South Yorkshire Times – Saturday 02 May 1942

Haulage Hand’s Suicide

Bolton Gassing Tragedy

A verdict of “Suicide while the balance of his mind was disturbed,” was recorded by the Doncaster District Coroner. 41dr. W. H. Carlile) on Sidney Whalley (20), of 52, The Crescent, Bolton, at a Goldthorpe inquest on Saturday.

Mrs. S. E. O. Whalley said her son was a haulage hand at Hickleton Main Colliery and had been attending night school in Mexborough, having taken up electrical engineering. His eyesight was poor and on Wednesday evening he had visited an optician in Mexborough, who sent him to see Dr. G. B. Kelly, of Bolton. Dr. Kelly gave him a note to attend the eye specialist at Mexborough Montagu Hospital.

Mrs. Whalley said that her son came home and went to bed at about 7.15 p.m. He always went to bed early and was not in the least depressed. She herself went to bed at 11.0 p.m. On getting up at 8.45 a.m. on Thursday she knocked on his bedroom door and got no reply and the door was locked.

Mr. G. W. Hurst, miner, 85, The Crescent, Bolton, said that he was called by Mrs. Whalley at 8.50 a.m. He forced the bedroom door and found Whalley In bed with the bedclothes over his head. There was a smell of gas. He pulled the clothes away and saw that Whalley was wearing a civilian respirator, in the face piece of which was stuck the end of a piece of tubing which led from a gas point.

Dr. G. B. Kelly said that he had not attended Whalley since February, 1940, until Wednesday, when he gave him the note to see the eye specialist at the hospital. He was called at about 9.0 a.m. on Thursday and found Whalley dead from asphyxiation due to coal gas. He had been dead for an hour or an hour and a half.

P.c. W. C. Robson said that Whalley was grasping a note Iin his right hand. The contents of the note were not revealed.