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The Canal Company employed a small team
of policemen to provide security around the docks at Gloucester,
and there was much
consternation on Thursday 30 Dec 1869 when
it was realised that policeman Thomas Flavell had not been
seen for two days.
Search Instigated
Flavell's colleagues said they thought he was away
on holiday, but when the matter was reported to the Dock Master,
Capt. Browne, he suspected Flavell had fallen into the dock and
drowned. He therefore employed two men to search for the body using
the drags – three hooks attached to a metal bar on the end of a
long rope. The mystery deepened when nothing was found, and handbills
were printed offering a reward of £1 for information about
the missing man.
Bowler Hat Found
Then
on Saturday night it became known that a young boy had found a bowler
hat floating in the Victoria Dock and had sold it to his brother
who was wearing it on a visit to the Alhambra Music Hall. The brother
was called out of the performance, and another dock policeman immediately
recognised the hat as having belonged to the missing man. The boy
pointed out the spot where he had found the hat in the corner near
the Albert Flour Mills, and on Sunday morning, after a boat was
moved out of the way, Flavell’s body was recovered. The body was
conveyed to the Albion Hotel where an inquest was held on Monday.
Inquest
The coroner
said it was common for sailors to be drowned in the docks while
returning to their ships late at night and the worse for drink,
but he was concerned as to how an officer who knew every step of
the docks had entered the water and why his disappearance had not
been reported sooner. William Schollar reported finding the body
with the help of the drags. Thirteen year old George Davis described
how he had recovered the hat using a hook-shaft that he had been
allowed to borrow from a nearby boat in exchange for collecting
half an ounce of tobacco from a shop in Southgate St. James Davis,
father of the boy, explained that he had not initially connected
the hat with the missing man as it was not a high hat as normally
worn by a policeman. It was only when he heard on Saturday night
that Flavell had been wearing a bowler that he realised what his
son had found.
Delay in Reporting
Dock
policeman Solomon Fudge said he had been on duty with Flavell on
Monday night and had seen him talking with a gentleman by the Albion
Hotel at 2.15 am, but had missed him at 5.40 am when he should have
opened the dock gates beside Llanthony Bridge. When asked why he
had not reported the matter, Fudge said Flavell had talked about
taking holiday, and he denied that he had assumed Flavell had gone
drinking. A juryman asked if Flavell was disliked by some people
for doing his duty, and Fudge replied “I don’t think so”. This question
may have been inspired by a feeling that Flavell was inclined to
be over-zealous. Two years earlier, Flavell had forcibly arrested
an accountant on a charge of stealing copper and not allowed him
to contact a solicitor. When the matter came to court, the owner
of the copper said that the accountant was only doing what he had
been asked, the magistrates dismissed the case and Flavell’s behaviour
was severely criticised.
More Evidence Needed
After
other witnesses at the inquest had given evidence, the coroner thought
that the death of Flavell was still fraught with suspicion, and
he adjourned the inquiry in order to find the gentleman, said to
be a Mr Jenkins, seen talking with Flavell shortly before he was
drowned. When the inquest reconvened Anthony Frederick Jenkins of
Brunswick Square admitted that he had accompanied Flavell and a
city policeman to the Squirrel Inn in Southgate St around midnight
on the night he died. Flavell drank at least two pints of warm beer
with some gin in it. It was said that one of the Custom patrols
who was on duty that night had seen Flavell the worse for drink
just after 2.00 am, but when the Coroner asked for the officer it
was found that he was on duty at Sharpness.
Conclusion
In summing
up, the Coroner criticised the policemen for not reporting their
missing colleague sooner and said it was desirable to have chains
around the dock walls so that a person falling into the water had
a chance of saving himself. The jury returned a verdict of “Found
drowned”. Following the Coroner’s comment, the Canal Company agreed
to fix chains or vertical ladders at the most dangerous spots and
to provide two additional lamps and three or four more life buoys.
Sources: GJ 8, 15 Jan 1870; GJ 2 Feb 1867; RAIL 864/1. |