FATALITY AT THE FORTS.

Evening Post, Volume LXVIII, Issue 107, 2 November 1904, Page 6

FATALITY AT THE FORTS.

& GUNNER KILLEU-FIVE OTHERS INJURED. BIG GUN PRACTICE AT PORT BALLANCE. BREECH-BLOCK BLOWS OUT. PARTICULARS OP THE TRAGIC AFFAIR.

The second big gun practice of the Royal New Zealand' Artillery, commenced at Fort Balance to-day, was terminated by a terrible and fatal accident. The breech-block of one of the two twelvepounder quick-firers biew out, injuring six men so severely that one died shortly afterwards. Of the other five, some are in a dangerous condition, but it is hoped that they will all survive the shock and recover. The Bin disappearing gun had fired five rounds from the top of the hill at the targets towed in the harbour entrance b.y the steamer Janie Seddon. ' Then the two quick-firers lower down the hill opened fire with the fifty-four founds allotted to them. The shooting soop became rapid, report after report resounding m rapid succession, while the shot splashed like hail round the target. Then suddenly, from No. 1 gun, came a different 1 report, and a flash from behind. Fragments shot perpendicularly into the air. The men working the gun behind the shield were blown back in all directions. For a moment the effect of the shock was paralytic, arid then battery and spectators realised that a tragedy, the more 'fearful because in mimic warfare, ' had overtaken them. AFTER THE EXPLOSION. ' v A representative of the Evening Post, who was present witnessing the target practice, describes the scene on the concrete floor behind the gun as one of blood and suffering. Gunner J. A. Palmer, who must have been standing close behind the breech, was. blown backward from the gun platform down the two or three steps immediately at the' back of it, across the concrete floor, and against the earthen bank at the rear, a distance of several yards. His injuries were very severe", particularly in the region of the chest. Bombardier H. C. Petersen, the gun captain, was struck chiefly about the head. He did not lose consciousness, but seated himself on a second flight of steps leading up the bank, and asked for water. His head was completely bathed in blood, which dripped all over his body. He sat there, all crimsoned, and did not lose consciousness till long afterwards. Gunner R. Fordyce was not on tho No. 1 gun detachment at all. It appears ] he had been working at No. 2 twelve- I pounder, had been selected as a casualty ] (according to practice custom), and on ceasing work he was required to carry a lanyard or something to No. 1. Just as he got there, the br?ech blew out, and he became a casualty in fact. Gunner Fordyce was deposited on the concrete close to Gunner Palmer, and Gunner J. T. Slines was thrown alongside them. The two other gunners— H. J. Sweeney and L. F. O'Neill— were apparently in j positions not so directly behind the gun', j It seems that Gunner Sweeney had been gun-layer, but had been declared a casualty, and wae standing off to the left of the gun, at about the corner of the shieldHe dropped into the corner between the parapet and the gun, gazed dazedly around, and finally scrambled out on to the faea of the parapet. O'Neill, with fingers shot away, was on the other side of the gun. He wandered uphill several yards and dropped amid the grass and scrub, rose again, faltered, and finally was secured by the relief party when in danger of staggering over the parapet. ■ In the meanwhile-, blood marked the concrete where the more sorely wounded men had" fallen. The dull groaning of the sufferers Succeeded to the roar of the gun, which had scattered its breech parts round about the battery. In the midst of the suffering and horror of the scene, aihbulance parties and the doctors got quietly and swiftly to work. RELIEVING THE WOUNDED. Orders for ambulance requisites, and the half-masting of the flag to bring the steamer back to the Fort, were promptly given! The foresight of the Battery Commander, Captain, Hume, in having medical aid present at practices, turned out of the greatest value. Not only SurgeonCaptain Gilmer, but also Dr. Mason, were > viewing the practice, along with the Commandant of the Forces, Major-General Babington, and other officers. As soon as the surgeons had applied the bandages, the injured, one after another, were carried on stretchers to the top of the Fort, then down the other side of the hill to the Janie Seddon. But one of them breathed his last in the Fort. From the first moment, it was clear that Gunner Palmer's injuries were of a deadly nature, and with 'the added effect of shock he did not live above half an hour. The accident occurred probably a little after 11, and by midday all that was possible to be done at Fort BaUance iiad been done. Ambulances, ordered by telephone, % met the Janie Seddon on her arrival at the wharf, and the sufferers were conveyed to the Hospital. Those not rendered unconscious by the shock displayed the utmost fortitude. Throughout the j whole situation there was no lack of nerve on any one's part. First impressions of the injuries,' as gathered at the Fort, were that Slines and Petersen were both suffering from serious head injuries in the region of the Fragments pierced Fordvce's lower limbs. O'Neill has lost, or will lose, a couple of fingers. Sweeney's injuries are painful but not critical. j ACCIDENT UNEXPLAINED. Lieut. Sandle was in. immediate charge of the detachments firing the quick-firers. He had not long shifted from the line of the explosion. The gun-captain was Bombardier Petersen. Gunners Palmer and Slines, who both were right in the way of the blow-out, . were, it is stated, handling cartridges and shell respectively. It is not quit© clear what the several numbers of the men were, but it seems likely that O'NeiH was No. . 2, Palmer No. 3, and Slines No. 4. The presence of-For-dyce, who belonged to the other gun, has been explained. It has been said that the gun scattered its breech parts round about. The breechblock itself struck deep int6 the earthen bank, and drove the stones vertically to a great height. The cartridge case flew uphill,, and dropjjed above tie steps, where

