Wiltshire Coroner's Inquests 1801-1920 Coroner's Inquests 1801-1920 for Wiltshire

Kiddle, Archibald    1900 April 27^th

A Child Burnt to Death

The city coroner (Mr S Buchanan Smith) held an inquest on Monday, at the Infirmary, on the body of Archibald John Kiddle, aged two years and nine months, the son of William and Elizabeth Kiddle, of the Friary, who, on Saturday the 21^st, died from burns at the Infirmary.

Elizabeth Kiddle, the mother, said that on Friday morning between 9 and 10 o’clock, deceased was playing in the kitchen. Witness was on the other side of the road, but hearing the child scream she at once went into the house and found the child’s pinafore in flames. The fire in the kitchen was only a small one. The deceased was in the habit of playing with the fire, and there was no guard in front of it. She undressed the child at once and sent it to the Infirmary by Mrs Jane Sutton. There was another child in the kitchen at the time who was five years of age.

Mr Richard Richmond, house surgeon, said he examined deceased in the ward, and found him to be very badly burned over the face, neck, upper part of the chest, and on both arms. The burns were very severe, and he treated them accordingly. Deceased grew worse rapidly, and died at 4 o’clock on Saturday morning. Death was due, in his opinion, to shock to the system, consequent on the burns received.

A verdict of accidental death was returned.