Danygraig Cemetery - Talking Stones - Arthur Gwilliam
Talking Stones…………..Danygraig Cemetery
Arthur. The beloved
son of William & Ellen Gwilliam. Who
was drowned in Swansea Bay. April 29th, 1897. Aged 25 years.
The inscription written on the Arthur Gwilliam’s gravestone.
What was and what happened to Arthur?
The 1881 census is the first record of Arthur who is aged 9
years old. He is residing at 17 Little
Wind Street, Swansea, with his family. Father,
William 44 years old is a Mariner and mother, Ellen J. Gwilliam aged 42 years
old.
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| England and Wales Census 3rd April 1881 17 Little Wind Street, Swansea |
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| The Cambrian 14th August 1891 |
1891 Arthur, who was imprisoned for 1 day along with 2 other
friends, for assaulting in Cardiff, Mr Peter McDonald, with the intent of
stealing a purse containing £3 16s 5d and a suit of clothes. The Cambrian dated 14th August 1891,
takes up the story in an article entitled “A Cardiff Street Brawl” All
three friends, names are recorded in the England and Wales, Criminal Register
1791-1892.
However, it is the year 1897, The Cambrian, dated 30th
April, reports and accident in Swansea Bay, when the light boat had collided early
on a Thursday morning with a dandy Eliza Mary, the two men, Alfred Salmon
and Arthur Gillem were thrown into the water.
Sadly, neither men could swim, and their lives were lost before they could have been recused. Clearly, the article has made a mistake in
the spelling of Arthur’s surname.
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| The Cambrian 30th April 1897 |
The next two articles dated on the 7th May. The first article, entitled “The Swansea Drowning
Case – Inquest” is the Inquest on Arthur’s body. The Coroner in question is Edward Strick. The conclusion of the Inquest found that the
deaths were “Accidental Drowning”.
Sadly, Alfred Salmons’ body was lost.
The second article, “Funeral of Gwilliam” describes the huge
crowd that attended the funeral at Danygraig Cemetery.
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| The Cambrian 7th May 1897 |
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| The Cambrian 7th May 1897 |
Sad story, if only they wore life jackets.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't until after the sinking of the Titanic, 1912, that it was required that a passenger was required to wear a life jacket.
DeleteAfter the sinking, a ship/boat had to carry enough life jackets to the passengers on board.
Life Jackets, were, however, made out cork, were worn buy the lifeboat crew members