it lav a distorted sheet of brass. All tho discoverable fragments were gathered up. No ,theory has yet been advanced as to the cause of the accident. An inquesfe will, of course, be held. Major Johnston, Artillery Staff Officer, was acting ,as umpire of the shooting, which, up to the time of the fatal mishap, had proceeded without hitch. There was still a good deal of 12-pound shot waiting beside the guns to be fired, and probably the six-pounders would afterwards' have been used. Never before has a big gun practice in Wellington terminated-, so tragically. Among the witnesses of the accident were Captain Campbell, on the Commandant's staff, Captain Archibald and Lieut. Wood (of the Petone Naval Volunteers), and a Post reporter. They stood well up on the hill, where they divided their time between watching the operations of the men and the dropping of the projectiles. The scene was one never to be forgotten by those who saw it. The charge used with the twelvepounders was cordite, lib 15oz. It is understood that there is on record only one previous case of a twelve-pounder gun' of this pattern blowing out, and that that case occurred at Home. THE SURGEON'S REPORT. At 3 p.m. the Hospital Surgeon (Dr. Ewart) reported that the condition of Gunners Slines and O'Neill was very seri■ous. Slines's case is the worst, his injuries being in the abdomen. It is feared that he has been otherwise injured, internally, also; but surety of this supposition cannot be made for another . twenty-four hours. Gunner O'Neill has ! been badly injured about the left thigh, I and two of his fingers had to be amputated. There are injuries to various parts of his body. The condition of the other sufferer^ — Bombardier Petersen and Gunners Sweeney and Fordyce — is less serious. All the -men are suffering from deafness. REFERRED TO IN PARLIAMENT. FULL ENQUIRY PROMISED. In the Legislative Council this^afternoon the Hon. W. H. Baillie asked the Attorney-General for some official information about the accident; but the Attorney-General said he had no official information on the subject. When the House resumed at 2.30 this afternoon the Premier referred to the accident, stating that as far as was known the accident was unavoidable. The gun was practically new. He was sure that the sympathy of every member would go out to the widow of Gunner Palmer J and to the sufferers. Full enquiry would be held. The gun came through the War Office, and had passed the usual tests. - I PARTICULARS OF THE VICTIMS. Gunner Palmer was a comparatively young member of the Permanent Artfl- | lery. He had been married only a few ! months. He came from the Taieri district, and was about twenty-seven years tof age. He left tho Permanent Artillery to join the Fifth Contingent, and at the close oi the war rejoined the Permanent Forces, and resided at No. 18, Lome-street. The late Gunner Palmer took great interest in his work, and was one of the most popular members of the Artillery. -• Of the injured men, Bombardier Petersen has seen the longest service in the Permanent Force. He i 6 a married man and brother of Mr. tt. Petersen, manager of the Wellington Electric Tramways, and Mr. C. Petersen, of the National Mutual Life Association. He was for some years in the Armed Constabulary. Both he and Fordyce are married men. Th.c former resided ill" Tasman-street, and the latter, who is a well-known footballer, in Arthur-street. The other men who were injured are unmarried, and have not been long in the Artillery. Slines was formerly a member of the