William Thomas Wakeling

William Thomas Wakeling died following a fight in Caroline Court, Gravesend.

A man was tried but acquitted after it was heard that William Wakeling had suffered from a medical condition from which he could have died at any time, and that if his death had been due to the blows he received that it was thought that he should have died immediately, and not several days later as he did.

William Wakeling was also known as William Leggett.

The court heard that on the evening of 27 May 1921 the man tried had been seeking out William Wakeling with the object of doing him some injury, and being unable to find him that evening, pursued his objective to the Saturday afternoon, and then, finding him, dealt him blows, after which William Wakeling died on the Tuesday.

A relation of William Wakeling, who lived at 4 Caroline Court, said that she saw the man pull William Wakeling outside the door and strike him in the face with his clenched fist. She said it was a violent blow and that he reeled and fell and that whilst he was on the ground the man hit him a few times in the chest.

She said that after that that William Wakeling sat on a stool outside the door and said:

She said that she afterwards found a cap belonging to the man in her passageway.

She denied that the trouble started after she saw the man outside with a boy and said to him:

She also denied that the man's wife then came out with a baby in her arms, stating that the man's wife didn't come out until she was called.

When it was suggested that she then said to her:

She denied it and said that she told her to go indoors or she would open her mouth to open her husband’s eyes.

She also denied that she and the man's wife then started fighting.

When the defence suggested that the man had never touched her, she said:

When it was suggested that William Wakeling had pushed by with a stick in his hand and hit the man accused of killing him on the back, she denied it. The defence then suggested that the man had then struck William Wakeling in self-defence, hitting him on the side of the face.

William Wakeling's wife said that after the fight that she and William Wakeling later called at a public house where she had a mild and bitter and William Wakeling had a bottle of squash, noting that he never drank anything else.

When the defence asked how many, she said:

However, the defence then suggested that he had in fact been drinking whiskies, but she replied:

She said that on the Sunday they went out to a public house again during which time William Wakeling had one drop of brandy.

A constable that was called to Caroline Court said that at first glance it looked like a melee, stating that everyone seemed to be striking at one another, the women paying attention to themselves and the men to their part. He said that several violent blows were struck and that he saw the man strike William Wakeling, but could not swear that it had been with a clenched fist.

He said that he separated them and found that William Wakeling was bleeding badly from the face and that he then took a statement from him.

He said that he then went to see the man and found him indoors at his home at 4 Caroline Court, and said that he told him that William Wakeling's dog had bitten him, noting that he saw two wounds on him, one on the neck and another on the back of his head, noting that he had teeth marks about his neck.

The constable noted additionally that he saw a stick being used.

A doctor that saw William Wakeling on the Monday said that he had been in a state of collapse, with marks of violence about his face.

However, he noted that William Wakeling had been suffering from an aneurism, or bulging of the aorta, and that he had had it for years and that it could have caused his death at any moment.

When the defence asked the doctor:

To which the doctor replied:

The defence then asked:

To which the doctor replied:

When the defence asked whether whisky would be dangerous, the doctor replied, 'Yes'.

It was also noted that he had told the Coroner at the inquest that the exercise would have been more likely to cause his death than an ordinary blow.

When the defence asked:

The doctor said:

At the trial it was further heard that the doctor said that at the time of the inquest he had not known how long it had taken him to become ill after the fight, stating that at the time of the inquest he thought that he had become ill the same night, whereas in fact he had still been walking about, and that he had since come to the conclusion that the blow could not have been the cause of his death, stating that if the blow had been the cause of his death that he would have expected him to have died almost immediately.

As such, after hearing the doctors fresh evidence, the charge of manslaughter was dismissed.

Caroline Court is thought to have been the same as Caroline Place which has since been demolished. It was approximately where the roundabout  at the junction with West Street and Bath Street is today, specifically the eastern arc of it. Caroline Place had been on the other side of West Street to Marriott's Wharf, which is also gone.