BOY BLOWN TO DEATH

Northern Advocate, 24 October 1935, Page 8

BOY BLOWN TO DEATH

SHELL EXPLODED WHILE HE

WAS PLAYING

15-Year-Old “Toy” Causes Devonport Tragedy

USED IT FOR MOORING BOAT

[Special to “Nort

;hern Advocate.”! AUCKLAND, This Day,

A SHOCKING fatality occurred at Devonport about 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon when a 61b. shell, probably fifteen years old, exploded and inflicted terrible injuries on John William Boswell, aged eight years, who collapsed on the footpath outside his home and died.

ed from a Nordenfeldt gun, was very old. According to an expert, the shell was of a calibre common in the service, and of a type known for as long as 40 years. From its rusted and pitted appearance, it is presumed that the shell was probably 15 years old, and that it had been subject to considerable weathering and immersion in sea wate^. Case Not Splintered. The cavity down the centre of the projectile contained a charge of powder and a fuse screwed into the base. In the ordinary course of events the charge would have blown the shell to fragments. The effect of time, weathering and dampness, were considered to have caused the Contents merely to have been blown from the cavity without splintering the case. Members of the Boswell family thought that the shell originally came from Rangitoto, and this belief is borne out by the fact that many North Shore residents have similar shells retrieved from the island, where they were fired from the mainland during target practices. These shells, while not being shattered, had lost their fuses, but it was pointed out by a military officer that, However remote, a risk remained that the charge had not exploded. At all times the military authorities have expressed willingness .to examine the shells, and they have impressed upon residents the grave danger run by not having these projectiles looked at. The death of the little boy has sent a wave of horror sweeping through the homes of his friends, with some of whom he was playing happily at school yesterday morning.

Young Boswell, who lived with his people at 58 King Edward Parade, Devonport, used the shell as a toy. Charge of Powder.

The injuries to the victim were caused by a charge of powder, which was blown from the interior of the projectile while the boy was playing with it. In spite of his frightful injuries, the child staggered out from the back of his home, where the explosion occurred, into the street. On reaching the footpath he dropped to the ground, and, before anything could be done to save him, he was dead. The shell, which is understood to have originally been brought from Rangitoto Island, was taken by the boy Boswell from Torpedo Bay, near North Head, the beach being only a short distance from his home.

No one suspected the dangerous nature of the shell. Young Boswell had been playing with the projectile on and off for about a year, and he had used it as a s mooring for his model yacht.

Playmates who used to have games with Boswell all knew the shell, but none of them thought it could cause any harm. Only a week ago several boys when playing had picked up thp shell and dropped it on the ground repeatedly. They escaped death, but Boswell was not so fortunate. Deafening Explosion. Yesterday the lad went to the Devonport School as usual. He was in the best of health and was a happy little boy. When school came out he returned to his home shortly before 3 o’clock. A few minutes" later his father, Mr J. H. Boswell observed his child playing on the back doorstep. Mr Boswell, who was inside the house, turned his back for a second, and then, suddenly, there was a deafening explosion like the roar of guns, which made him stagger back. So terrific was the explosion that nearby neighbours thought it was the beginning of a battery practice at Fort Cautley, North Head. The boy had evidently banged the shell, which was much corroded, on the concrete steps. The concussion caused the charge to explode from the end, the whole contents of- the shell striking the little victim. The explosion also drove the pointed end of the projectile about two inches into the concrete, but the case remained intact. ■

No Help Possible,

The distracted father immediately rushed to his son, who, folkrtvirig the explosion, had staggered through the house to the front.' Neighbours also rushed to tend the victim, but it was apparent that nothing could be done for the child. When a doctor arrived young Boswell was dead. Sergeant C. C. Bunford and Constable Gilmour, o the Devonport Station, rushed to the scene of the explosion to try and give some assistance, but without avail. The explosion blackened the wall of the house and broke three windows. In the houses of .neighbours various articles were shaken about. A most amazing circumstance was that a cage of " budgerigars, suspended immediiately above where the boy was playing the game with the shell, was not interfered with, and the birds were not affected.

Shell Was a Real Treasure

Little Boswell, like other children, was in the habit of running around on the beach and picking up various little things which to the mind of a child resembled treasures. He would give a whoop of delight when he found anything which he thought the other boys did not have, to bring to his home ,and this happened when he discovered the shell. The shell was a real treasure to him, and it was the envy of the other children in the neighbourhood. Boswell would go out with his companions down to the beach and they would use the shell to smash up seashells. As soon as the fatality was reported, an investigation was immediately commended by the military authorities. Inquiries made showed that the projectile, which may have been flr-