A TRAGIC accident befell a workman who plunged to his death from the railway viaduct at Worcester this week exactly a century ago.
The Journal of April, 1904, reported: "An employee of the Great Western Railway Company met a sudden death by drowning on Wednesday afternoon.
''He was one of the workmen engaged in the repair of the railway bridge which spans the Severn at the bottom of The Butts.
"The ill-fated man was 35 years-old John Blake, of Gloucester, who, together with a man named Manley, had begun to carry a hydraulic jack on a pole from the centre pier of the railway bridge to the outside abutment.
"When they had gone about 10 yards, Blake stumbled and fell under the protective hand-rope which ran along the side of the scaffold. This is about 30 to 40 feet above the river, and Blake, together with the hydraulic jack he was carrying, fell headlong into the water and did not rise again. Manley, who just managed to grasp the hand-rope, had a very narrow escape.
"The body of Blake was dragged for by his mates, and was recovered after it had been in the water 38 minutes. After efforts to induce artificial respiration had been made on the river bank, the body was removed to Mr Bullock's outhouse in the Hylton Road.
"Dr Polson, who was in attendance, had the body wrapped in hot blankets and injected brandy, but to no purpose, and after an hour and 20 minutes had passed in unsuccessful exertion, the body was removed to the mortuary.
"At the inquest held today, the jury found that the deceased had accidentally met his death, though they thought that the GWR company should take greater precautions to protect employees engaged on such work. The jury considered one hand-rail to be hardly sufficient."
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