LONG FIGHT FOR LIFE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 6 August 1931, Page 10

LONG FIGHT FOR LIFE

DIVER SUNK IN MUD STRUGGLE FOR SEVEN HOURS EXTRAORDINARY RESCUE HEROISM OF FELLOW-DIVER A remarkable rescue of a man from one of the most horrible forms of death imaginable—slow suffcation under 15ft of mud—was achieved at Dagenham, Essex, on Friday, 19th dune. For seven hours, William Milton, a diver working on tiie consurtction of a new jetty in the Thames at the Ford factory at Dagenham, was imprisoned, lying on his side, unable to move. Mr Milton's “life-lines” —the name for a time seemed ironic—were jammed beneath a wall of steel and were pinning him beneath the deadly mixture of slime and oozing mud which is the bed of the Thames and the diver’s nightmare. The story of how the accident happened, as told by the “Daily Telegraph,” is a simple one, hut it is none the less amazing that it did not end tragically. An important part of the work in connection with building the jetty, from which tlie finished motor cars are to be sent abroad, i§ the sinking of a number of enormous steel cylinders or caissons into the bed of the river. They are about 50ft high and 10ft in diameter. Their lower edges are extremely sharp, and cut into the mud as they are lowered. When finally in place they are filled with concrete.

THE SAFETY ROPE SIGNAL

On Thursday it was noticed that something was wrong with one of these caissons. It was still in its hollow state, and at low tide the level of the water in it was seen not to be falling as it did outside in the river. It was clear that the bottom was blocked up with mud, and that this was preventing the 'water from escaping. Mr Milton was sent down inside the caisson to dig away the mud and allow the water to escape. Within a few minutes the men on the jetty saw the level of the water in the caisson abruptly sink, and at the same time they felt a sharp tug at Milton’s safety rope. For a moment they did not realise what had happened, and it was not until another diver, named Davis, who was working in the next caisson, had descended into Mr Milton’s cylinder that the fujj horror of the situation was grasped. lie had hacked away the mud at flic bottom so successfully that the water rushed out beneath the steol wall. But tlie outrush was so terrific that it carried the unfortunate diver with it.

Mr Milton was sucked under the edge of the cylinder and remained—lying on one side in the filthy mud —with his rope and air-tulie tightly jammed under the wall of the caisson so that he could not move. The task of rescuing him seemed at first almost hopeless. But noble efforts were made from all sides, and assistance was rushed to the scene from far and near “IT WAS A FRIGHTFUL JOB” But- all these tremendous efforts from afar were not, as events proved, as. useful as the efforts of the solitary diver, William Davis, who was working away all this time’ to rescue iiis imprisoned mate. His story is best told in his own words, as he recounted it on the jetty a few minutes after the rescue. “It was a frightful job,” Mr Davis said. “I went down inside the cylinder first of all to find out what the matter was. M.v first task was to free his rope and his air-tube from within. I could see nothing all the time, as it is not possible to look out of the front of the kind of diver’s helmet we wear. In any case, Thames water is so dirty that it is never possible to work with your eyes. The whole thing has to be done by touch.” After Mr Davis had freed the rope it was possible for Mr Milton to work his way-into an upright position. .But now another source of fear bocamo apparent to the workers. Mr Milton’s air-tube went down inside the cyinder, and if he were to be hauled up again outside it would need to be twice the length normally required. Was it long enough?' Mercifully it was. Mr Davis reascended, and then Went down again on the outside of the caisson, bearing with him a machine known as a blower. With this he proceeded to “blow” away the mud beneath which Mr Milton was imprisoned, working his way through the sixteen 'feet, tortuously, slowly, but ever surely. SUCCESS COMES AT LAST “It must have been about midday when ’[. touched him,” said Mr Davis. "Once we’d got that far, I was fairly sure he'was safe.” Fie went on working and working at the mud, and by this time Milton was slowly rising to an uphight position. As the mud was hacked away, lie began to feel himself being slowly jifted- in the water by means of an additional rope which Mr Davis had brought down with him. He was halfway out of the mud when another horror seemed possible. A number of wooden “twelve-by-four” beams forming underwater staging for the jetty blocked his way to freedom, and it seemed possible that the wretched man might be jammed again. But fate was on his side, ably assisted by Mr Davis, who gently and firmly guided his helpless workmate up between the beams to safety. One of his first requests was for a bottle of beer which he enjoyed immensely.