James William Stackhouse

James William Stackhouse died the day after being hit outside a public house and falling and hitting his head.

However, his inquest returned a verdict of misadventure and the Director of Public Prosecutions said that they did not think that the case justified proceedings for manslaughter.

James Stackhouse was unemployed at the time but was due to begin work as a lorry driver the following week and had lived with his wife and her mother and their two children in Union Road, North Shields. He was an ex-regular soldier and had served in Malaya.

It was heard that James Stackhouse and his mother had been in the Victoria Hotel in Borough Road, North Shields on the night of Friday 22 May 1959.

A man that had lived in Thrift Street, North Shields, that had been in the public house said that an argument developed between two men, noting that neither James Stackhouse nor his mother had been in any way involved. However, he said that during the argument James Stackhouse's mother managed to scratch one of the men's faces. He said that when they were outside the man whose face had been scratched said to James Stackhouse's mother, 'There was no call to scratch my face', to which James Stackhouse's mother moved closer to the man and James Stackhouse went to get his mother away.

The man said that James Stackhouse was not offensive when he approached the pair but said that he lifted his hand to get her away and that the other man had thought that James Stackhouse was going to hit him and so he hit James Stackhouse causing him to fall and hit the back of  his head. James Stackhouse was taken to the hospital but died from his injury the following day, 23 May 1959.

The manager of the public house said that just before 10pm that a regular customer came in and ordered a pint and that he asked the barmaid to serve him and that he then went to the door. He then said, 'I heard a commotion in the select room. I came through and saw this customer and a young fellow. To me it appeared as if they were going to come to blows. I got them out of the public house and that was the end of it as far as I was concerned'

The police said that the man that had hit James Stackhouse's whole attitude had been helpful and straightforward and that he had made no attempt to evade the issue.

In a statement to the police the man had said, 'She was making to scratch me and her son came at me and lifted his fist. I thought he was going to hit me. I hit him once and he hit his head on the ground'.

James Stackhouse's mother said that she could not remember scratching the man's face after which the Coroner said, 'I do not think that this witness knows anything about it'.

When the Coroner summed up at the inquest he said that the jury might think that if James Stackhouse had not fallen in the way he had, death might not have resulted.

He also told the jury to disregard the evidence of James Stackhouse's mother, saying that for some reason she seemed quite uncertain of what had happened on the night.

The Coroner also noted that the blow that had been inflicted on James Stackhouse according to the post mortem examination had not been a severe one.