RootsChat.Com
England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Cumberland => Topic started by: cass on Tuesday 09 October 07 15:58 BST (UK)
-
Hi, I remember my late mother talking about an 'uncle Buster' who was a family friend who was electrocuted by an ?electric fence. I think this must have happened in the 1960's in either Workington or Whitehaven. I have tried to look in old newspapers when I have visited Cumbria but it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I wonder if any of you remember an incident like this?? Cass
-
Hi Cass
Are we talking a fatal accident? If we are, there may have been a coroner's report which would give a date, but on the other had, in that case there would be a registration of the death, and that would give us a date. Do you know the person's proper name?
Let us know if you have more details.
Best wishes
Emms.
-
Electric fences are designed to shock, and are rarely (never?) fatal.
They usually keep in livestock, but Workington/Whitehaven are not exactly farming communities - though there are some nearby.
Windscale is just up the road. I wonder if that had electric fences? But again, surely not that powerful?
meles
-
If I remember when I was a nipper the electric fence around livestock was only a 12 or 24 volt battery. We used to grab them and see who could hold on the longest ;D ;D ;D
I just carnt see anyone being allowed to have an electric fence around their property, unless it was something to do with the military ???
ricky
-
If I remember when I was a nipper the electric fence around livestock was only a 12 or 24 volt battery. We used to grab them and see who could hold on the longest ;D ;D ;D
ricky
We used to hold hands in a line and the person who broke away used to get the shock! :-\
I wonder if it was, as meles has already said connected in some way to Windscale?
-
Hi Cass
if you have his name could you post it on here, it might help
ricky
-
Yes, there were plenty of electric fences around the farms in much of Cumbria, and there were farms around the edges of both Whitehaven and Workington.
There was one in the field at the bottom of the garden, and it was moved regularly further across the field so that the cattle had an extra strip to graze on. i had a fair few shocks off it!
I think either this was really just a shock, or if it was electrocution it could have been any form of misadventure - touching a cable from the mains if transformer was used to lower the voltage, getting equipment somehow involved with overhead wires etc etc.
Do you know the name. Cass, and then if a date of death were found, we could find out whether or not he died in connection with the fence.
Good luck.
Emms
-
Hi Ricky
Sorry you got the same thought up while I was typing!
Best wishes
Emms.
-
Emms
Not a problem, a name might help ;D ;D
regards
ricky
-
If I remember when I was a nipper the electric fence around livestock was only a 12 or 24 volt battery.
Hi Ricky
Aye, the battery is only 12 or 24 volts (same as in a car/lorry) but, as in a car, several thousand volts are used http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2001/NicoleCastellano.shtml
-
Hi Geoff
I remember it used to give a big kick, but wouldnt have thought it would have killed someone unless they had a weak heart :-\
-
I always thought it was the Amps that killed not the voltage.
Derek.
-
2 things.
1 Derek are you related to a Brampton Weavings?
2 Around the 60's (and if you can remember them you weren't there, remember) there was an electrocution of a youth behind elterwater av. in workington but this was where he had climbed a pylon and hadn't realised just how far high voltage can jump.
I don't remember any more details and wouldn't even recall it except my grandparents lived on elterwater at the time and they lived there from about 1959.
Could this be a euphemised story of the poor boy being electrocuted but by being where he shouldn't have been?
bob
-
2 things.
1 Derek are you related to a Brampton Weavings?
2 Around the 60's (and if you can remember them you weren't there, remember) there was an electrocution of a youth behind elterwater av. in workington but this was where he had climbed a pylon and hadn't realised just how far high voltage can jump.
I don't remember any more details and wouldn't even recall it except my grandparents lived on elterwater at the time and they lived there from about 1959.
Could this be a euphemised story of the poor boy being electrocuted but by being where he shouldn't have been?
bob
Bob...can't say I am related to a Brampton Weaving...all of mine are from Gloucestershire.
Derek.
-
Bob
That's a very credible story. More likely than a fence.
meles
-
Derek,
I only asked as there is a Dr. P. Weaving at the Brampton practice. He could have come from anywhere I suppose.
bob
-
Thanks for everyones answers. Unfortunatley the only details I remember is 'uncle Buster'. The one that Bobgraham mentioned seems the most reasonable as I seem to remember pylons. But it would seem that Buster was old enough to be referred to as uncle. Cass
-
Hi Cass
Just because he was called Uncle dont mean to say he was old. I have an Uncle who is only 10 years older than me and an Auntie who is only 5 years older than me.
ricky
-
Do we have anyone down in workington that can call in on the news and star office and search the archive? The staff are up for it usually and may even remember the incident - some must be as old as me ;>}
bob
-
Pels, I don't suppose you've been watching the reports about the fire at Winscales have you? Whenever there's bad publicity about Sellafield/Winscales, everybody starts panicking about it, and imagining us Cumbrians who live nearby with green bodies or two heads :)
I had the same thought about electric pylons, or maybe a railway line, could be anything really. There are plenty of fields all around Whitehaven/Workinton with electric fences, lots of countryside. I doubt it had anything to do with Winscales unless he was a greenpeace supporter.
