Harold Bray

Harold Bray died from a head injury.

He was a general labourer and had lived at 7 Thomas Street in Porthleven.

He was found unconscious in the early morning of 12 August 1948 in a sunken yard at Prospect Place in Porthleven lying in a pool of blood.

He was last known to have left the Ship Inn public house in Porthleven just before closing time on 11 August 1948 and was seen walking perfectly normally through the square at 10.20pm. The proprietor of the Ship Inn said that when Harold Bray left the public house that he was quite sober.

Nothing more was known of his movements until he was found by a man who lived in Prospect Place at 6.30am the following morning, 12 August 1948.

The county pathologist said that he thought that Harold Bray's injury was accidental. He said that his death was attributable to a blow on the back of the head, causing a fracture to the skull which he said could have been caused by him falling backwards on a hard surface such as the road. He noted that there was nothing to suggest that Harold Bray had had a heart attack, and that he thought that it was probable that his death had been contributed to by exposure, noting that Harold Bray appeared to have lived for a number of hours after receiving his injuries without receiving attention.

The coroner said, 'I have had a look at the place where he was found, and there is a cover connected with the water mains which protrudes above the level of the road. A man that passes that way every day tells us that he always keeps away from it, because if not, in the dark, he might catch his foot in it'.

An open verdict was returned.