accident

[Mike from Leicester]

Greeting's Again Pennine.

Thanks for the quick response
your details printed off now
I'll have a look this Wednesday /  Thursday for you

" WATCH THIS SPACE "....

MIKE.

UPDATE.

Is this your Man ? :-

G.R.O. Death Index
July. ~ August. ~ September Quarter. 1960.

GRATWICK. Derek F.
Aged 32.
Leicester.
Cert No. 3 A. 514.

[pennine]

Hi Mike yes that is him. Thank you once more for your kind offer.
Pennine

[Mike from Leicester]

Greeting’s Again Pennine…..

Two Articles from the local Leicester Mercury.:-

Thursday July 14th. 1960.Page 15.

( Two inches by 1 & 3/4 inch wide )

HEADLINES:-

“ DRIVER KILLED
IN COLLISION.”

Derek GATWICK (38) of
Great Gradless Road Sheffield.
Died in the Leicester Royal Infirmary.
After a crash on the Six Hills Road
last night
His Van left the rain soaked road
Near to “ The Gate Hangs Well Public House“
And collided with railings.
Customers ran from the Gate Hangs Well to assist
Mr GATWICK and a motorist stopped and covered him up
with a rug.

Second Article :-
Tuesday 19th July 1960. Page. 8.

Large Headlines

“ VAN DRIVERS DEATH ACCIDENTAL “

A Corners jury yesterday returned a verdict
Of accidental death on Derek GRATWICK (32) of Greadless Road Sheffield.
Who was killed after his van was involved in an accident near to
 “ The Gate Hangs Well Public House “ Six Hills Road. Wednesday evening.
They heard from Mr Standley Marsh. Of Brokeby Road Sheffield.
Who worked for the same decorating firm as the dead man.
That he was driving a van in front of Mr Gratwick
When he reached the top of a hill he looked round because of a noise.
He turned round and went back to where his colleague's van was stationary.
Mr Marsh  told the jury “ I found him crumpled up in the gutter
Half way into the road & half way onto the verge “
A County Police Officer stationed at Syston. Said “ He found damage to the Off side of the van which indicated the van must have swung round in the crash
It had run off the road and crashed into a post and then into railings “

DR K.M. Ward stated death was due to Hemorrhage from fractured Ribs.

So there you have it ……

This “ The Gate Hangs Well “ is a Public House just further up the road in a Northern direction in a dip in the road from that Z bend  which I mentioned before.
And the Bridge was in fact the bridge over the River Wreake
Shown on maps as  “Lewin’s Bridge” 

Hope this help ….

MIKE.

[pennine]

Hi Mike thank you so much for your time and trouble to find this information for me.
Derek Gratwick was my dad and I was only nine at the time. Having no mother ( another story) I was devastated but no one told me anything and I was not allowed to go to his funeral. His mother and father, my grandparents, looked after me for a further 12 months and then I was adopted by his sister, really my aunt.
I have got to admit I was a bit choked up reading the reports as no one explained anything to me at the time and the info I gave to you was gleaned through eves dropping on adult conversation.  He was only thirty two at the time and it was such a tragic waste of life.
I did not even know my dad was cremated. I spent several of myearly teenage years touring cemetries in Sheffield looking for his grave because if I mentioned him I was told to shut up, and forget about it!
I guess I was probably in trauma at the loss of my dad for many years and I remember thinking that as he had been in the army, it was all a lie and he was on a secret mission somewhere, I had to keep quiet and go along with it and one day he would come back to get me.
I finally realised when I was about fourteen that he was never coming back. I was brushing my hair, looking into  my dressing table mirror, when my eyes drifted to the photo I had of him, the same one that is on my office wall now. The shock was terrible and I admit I went off the rails for a bit but couldn't explain why.
I finally found out that my dad had been cremated after a massive row at home about me being out late wandering around a graveyard. When I think of all those hours I walked about looking for him it is unbelievable.
A lesson for all to be learnt here, tell the truth to your children and avoid untold damage that can stretch far and away into the future. I am now fifty five and this is the first time I have ever read a detailed report of my dad's death apart from some cutting in the Sheffield star that amounted to about four lines., saying that he died in an accident. Incidently, I have never heard of anyone dying from fractured ribs have you?
Thank you once again.
Pennine

[pennine]

Hi Mike me again where would I go to get a copy of the full inquest report? Presumably I would apply to Liecestershire for his death certificate? Do you know the address or phone number?
Thanks again for all your help
Pennine

[Christopher]

Hiya Pennine,

It all depends how badly the ribs are fractured and what damage they do. If I remember correctly several years ago .. I was probably in my teens at the time ... a racing motorist in the north of Ireland named Bobby Baird (his family founded the Belfast Telegraph) suffered fracured ribs in an accident whilst taking part in a race. He was able to get out of the car and tell people he was OK. He later collapsed and died due to Hemorrhaging.

Best Wishes, Chris

[Mike from Leicester]

Greeting’s Again  Pennine.

Having read your touching account
I have made a return visit to the Records Office today (Thursday)

I made inquiries on your behalf to the Head Archivist.

If you wish for a copy of the Corner’s Report then here’s your
Course of action :-
Write to the Corner’s Office here at Leicester.:-

Corner’s Office.
C/O The Town Hall.
Town Hall Square.
LEICESTER.
LE 1. 9 BG.
Tel:-  0116 225 2534. 

Giving all the details you know of
And state your relationship to Derek Gratwick.

Then due to the 100 years closure Act.
You will be invited down here to the Corner’s Office
To receive in Person a copy of the Report.

Re:- The Death Certificate.
If you want a copy of this then you can order it from
 General Records Office through the usual channels at a cost of £7.00
Quoting the Quarter = Jul. 1960. Names & the ref No. 3 a 514.

If you wish to order the certificate from here in Leicester then the Address is

Registrars Services Office.
C/O. The Town Hall.
Town Hall Square.
LEICESTER.
LE 1. 9 BG.

Stating the Dates / Names./ Age.
You CAN NOT quote those Ref No. as they don’t mean a thing to them.
Again the cost I believe is £7.00.

Details you might get from the death cert are:-
Names / Place of birth./ Age. / Place of death. / Informant's Name.
Nature of Death ( but it might well just state
Hemorrhage from Fractured Ribs due to Motor Accident.)   

In the meantime if you send me a private message through my name on here including your E-Mail address then I can send you a copy of those Newspaper reports. As an attachment. I had them photo copied on your behalf.

MIKE.
 

[pennine]

Enquiry now completed and Finished.  Thanks to all who helped. For those who wondered about the subject of my enquiry here is a photo of Dad.

[DJH]

I was sorry to read your story which does show that children are resilient and can take bad news much better than adults if they are given the chance.
Broken ribs in themselves are not a big problem. The real problem is that a brokem rib is like a dagger and can stab its way into important organs such as the heart or lungs which can then leak blood or become infected leading to collapse later.
If your father was cremated I would think someone close to him took delivery of the urn afterwards and may have buried it in a local graveyard. Or it may still be around with a member of the(his) family.
Best wishes,
David