A LIFT ACCIDENT
A shocking accident befell a boy named George Joyce at Messrs Ross and Glendening's clothing factory in High street to-day, when the unfortunate lad received very serious injuries to his head. It appears that the boy, who was employed at the factory, by some means got his head caught in the lift. No one appears to have seen the accident, but when the lift reached one of the floors other workmen discovered the boy with his head severely crushed. He was removed to the Hospital as quickly as possible, being admitted to the institution about noon. The authorities reported at 3.30 p.m. that the lad was in a very critical condition. He is 15 years of age, and resides with his parents at No. 63 Easther crescent, Caversham. -Evening Star, 23/5/1918.
DEATHS.
JOYCE.—On May 23, at Dunedin (accidentally), George, dearly beloved second son of Robert and Eliza Joyce, of 63 Easther crescent, Kew, Dunedin, in his 15th year. Deeply mourned. Private interment. — C. J. Thorn, undertaker. -Evening Star, 24/5/1918.
A PECULIAR FATALITY
BOY KILLED ON FACTORY LIFT.
A distressing accident, presenting some extraordinarily puzzling features, and having a fatal result, occurred at Messrs Ross and Glendining's clothing factory about 9.30 a.m.. on the 23rd inst. The victim was a lad named George Joyce, 15 years of age, employed as an apprentice cutter. The boy was found lying on top of the lift, with his legs dangling clear, and held in position by a bale of denim some 3 1/2cwt in weight lying across his face. The fact that he was still alive when rescued is taken as proof that he could not have been longer than two or three minutes in that position, which would quickly have caused suffocation. The head was found to have been badly crushed, and he was taken to the Hospital, where he died at 3 p.m., without regaining consciousness. Those who found him are completely at a loss to account for the extraordinary position in which both he and the bale were found, and look on it as a mystery that will never now be solved. The top of the lift was level with the first floor, and the bale of denim belonged to the ground floor. The parents of the unfortunate lad live at No. 63 Easther crescent, Caversham.
THE INQUEST. Mr J. R. Bartholomew, as coroner, conducted an inquest at the Hospital on Friday afternoon into the circumstances of the death of George Henry Joyce, who met his death as the result of a somewhat mysterious accident at the lift in Messrs Ross and Glendining's Clothing Factory on Thursday. Mr O. J. Payne appeared for Ross and Glendining, Mr Browett for the Department of Labour, Mr J. Nichol for the relatives of the deceased, and Senior sergeant Murray conducted the case for the police.
Robert Samuel Joyce, match factory foreman, living at 63 Easther crescent, Caversham, identified the body as that of his son George, 14 years of age. His son was apprenticed to Messrs Ross and Glendining to be a tailor. He was a strong, healthy boy, and left home the previous morning in good health and spirits.
Dr Bowie (assistant medical superintendent at the Hospital) said the deceased was admitted at noon the previous day in an unconscious condition. There was evidence of a fracture of the vertex of the skull. His nose was broken, and there was a large blood tumour on the right side of the neck. There was also a bruise on the left shoulder and left upper arm. The patient never regained consciousness, and died at 3 p.m. The cause of death was injuries to head and neck, probably caused by a blow, but the condition of the neck proved subsequent pressure.
Evidence was given by a number of the employees in the factory, and also by the inspector of machinery (who found the lift in good order), but none of the witnesses could suggest how the accident occurred. The Coroner said the position in which this unfortunate lad was found was quite a mystery on the evidence given. No explanation had been offered as to how the head got into the position in which it was. The bale was heavy, and it was not easy to explain how it came into the position in which it was found. They had it that the nature of the injuries was that they were rather those that would be given by a blow than as the result of steady pressure. There was no band or other hard material on the bale which would have caused the injury, and that made the position still mere mysterious. The only verdict he could return was that death was due to injuries to the head and neck accidentally received in the working of the lift. -Otago Witness, 29/5/1918.
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