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Richard Francis Doran-Webb

Age: unknown

Sex: male

Date: 21 Aug 1937

Place: Swanage, Dorset

Richard Francis Doran-Webb was found dead in the sea.

His body was found by a motor-boat skipper floating in the sea about a mile southwest of Ballard Point, the cliffs of which were about 200 feet high.

It was suggested that he might have been climbing  the cliffs and it was heard that he used to be fond of climbing, but the Coroner said that he didn't think that the cliffs were climbable although the motor-boat skipper said that if he had gone into the water there, that the tide would have taken his body to where it was found.

He had been the managing director of the Wessex Aircraft Company at High Post Aerodrome in Salisbury. He was said to have had no financial difficulties and was described as perfectly rational and that he used to talk about the future.

No evidence could show how he had got into the sea and an open verdict was returned. However, his death was not stated as being due to drowning but from a dislocation of the neck and that it would have been possible for the injury to have been caused by a fall from a great height into the sea.

It was heard that he had been working very hard on Government contracts and suggested that he had been over-worked owing to the contracts and said that he did not sleep very well.


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

see www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

see Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail - Saturday 21 August 1937

see Gloucester Citizen - Saturday 21 August 1937