence showed that this unfortunate man was of sober habits and good character, and from the contents of the letter the only conclusion he could come to was that deceased's mind was unhinged at the time. The formal verdict would be "Suicide by shooting while of unsound mind." -Evening Star, 12/5/1917.
The remains of the late Quartermaster-sergeant Charles Henry Quinn were buried this afternoon with military honors. Lieutenant McCrorie was in charge on behalf of the Defence Office, and Chaplain-major Fairmaid conducted the service. -Evening Star, 14/5/1917.
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