South Yorkshire Times, November 3rd, 1951
Little or No Suicide Evidence
Open Verdict at Wath
“Little or no evidence of suicide” was found by the Sheffield District Coroner, Mr. A. P. Lockwood at Wednesday’s Wath inquest on Wilfred Kay Swanwick, 54 years old, Wath Main coke oven labourer of 52, Wath Road, Brampton, whose body was discovered in the Dearne and Dove canal at Wath on Sunday by his brother, Mr. Harry Swan and recovered by Wath Police after operations lasting one and a half hours.
In recording an “open verdict”, the coroner said the balance of probability was that Mr. Swanwick had got into the water during some period when he was not in full control of his actions and faculties. He was an epileptic and subject to periods of automatism, but evidence was insufficient to determine how or why he came to be in the canal. “The evidence, in my opinion, points away from, rather than towards, this being a case of suicide,” he said.
Evidence was given that Mr. Swanwick had been a victim of epilepsy for about 30 years. After an attack he was subject to periods of depression and absent mindedness (post epileptic automatism) extending sometimes over a number of days.
No Suicidal Tendencies
Mrs. Winifred Swanwick (widow) said that although her husband was often depressed after a fit, he never showed any suicidal tendencies.
During his absent-mindedness periods he sometimes got up and dressed in the middle of the night, as though for work. At other times she would speak to him and he would neither hear nor answer.
As far as she knew Mrs. Swanwick said her husband’s last attack was on the Wednesday before he died. On the Thursday he had a day off, and on Friday he went to work. On Saturday he took a day off and on Sunday morning she assumed he was not going to work as he failed to get up when she called him at 4.30 a.m. At 7.30 a.m. he rose and at 7.45 a.m. he left the house wearing his evening trousers with his working clothes which was unusual. She assumed he was going to report sick at the pit, but when he had not returned by dinner-time, she became worried and started to look for him.
Dr G. R. Bayley, Mr. Swanwick’s Doctor, said emphatically that his patient had never shown suicidal tendencies. “He was a very happy man” he said. “He had been very happily married for six years.” P.c. Norman Haywood said the body was recovered from a point 30 feet from the bank on the Darfield side and about 300 yards from the Wath side of Broomhill bridge. On the bank opposite to the body, grass was trodden down as though someone had walked through it and slithered into the water. Mr. Swanwick would have passed that spot on his way to work.
Dr. Gilbert Forbes, who conducted the post-mortem examination, said death was caused by asphyxia due to drowning.