A PROMT AND BRAVE DEED
HULL MAN AND BURNING CHILD
A burning accident, with fatal results, occurred on Tuesday in the Hessle Road district of Hull.
A little curly-headed lad named George Tummon, the three year old son of George Tummon, fisherman, of 6, Ellis Terrace, Wassand Street, was the victim, and he died in the Hull Royal Infirmary that evening from shock consequent upon the severe burns. The mother of the child says that at 2.30 that afternoon she left deceased, with his sister Fanny, aged one year and two months, in the kitchen, where there was a fire in the grate, and went to give a sup of tea to a sick woman, who lives in the next door house. She did not intend to be away more than a minute, and never thought of the possibility of danger. The little lad was dressed in his night-shirt. There was no guard in front of the fire.
As soon as Mrs Tummons (sic) had left the house the lad seems to have commenced to play near to the fire, and his clothes must have become ignited. The mother had only been gone two or three minutes when she heard cries of "Fire, fire." She immediately rushed out of the neighbour's house into her own, to find the boy had been taken to the Infirmary.
In the meantime, a bricklayer named George Howard, of 4 Ellis Terrace, Wassand Street, was standing at his door when he heard screams. Looking down the terrace, he saw the boy run out of the house in flames. Howard rushed down the terrace to the aid of the boy, who seemed one mass of flames, and at once picked him up and wrapped some clothing and a quilt round him and extinguished the flames. Without halting, he lifted the lad once more in his arms and ran up Wassand Street in the direction of Hessle Road and boarded a tram car with the lad in his arms still smoking. The driver and conductor of the car were made acquainted with what had happened, and they ran the car right through to Brook Street without stopping once. At Brook Street Howard jumped out and ran all the way to the Infirmary with the screaming child in his arms.
At the Infirmary Dr Lang instantly attended to the child, and found him to be suffering from severe burns and in a dying condition.
The mother, when she found that her son was not in the house, at once connected the screams which she heard with the disappearance of her child. She rushed out into the terrace, and gathering an inkling of what had happened, and the fact that her son had been taken to the Infirmary by a neighbour, she followed as rapidly as possible. But when she arrived her child was in a dying condition, and death took place at ten o'clock that night.
THE INQUEST
The inquest was held on Wednesday, before the Hull city Coroner (Colonel A Thorney), at the Infirmary.
The Coroner said there had been an Act of Parliament [
Children Act 1908] passed which in only some parts came into operation before the 1st of April. He was not quite certain whether section 15 of it applied to the present case. Section 15 of the Act provided that a fine not exceeding £10 should be inflicted on persons over sixteen who had the care of any child under seven who was injured through being in a room containing an open fire grate not sufficiently protected. If the jury thought that the case was so gross that they felt justified in considering the verdict of "Manslaughter" he would possibly adjourn the inquest to enable the woman to have legal representation.
The first witness was Dr Lang, who stated that when the deceased child was admitted into the Infirmary he was suffering from extensive burns. It was a hopeless case, the child being moribund at the time of admittance. The child died the same night. The cause of death was shock consequent upon the injuries received.
George Howard, bricklayer, of 4, Ellis terrace, Wassand Street, said that about half-past two he was in his home when he heard screams. He went out into the terrace and saw smoke issuing from Mrs Tummon's house. He rushed to the place, and just then the deceased child came out of the house. He whipped off his waistcoat and wrapped it round the child. Someone threw a coat to him, and a quilt, and he also wrapped these round the child, which he picked up and rushed it up to the Hessle Road and boarding a tramcar, conveyed it to the Infirmary.
The Coroner: You will agree with me that Mr Howard has acted with the most excellent expedition and care and with the greatest rapidity, and with every credit to himself.
The Jury: Yes.
Fanny Tummon, wife of George Tummon, fisherman, gave evidence.
The Coroner: Do you identify the body that we have seen in the Mortuary as that of your son?
Witness: "I cannot see much of him, but I suppose it is him."
Continuing, the mother of the deceased stated that she left the child in the kitchen while she took a cup of tea to a sick woman who lived next door. She left the child in his nightshirt because he had just got up. He had been up late the night before.
She left the child on the couch eating some bread and meat. The child was dressed in a flannelette shirt. The fire was "middling" as she had not made it long. There was no guard. She went to the neighbour's with the cup of tea, and had just given her it, and was going to cut her some bread and butter, when she heard screams. She rushed downstairs, and was just in time to see Howard taking the child to the Infirmary.
The Coroner said he felt certain from the evidence that the jury would not consider a verdict of "Manslaughter" against her. He would point out, not particularly to her, but to everybody generally, that after 1 April next any person who left a child alone in dangerous proximity to a fire would be liable to certain pains and penalties. There would be on the Statute Book a method and way of punishing parents and others for carelessness. At the present time Mrs Tummon could not be punished because of her carelessness which had caused the death of her child. He did not blame her particularly because being careless she was trying to do an act of kindness to someone else.
A verdict of "Accidental death" was returned.
An earlier article said, "The death through burning, of the little Hessle Road child named Tummon, is one of the most painful cases of its kind recorded recently" and concluded that, "The only bright feature of this terrible incident of life among poor people was the presence of mind, humanity, and quick decision of Howard, who acted with promptitude and spirit of mercy it is hard to appraise too highly."
Fanny Tummon must have died as a result of giving birth to Ivy, as she died in the same quarter, aged 31, in 1916 S Quarter in HULL Volume 09D Page 302.
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