Nathaniel Killen

Nathaniel Killen was found dead on a camp roadway in Kineton.

An open verdict was returned.

His inquest heard that following his death, the whole of the county CID was alerted after being informed of it by a physician at Warwick Hospital.

The Coroner noted that his injuries could quite easily have been associated with foul play and that as such, following the action of the physician, the:

He was found unconscious in the road beside a bicycle at Marlborough Farm Camp, Kineton and later died of respiratory failure due to head injuries.

Another private in the regiment said that on the night of 30 December 1962 that he and Nathaniel Killen had been to Leamington and that Nathaniel Killen had drunk between 10 and 11 pints and that they had returned to camp at about 11.30pm. He said that when they got back Nathaniel Killen seemed steady enough on his feet, although he described him as a 'bit dodgy' from the effect of the beer.

He said that the last he saw of him was when Nathaniel Killen left his block to prepare for bed.

Another private who slept in the bed next to Nathaniel Killen said that he last saw him preparing for bed.

A police constable said that despite extensive police inquiries, that they were unable tro determine why Nathaniel Killen should have been out on a cycle or where he was going.

The pathologist that carried out his post mortem said that his injuries were consistent with him having fallen from a cycle. He said that his examination showed that he must have been unconscious for several hours on the roadway before his death and that his cause of death was respiratory failure due to head injuries.

The Coroner stated that there was insufficient evidence to show how he came by his injuries, but added that foul play was not suspected.

He noted that there was no explanation as to why he had been out riding the cycle and that it was a mystery as to where he was going and what he was doing.

He suggested that he might have fallen from his cycle because of the amount of beer he had consumed during the evening, an open verdict was returned.

He was from 72 Denbeck Street in Glasgow and had been a private in the ROAC serving at Kineton.