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- Courtesy of John Grundy.
Western Morning News, Monday 23 August 1897 MALBOROUGH - Boating Fatality At Salcombe.
- Mr Michelmore, Deputy Coroner, held an Inquiry at Salcombe on Saturday into the circumstances attending the death of MARY ELIZABETH PATEY. Aaron Dormon, uncle of deceased, said it was decided she should stay with him on Thursday night instead of going back to Kingsbridge. Shortly after eight o'clock she said she would go down on the quay, but he did not know she was going out in a canoe. If he had known it he should have tried to prevent it. The canoe was 15 ½ ft. long and 2ft. 10in. beam. If the person in charge knew how to manage a canoe it was safe to carry three persons. - Sidney Harold Dormon, aged 13 years, said deceased was his cousin , and on Thursday evening he took her and another cousin, Susan Dormon, of Plymouth, aged 11, in the canoe to go down the harbour. His brother was out in a sailing-boat and deceased wanted to overtake him. As they got off Portlemouth Ferry, he saw his brother sailing out of Millbay. Deceased got excited, put her hand on the edge of the canoe, and tried to look round, when the boat capsized. The tide was running strong. As the boat turned over he caught hold of the bottom and pulled up his little cousin. Deceased made an attempt to swim to shore, but could not do so. He cried for help, and after some time assistance came. - James Coombes, boots at the Marine Hotel, stated that at half-past eight he heard cries of distress from the centre of the harbour. He went to the bottom of the hotel grounds, and got a boat and pulled out. On coming to the canoe it was on its side, with the lad and Susan Dormon clinging to it. On getting them into the boat, the lad said there was another and looking into the water he saw a dark object just beneath the surface. He got hold of deceased's clothes and with help, dragged her into the boat. He considered she was dead at the time. - Dr Twining said when called at ten minutes to nine, deceased was quite dead. The Jury returned a verdict of "Accidental Death" and added a rider that they considered such canoes as deceased was in, totally unsafe for more than one person, and that person should sit on the stool provided in the well of the boat, and not sit either on the deck or on the gunwale. They complimented Coombes, for the promptness with which he went to the assistance of the parties. The Deputy Coroner thought that had it not been for Coombe's promptness they would have been Inquiring that day into three deaths instead of one.
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