Guards. Fordyce, O'Ncil, and Sweeney are understood to have come from the South. f PREVIOUS ACCIDENTS. THE SHELLY BAY CATASTROPHE. A serious explosion occurred at Shelly Bay on slh March, 1891, two men being killed on that occasion, and several dreadfully injured. At the time of the explosion First-class Torpedomen Ross and Densem, Second-class Torpedomen Ross (otherwise known as Heighton} and Goldie, and Third-class Torpedoman M'Callum were in the smithy at Shelly Bay just before noon engaged in filling canisters with gun-cotton. Each tin held about 4^lb of the explosive, and a large number had been filled in eth course of the morning. After each tin had been filled the lid was soldered, and when one of the men was applying the hot iron to a tin fflo contents exploded. The concussion caused me other tins of guncotton to explode. Singular to say, the shed was not wrecked, only a pane ot glass being broken. Ross, Densem, and Cornwall were badly injured. Their clothes were burnt oil their bodies, and their features were scarcely recognisable. M'Callum and Goldie were also hurt, but not so severely as the others were. Ross and Densem only survived their injuries by a few days. The Goldie who was concerned in the accident was Mr. George Goldie, now Secretary of the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association. As a result of the tension caused to his system his hair became permanently white. THE MAHANGA BAY FATALITY. On. 7th August, 1899, an explosion occurred at Mabanga Bay, as a result of which Sergt. Olive, Corpl. Blick, and Sapper Teague lost their lives, and Sapper J. Head was so severely injured that at first fears were felt that he would not live long enough to reach town. , At the time of the accident Sergt. Olive, Corpl. Blick, and Sappers Totnkies, Teague, and Head were dismantling by means of guncotton the old concrete pit and pedestal for the electric lighting apparatus used in connection with the searchlights at the forts overlooking Mahanga Bay. To get possession of an iron socket which was embedded in. concrete, the party arranged a charge of guncotton neat it, and fixed it up with detonators. Just after 11 o'clock in- the morning Tomkies and Head, who had been connecting the wires to the detonators, finished their task, and Tomkies went up the hill. Sergt. Olive was "tamping" the guncotton into the hole with a round and perfectly smooth semaphore flagpole, about three feet long. Corpl. Blick was holding a box with the broken guncotton in it— a usual practice. Teague was taking the guncottoa out with his

hands and putting it on the ground at the top of the hole. The intermediate wire was connected, but not the main wires, and it was impossible for the detonators to be fired by the electric current until this connection was made^. Evidence given by experts at the inquest established this fact, and evidence was also given that a match accidentally dropped from a man's pocket could not have caused so severe an explosion — only a portion of tlie charge (that on top) would have gone oft" under such circumstances. Richard Broderick, a torpedo gunner on H.M.S. Mildura, gave evidence that ip all his sixteen years' experience of explosives he had never known guncotton to explode without a detonator being used. The inquest was a lengthy proceeding, but it j failed to clear up the cause of the accident, and a verdict was returned that tTie men lost their lives through accident, and that no blame attached. to Captain Falconer, under whose direction the experiment was carried out.