Witnesses giving evidence at an inquest at the Town Hall on Friday, on Charles Forrest, Aged 48, of Mulberry Avenue, who died following an accident at the St. Helens Rugby Football ground on Saturday, 16^th October, fixed the time of the accident by referring to the game. They said it was when Llewellyn had scored a try which was disallowed by the referee.

Coroner C. Bolton recalled that when he opened the enquiry on 25^th October, he took evidence from Edith Brooks, Spinster of 11 Mill Fields, Eccleston, who said that deceased was her step-brother. He was married and had two children aged 17 years and 13 years and was employed as a bricklayer by Messrs. Greenall Whitley and Co.

On Saturday, 16^th October, she was informed that he had met with an accident at St. Helens football ground and on Monday, 25^th October she was informed that he had died. She attended at the hospital where she saw and identified his dead body.

Boys’ Evidence

Evidence was next taken from 15 years-old Thomas Saunders, an apprentice bricklayer of 19 Binney Street, who said that on Saturday, 16^th October, he was at the St. Helens Rugby Football ground watching the St. Helens and Warrington Rugby Football match with his friend Harry Henderson.

They went onto the best side and owing to the crowd, they were unable to get a good view, so they made their way to a corner of the ground near the flag pole. There they found a wooden fence about three feet high above the sleepers. It was made of two posts sticking in the ground with a plank nailed on top. The plank projected at one end.

There were about four youths aged about 19 years standing on this plank and he and Henderson pulled themselves onto it.

Heard a crack

The match had been in progress about 10 or 15 minutes and it was just after Llewellyn had scored a disallowed try when he saw a young man who was standing on the other end of the plank, with one foot on the plank and the other on an oil drum on which a woman was standing, jump to the ground just before he heard a crack.

Witness tried to jump forward onto the ground but the wooden plank went forward and threw him backwards. He remembered his head hitting something hard.

He didn’t remember anything afterwards until he came round and found his head was bandaged and there was an ambulance there, and they told him to get into it. Harry Henderson got into it and there was another man in it also.

He had not seen this man before and he was not standing on the fence. He was not the same as jumped off.

Witness was taken to the Providence Hospital and kept there until the following morning. After he came out, he asked Harry Henderson who was the other man in the ambulance and he said he did not know but he had seen them bring him from the concrete wall.

There were no people in front of him and there was no one against the end of the plank where he was standing.

The disallowed try

Thomas Henry Henderson, aged 11, of 5 Dixon Street, told the Coroner that after the game started he climbed on a fence on the best side of the ground in the corner of the concrete wall. The fence was above the sleeper fence. He described how the man jumped off saying he thought he was excited because Llewellyn had just scored a try and the referee had disallowed it. The fence broke and threw them onto the ground, he added.

When he picked himself up, he saw Tommy Saunders and another man lying on the ground. This other man, he had seen just before the accident standing in front of the fence. He never saw him standing on the fence at any time. He thought that perhaps the broken fence had knocked him over.

All three of them were taken to the Providence Hospital and as witness was not hurt, he was allowed to go home.

Margaret Edington, married woman of 196 Gladstone Street, said that deceased was her step-brother and on Wednesday, 20^th October, she visited him at Providence Hospital. She asked him how the accident had happened and he said he was standing with a number of Warrington spectators and they were mostly standing on planks, but he was not. He was standing on the concrete. When the first try was scored and the crowd swerved, he heard the plank cracking. One man put his arm out to save himself and he (deceased) fell about seven feet on his right side. He knew it was his right side because he put his right hand out to save himself.

31,000 spectators

Superintendent J. Ball of the Borough Police said he was present at the match and there was an attendance of approximately 31,000 against a ground capacity of 35,000. Spectators were evenly distributed and there was sufficient space to permit movement. There was adequate police and ground stewards in attendance.

There was no evidence of over-crowding.

On the best side of the ground, was a small banking which rose from the level of the field and at the rear was supported by a concrete wall eight feet high, said the witness.

The remaining portion was supported by railway sleepers which were sunk into the ground and sat 6 feet six inches above the level of the entrance of this section.

From the concrete wall to the step leading to the banking was a distance of approximately 16 feet.

Many years ago there was a coffee stall fixed against the sleepers and the rail was said to have been there to prevent people getting onto the roof.

Timber sound

The timber of this rail, though old, was reasonably sound. The remaining upright was 6 feet high and was firmly nailed to the sleepers and could not easily be dislodged. The highest point of the banking was 6 feet three inches from the sleepers and from this point sloped down six inches to the edge of the sleepers.

The theory was that it was there in the time of the coffee stall to prevent people getting on top of the stall. It was safer either without the rail altogether or with a wall. If one built walls there was a tendency for people to climb onto them.

This fence was the only bit on the ground. Anyone who climbed onto it was doing what they should not do.

In answer to a question by Mr G. Heilpern, representing the relatives, Supt. Ball said that the number of police on duty was stepped up in anticipation of a large gate, but he could not give the exact number without reference to the police files.

Mr. Heilpern asked if it was the duty of the police to stop people climbing onto the fence and Spt. Ball replied that if a policeman saw someone doing something they ought not to do they would stop them.

Misadventure verdict

After Mr. Heilpern had asked if anyone had examined the fence, Supt. Ball said that it depended what one called “examined it” – he had looked at it.

At this point the Coroner intervened to ask Mr. Heilpern if he wanted an adjournment so that he could examine the fence, and the latter replied that it would not be necessary provided he had the assurance that it would be there for subsequent examination.

Giving cause of death Dr. A. McNeilly said it was four-fold. There was a fractured wrist and three ribs, pleural effusion, chronic bronchitis and emphysema, and pneumonia. All except the chronic bronchitis were due to his falling from height onto his right side.

Without retiring the jury returned a verdict of death from misadventure and added an expression of sympathy with which the Coroner, Mr G. Heilpern, Mr A. O. Cowper (on behalf of the club) associated themselves.

I have transcribed this from the Newspaper Report.

If you are researching the Forrest family name, then I would be glad to hear from you.