BOY KILLED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23010, 11 April 1938, Page 10

BOY KILLED

FIERCE EXPLOSION TWO OTHERS HURT TRAGIC EXPERIMENT REMUEEA ACCIDENT One hoy was killed and two others were injured when some chemicals they were playing with on the back lawn of a house at 90 Victoria Avenue exploded shortly before 11 o'clock yesterday morning. The boys were: — Kn-r-F.D William Twlston Davies, aged 15 years 10 months, only son of Mr. and Mrs. P. T. Davies, of 90 Victoria Avenue, Remuera. Injur kd

Arthur Jack Prosscr, aged 16 years, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. Prosscr, of 11 Orakei Road. Kemuera; severe lacerations to the chest and shock. Condition serious. Francis Harrison-Smith, aged 16 years, son of Mr. and Mrs. C. HarrisonSmith, of 8o Victoria Avenue, Remuera; lacerations to the chest and shock. Condition not serious. King's College Pupil

The three boys were trying to ignite some home-made explosives, which they had placed upon the grass, and too large a portion was apparently ignited. The boys were bonding over the chemicals when the explosion occurred, and they received the full force of it, being flung to the ground some distance away.

It was stated that Davies, who was a pupil at King's College, where he was studying chemistry as one of his subjects, had taken the other boys out to the back lawn of his father's home to explode some chemicals which had been mixed in a large glass container. Potassium chlorate is thought to have been one of the ingredients, which were collected later for examination by the Government analyst, Mr. K. M. Griffin. More Chemicals Added A small portion of the mixture was placed upon the grass, and some sulphuric acid was poured on to it. No explosion occurred, and so the boys poured some more of the chemicals upon the mound already on the lawn. This had actually ignited, and, with an explosion which was heard by householders many blocks away, all the mixture on the lawn blew up and exploded that in the bottle. Davies is thought to have been holding the container, and his right hand was blown off and his chest pierced by main' splinters of flying glass. He died almost immediately. The broken glass was also driven through the clothing of the other bovs, both of whom were thrown to the ground suffering from cuts and shock. A Tather's Sad Discovery The chemicals exploded upward into the bent bodies of the three boys, and their injuries were mainly confined to their chests. The garden suffered very little. Mr. Davies was one of the first to find his son. When he rushed outside the boys were lying on the lawn several feet away from where the chemicals had been placed.

Dr. Selwvn Morris attended the boys almost immediately, but Davies was dead when he arrived. Dr. Martin Ross also attended tho two other boys before they were taken to the Auckland Hospital by a St. John ambulance. An inquest into the death of William Davies will be opened this morning.