Age: 73
Sex: male
Date: 23 Dec 1942
Place: Tregwary Road, St Ives, Cornwall
Alfred James Broadhurst was found in the road and died later at the Edward Hain Memorial Hospital on 23 December 1942.
He was knocked over by an unknown car and didn't recover consciousness after being admitted to the hospital.
His post-mortem revealed that his cause of death was due to cerebral compression due to laceration of the brain and haemorrhage and it was said that his injury could not have been caused by a mere fall.
A haulier who lived in Tregwary Road in St Ives, said that he had been walking along the road at about 10pm on 21 December 1942 when he overtook Alfred Broadhurst who was also walking along the road. He said that he walked along with him for a while, noting that he was quite sober, and that when they reached a corner near his house, he wished Alfred Broadhurst goodnight.
The haulier said that he had not gone more than 10 yards on when he heard someone shout 'Oh'. He said that he then turned and saw a car come towards him on the wrong side of the road and that as it passed, he heard a woman in the car screech.
He said that he couldn't see the rear number plate but said that the car had been a fairly large one and seemed like a dark saloon car with a sloping back. He said that the lights were on and that it came over to its wrong side and then swerved back to its correct side and then went over the hill.
The haulier said that he had a narrow escape and said that he shouted at the driver, 'What the ---- are you doing?', but got no reply.
The haulier said that when he looked back down the road, he saw a dark object that he found to be Alfred Broadhurst.
When the haulier was questioned, he said that the car could not have come up the Stennack and negotiated the corner at the speed that it was going and said that it must have come down the main road.
A policeman said that he got to the scene at about 10.50pm. He said that he made inquiries concerning cars garaged in that locality, but said that he could only find one that had been in the vicinity of the incident at the material time, but said that the driver and passengers, after questioning, denied that they had used the junction where Alfred Broadhurst was knocked over that particular evening. The policeman said that he also made enquiries throughout the county but said that no other cars could be traced as having been in the vicinity at the time.
An open verdict was returned. The coroner said that there was insufficient evidence to allow him to come to any other decision.
Alfred Broadhurst was a retired grocer's assistant and had lived at 1 Nanjivey Row in St Ives.
see www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
see Western Morning News - Saturday 02 January 1943
see Cornishman - Thursday 07 January 1943