South Yorkshire Times, October 31, 1959

Unpleasant Experience

Wath Couple’s Remarkable Escape

Wath motor-cyclist, Mr. Richard Whitehead, of 27, Ash Road, and his 11 wife, escaped injury on Sunday when a 50-foot high tree flanking the road between Pontefract and Ackworth was uprooted by strong winds and damaged his motorcycle combination.

In June, 1958, their 20-years-old son, John, was killed in a motorcycle accident in Station Road, Wath.

Mrs. Whitehead told a ” South Yorkshire Times” reporter that her husband had stopped his combination on Castle Syke Hill, Pontefract, to adjust the hood of the sidecar in which she was travelling. The tree smashed the front of the machine and severely damaged the sidecar, but the couple were unharmed,

I have never had an experience like it in my life,” said Mrs. Whitehead. She added that her husband had just run the machine under a wall to shelter from the wind when the tree fell. The road was blocked for about an hour.

The damaged machine was taken to the local police station and Mr. and Mrs. Whitehead were given a lift home by a Lichfield couple visiting friends in Ackworth.