Fleetwood Willats

Fleetwood Willats died after drinking spirit of salts that he said someone gave him to drink in a pub telling him that it was whisky.

He said he had been drinking outside at the Nag's Head pub at 880 High Road, Tottenham, on the night of Friday 13 June 1919 when two men had given him a drink from a bottle telling him that it was whisky. He said that it didn't taste like whisky and had burnt his tongue and he had refused to take anymore believing that the men intended to rob him.

He was taken to the Prince Of Wales Hospital where he later died on Sunday 15 June 1919.

His inquest was held in Tottenham and concluded on Tuesday 1 July 1919 where it was heard the cause of death was due to taking spirits of salts. It was also noted that a number of bottles marked 'Spirits of Salts' which he had used in a hobby were found at his lodgings.

His landlady said that Fleetwood Willats had called her to his room on the Saturday morning, 14 June 1919 and complained of feeling unwell, telling her that he had had some sausages for dinner after which he had called at a public house for a drink and that whilst there the two men had given him some whisky. She said that he told her that he had been outside the pub and that the two men had come up to him and asked him to have a drink of whisky and had given him a half-pint bottle from which he had drunk about two tablespoonfuls and that they had then asked him to have some more but that he had refused as it had not tasted like whisky and had burned his tongue.

She said that Fleetwood Willats then told her that he had thought that the men had given him the whisky with the intention of robbing him and that they had afterwards followed him some distance in the direction of his home.

After Fleetwood Willats spoke to his landlady a doctor was called and he was then ordered to be removed to the hospital.

Following his death the Home Office pathologist that carried out the post mortem said that his death was due to him having taken some corrosive poison, but initially said that he could not determine its nature but after further analysis said that in his opinion his death was due to taking spirits of salts.

The empty bottles marked 'spirits of salts' that were found at his lodgings were said to have supported that opinion, and the Coroner's jury returned an open verdict.

Fleetwood Willats had been a shipwright from Hornsey and had lived in Stroud Green Road.

The Nags Head public house was later demolished in the 1960s.