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Arthur Clarkson

Age: 69

Sex: male

Date: 16 Apr 1937

Place: Humber Foreshore, Hessle

Arthur Clarkson was found dead on the Humber foreshore at Hessle.

He had died from suffocation but the doctors said that they were unable to say how that had come about. He also had a head wound. The doctors noted that they were satisfied that he had not died from drowning.

The doctors said that the wound to his head might have been caused by a fall or a blow and said that although there was haemorrhage of the brain, his skull had not been fractured. They also noted that the haemorrhage was not ordinary cerebral haemorrhage. A doctor added that whatever had caused the haemorrhage, either a blow or a fall, it would have caused unconsciousness, but would not have been enough to have killed him.

A doctor said that he could have fallen onto the sharp edge of a piece of masonry and noted that he might have been alive but unconscious when he had gone into the water but noted that there were no signs inconsistent with suffocation. He also noted that if he had fallen into the water whilst breathing that there would have been water in his lungs, but that if he had fallen into the mud then that would not have happened.

A pathologist that examined his injuries said that he did not think that a wound of that shape would have been caused by a poker or an instrument, saying that there was no cerebral haemorrhage, and added that he thought that the wound was not sufficiently serious to have caused death. He said that it could have been caused by a fall or a blow to the head. When the pathologist was asked whether he thought that blood pressure might have caused the haemorrhage he said that there was no indication of blood pressure.

He added that the body had been in the water for about a month and as such, he was unable to say whether there were any bruises.

Arthur Clarkson's son spoke well of his father saying that he was comfortably off financially and in good health and cheerful. He said that he had many friends and no enemies and said that he had never known him to have a wrong word with anybody.

His daughter, who kept house for him, said that he was most temperate and that she had never known him to return home drunk. She said that he would have had about 12s 6d on him when he went out.

Arthur Clarkson was last seen at about 10pm by a woman in Jameson Street on 12 March 1937. She said that she had seen him earlier in the evening in two hotels and said that he was sober when she last saw him.

The policeman that searched his clothing when he was found said that he found 9s 3 1/2d on him and said that his watch had stopped at 11.15.

When the Coroner examined the watch, he said that it had not run down.

The policeman said that they had been unable to trace anyone that had seen Arthur Clarkson after 10pm on 12 March 1937 and said that if he had gone home by the bus an got off at his usual stopping place then he would have then walked off away from the River Hull to go home. However, he noted that it had been a fine but dark night and observed that the footpath on the river bank was dangerous.

The Coroner said that there was not the slightest evidence to say how he had become unconscious but said that he thought that they could safely assume that he was unconscious before he had got into the water or the mud.


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

see www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

see Yorkshire Evening Post - Friday 16 April 1937

see Gloucestershire Echo - Friday 16 April 1937