-
Pels, I don't suppose you've been watching the reports about the fire at Winscales have you? Whenever there's bad publicity about Sellafield/Winscales, everybody starts panicking about it, and imagining us Cumbrians who live nearby with green bodies or two heads :)
You mean you don't? :o :P :o
To be honest I was just agreeing with Ricky and meles - more to stress the safety of electric fences, having said that I wouldn't be so inclined to line up and touch one now! ;D I've got more sense! 8) ::) 8)
-
Hi all
I could do with a look in the News & Star Archive, but I don't think it will be yet, but what I can do is look in the coroner's inquests details up here. I don't know how late they go.
It might be in the Cumberland Pacquet as we, which we have got.
By the way, where is the Workington Archive, Bob?
Good luck with the search.
Emms.
-
I just called in the News and Star office which was on Oxford St. Has it moved?
bob
-
Pels, having been born and bred ten minutes from Sellafield, I've got used to it :) Also my husband and eldest daughter both work there. His 2 brothers and their wives work there. My next door neighbour works there, and most of the people on our housing estate.
We would be in a bad way if it wasn't for Sellafield. There's nothing much else around here job-wise. You could walk across the street and get knocked down tomorrow, so no I don't worry about it :)
-
Hi
All.
No I don't know that it's moved. I'd never been there in the first place, but when I get chance I will. It's a case of fitting round family when you're out and about. And parking!!
Emms.
-
Emms
parking? In wookinton? i thought they had knocked down the old bus station and you could park on that!
Grandad moved from elterwater (that started this thread) to the back of the Ritz cinema (something square) with the best chippy in workington (apart from the one on john st) in the corner (Blue Dolphin?- I did say the alzeimers was winning).
For a few weeks I went to John St School but now it's a shopping centre
Subaru,
I watched the calderhall/winscale/sellafield prog and fully expected to see one of my relatives featured. i can't name him as he is not on the net but at 70 odd and an analytical chemist there, he would have been involved.
On the other side of the family, a grandparent was a busdriver, the day of the fire and he took people away. Hours later, family history says, police walked in and took him and whatever he had touched awy. Apparentley they took the grandchilds carrycot but left the grandchild!!
I'll check the veracity of this story over the weekend as although the grandparent is no longer with us all the other players are.
bob
-
I don't have a connection with anybody involved on the day of the disaster, but my dad was one of the bricklayers who built the chimneys that were knocked down the other day ;D ;D
He was there when the queen came to open them. He said she had really blue eyes - I said it must have been all the blue blood ;D
-
I don't have a connection with anybody involved on the day of the disaster, but my dad was one of the bricklayers who built the chimneys that were knocked down the other day ;D ;D
They were cooling towers ... demolition pics http://www.mywhitehaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=898.0
-
Warwick Telford was the boy electrocuted on a pylon at elterwater Ave or somewhere near Newlands Lane. He wanted me to go with him when school was out, i went right home to watch Wells Fargo and I was always under orders to get home for tea. Pleased I did!! We were good pals.
-
That must have been awful for you:o
Was his nickname Buster at all - re the first post on this thread?
By the way, welcome to Rootschat Workington Downie - do you actually take part in the game? ;D
-
Thanks for the Welcome, I haven't logged on here for a very long time. The game? please explain
-
Uppies and Downies ;D
-
No don't play now I'm far to old
-
Downie, aren't we all!
It was me that started the elterwater bit of this thread so did you live up that side of town? I had Smiths on elterwater, Grahams on the next one down (named after a lake but i don't remember which one) and Pym Smith moved into the dead end that backed onto the hospital from harrington road so you may have known any of them. Also a cousin married into Rupies family with the garage/filling station
Subaru,
my "boss" is from Annan and he had watched a recent program on the felling of the cooling towers at chapelcross in scotland and was thoroughly ashamed. He said they must have dredged for the voxpop people they got. let's hope they don't do the same down west or I'll be on it. ;>}
bob
-
Hi Downie,with ref to Warwick Telford,an old friend of ours was actually there when he was electrocuted.His name was Barry and this affected him for the rest of his life.Sadly, Barry died of MS when he was only in his early thirties. I am still in touch with his widow who lives
in Workington.Do you remember them?
Best wishes Jubed
-
Barry and his wife were good friends of me and the wife. We are still in touch with her and the girls.
-
Small world isn't it? D and I have been friends since teenage years.We worked together in the old Star office shop.We all went round together and I was at their wedding.They have two lovely daughters.I moved away from the Workington area when I got married but still have friends and relations there.
Jubed
Moderator Comment: Some names removed as we do not allow any mention of lving people on rootschat. Sorry.
-
I don't have a connection with anybody involved on the day of the disaster, but my dad was one of the bricklayers who built the chimneys that were knocked down the other day ;D ;D
He was there when the queen came to open them. He said she had really blue eyes - I said it must have been all the blue blood ;D
Golly it's a small world isn't it. My dad was there when Sellafield opened too... 1955-56??? Have a pic of him in a gathering when the Queen opened the place. We lived in Seascale for years till we emigrated. :)
-
:)Hi does anyone know if Warwick Telford had a nickname of Buster?? or any connection to Ousby, Billy, Teddy or Catherine Whitfield?? Cass
-
Hi All :)
Ladybird, there are a lot of familiar names in your list, especially the Berry, Stewart, Townley, McCulloch group. They fit very nicely with a good friend's family. I'll start anther thread but I'll put a link on here when I do.
Best wishes
Emms :)