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Henry Grundon

Age: 69

Sex: male

Date: 14 Dec 1915

Place: Pirton

Henry Grundon was found dead on the road.

He was found in the road on the Tuesday afternoon, 14 December 1915, by a man that was motoring from Pirton to Hitchin, about 300 yards from the Pirton cross roads. He said that as he was driving along he saw a dark object in the middle of the road and that when he pulled up to ascertain what it was, he found Henry Grundon shockingly injured in the road. He said that he then at once drove off to Hitchin for the police.

When the policeman arrived he found Henry Grundon in the road and said that his body was still warm but said that judging by his injuries his death must have been instantaneous. He said that Henry Grundon had been to the Hitchin Christmas fat stock show earlier on.

Henry Grundon's body was removed to the mortuary where it was examined. He was found to have a cut about the face and a terrible gash on the top of his head. He also had five fractured ribs on the right side, his right leg was fractured above the knee and there was a wound on the thigh. He also had a compound fracture of his left leg above the ankle. His clothes were badly torn and his overcoat had been burst asunder by the force of the blow.

A doctor concluded that his death would have been instantaneous and caused by a heavy blow. He also said that a light car like the farmers that had found him could not have inflicted the injuries that he had, and also noted that the vehicle that had struck him would have born marks of the impact.

Henry Grundon was from Aspley End in Shillington. His wife said that Henry Grundon had enjoyed good health and said that he had gone out on the Tuesday morning at about 8.40am to the Hitchin market.

The farmer that found Henry Grundon was from Walnut Tree Farm in Pirton, and said that he had left Hitchin market at 4.15pm on the Tuesday in his light motor car with his mother, arriving home at 4.30pm. He said that he passed numerous vehicles on the road but no motors. He said that he then left home at 4.45pm with his lamps alight and passed a motor cycle and some other vehicles, but no motor cars. He said that then, when he was near the boundary post at Handpost Hill, he saw the dark object in the road and that when he pulled up to investigate he saw the body of a man, Henry Grundon. He said that he spoke to the man but got no answer and then concluded that he was very ill and got in his car and proceeded to Hitchen to inform the police.

A builder’s foreman said that he had seen Henry Grundon on the Pirton Road at about 5pm. He said that he was about four feet from the grass with his head towards Pirton. He said that he then lifted his body from the road and onto the footpath. He said that he only saw one motor car and said that it had pulled up, and that the driver had got out but then got back into the car and driven off.

The jury returned an open verdict with the rider that the man in the car that had found him had acted in the right way and that his car had nothing whatever to do with the accident.


*map pointers are rough estimates based on known location details as per Place field above.

see www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

see Biggleswade Chronicle - Friday 24 December 1915

see Luton Times and Advertiser - Friday 17 December 1915