Barnsley Chronicle January 30, 1909
Fatal Fall in the Fog
Houghton Miner’s sad fate
A sad accident, which ultimately proved fatal, occurred to a man named Thomas Edward Jones, residing at Gregory buildings, Sandhills, Great Houghton on Thursday week.
Jones was employed at the Grimethorpe colliery, and on the 21st inst he left work as usual about 6 pm and started off across the fields in the direction of his home, their being a thick fog on at the time. As he did not arrive home at the usual hour, his friends concluded that he must be working a double shift, but when he failed to put in an appearance at the time usual for a later shift they naturally became anxious and a search party, consisting of his brothers and others, said out to look for him.
At the colliery they were informed that the missing man had handed in his lamp about 6 o’clock. They could gain no further tidings of him, so they decided to search the fields round about, and at 1:15 am they found him lying by the side of a bridge of the Dearne Valley railway, and near to a footpath leading to Great Houghton.
He was quite unconscious, was bleeding from the ears and mouth, and was apparently numb with cold, he having probably lain there for nearly 7 hours.
The unfortunate man was at once conveyed to the house of Mr Ibbotson, Park Farm, which is nearby, and from there taken in a trap to his own home.
Dr Castle, was at once sent for, pronouncing him to be suffering from a fractured skull and extreme cold. In spite of all attention, the poor fellow failed to rally, and died in the early hours of Saturday morning.
It is assumed that, owing to the dense fog, Jones had decided to take a “shortcut” down the line, and, missing his way, fell over the bridge onto the ground beneath, a distance of about 12 feet.
An inquest was held by Mr Maitland, the district Coroner, in the Wesleyan school room, Great Houghton, on Tuesday morning, when Samuel John, brother of the deceased, described how at 11 at night he, along with his brother and a friend named T Imoson, went in search of the deceased and how they found him.
Dr Castle, who made a post-mortem examination, said death was due to a fracture of the skull.
The jury brought in a verdict of accidental death, probably caused by deceased having lost his way in the fog and falling from the bridge.
The funeral took place at Darfield Church on Tuesday afternoon, the cortage being followed by a number of sympathising friends.