Author Topic: Ideas tracking info on 1947 road accident  (Read 2763 times)

Offline Candolim_Imp

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Ideas tracking info on 1947 road accident
« on: Thursday 09 November 17 15:45 GMT (UK) »
Hello all,

I'm trying to track down some information on a road accident that took place over the weekend 8th-9th November 1947, in which a woman was killed and 11 others injured.

I have access to the newspaper archive through my Find My Past subscription, but countless searches have resulted in only one reference to the incident in the Aberdeen Press and Journal of 10th November 1947 (attached) which states that late on 9th November, detectives were still searching for the driver of the lorry that left a car park, lost control down a hill and crashed into a hotel.

The victim isn't named, but we know her to be 34 year old Catherine, known as Colebourn (recorded as Catherine C Coleburn and Catherine C Colbourne in the death register and Catherine Clare Colbourne and Colbowine on the burial register for 14th November at Ford Cemetery).

Catherine was the common-law wife of George Colebourn (we don't know of a marriage and there's no record found for one, despite the death & burial name). George had been torpedoed & killed at sea in WWII. Catherine had remained in George's household with his parents and siblings after his death (having been disowned by her family after she took up with George, who was black).

To celebrate her 11th birthday, my mother-in-law (George's youngest sister) had an arrangement to meet Catherine in Liverpool town centre. She got there to find the scene of the crash, but no sign of Catherine (who she assumed had let her down), so she returned home unaware that her aunt was at the centre of the crisis she'd witnessed. (Her account was that they were meeting at Lewis's, and that the lorry crashed into the front of the store, so there's a slight variance between this and the newspaper account)

The fact that there are no Liverpool publications in the archive managed by Find My Past for that period doesn't help (I have tried the National Newspaper Archive as well, but no sign).

This is a story we've known about for many years and I would really like to get to the bottom of the circumstances surrounding the accident and whether the driver was found (the lack of a marriage means I don't even have her maiden name). I assume there was an inquest and that this would likely have been reported in local papers.

Anyone got any creative ideas?
Hodge; Southport, Lancs
Pugh; Salop, Liverpool
Hulm; Bootle, Southport
Guildford; Liverpool
Clausen; Denmark, Liverpool
Yapp/Yopp; Salop
Marshall, Rimmer, Howard, Johnson, Jackson; Southport
Bury; Heref, Herts
Dady; Norfolk, Southport
Colebourne; Liverpool
Small; Barbados, Liverpool
Murray; West Indies, Liverpool
Williams; Africa, Liverpool
Jenner; Glos

Offline rosie99

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Re: Ideas tracking info on 1947 road accident
« Reply #1 on: Thursday 09 November 17 16:03 GMT (UK) »
Do you have her in the 1939 register, was she 'married' then   :-\     

Was she living with family then  :-\

The British Newspaper Archive is administered by findmypast so records held are possibly the same
Census information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline Candolim_Imp

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Re: Ideas tracking info on 1947 road accident
« Reply #2 on: Thursday 09 November 17 16:18 GMT (UK) »
I thought the 2 archives may well be the same, but thought it worth a shot if only in case the 2 search features were slightly different.

Catherine was living as wife to George in 1939 at 4 Claribel St, Toxteth - her birth date was 18th Feb 1913 (his family were Williams - he was an illegitimate child born in Toxteth Workhouse in 1911, 4 years before his mother, Catherine Colebourn, married Henry Williams).
Hodge; Southport, Lancs
Pugh; Salop, Liverpool
Hulm; Bootle, Southport
Guildford; Liverpool
Clausen; Denmark, Liverpool
Yapp/Yopp; Salop
Marshall, Rimmer, Howard, Johnson, Jackson; Southport
Bury; Heref, Herts
Dady; Norfolk, Southport
Colebourne; Liverpool
Small; Barbados, Liverpool
Murray; West Indies, Liverpool
Williams; Africa, Liverpool
Jenner; Glos

Offline BumbleB

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Re: Ideas tracking info on 1947 road accident
« Reply #3 on: Thursday 09 November 17 16:30 GMT (UK) »
I'd be inclined to contact the Liverpool Records Office - whilst they do not have on-line access to The Liverpool Echo prior to 2001, I think they may have fiche copies of earlier editions.  You can only ask the question  ;)

Added:  Or even contact The Liverpool Echo direct  :-\
Transcriptions and NBI are merely finding aids.  They are NOT a substitute for original record entries.
Remember - "They'll be found when they want to be found" !!!
If you don't ask the question, you won't get an answer.
He/she who never made a mistake, never made anything.
Archbell - anywhere, any date
Kendall - WRY
Milner - WRY
Appleyard - WRY


Offline Candolim_Imp

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Re: Ideas tracking info on 1947 road accident
« Reply #4 on: Thursday 09 November 17 16:38 GMT (UK) »
Yeah, the record office will definitely cover the date for a number of publications - I just won't be able to get there for a number of weeks (realistically, probably not before January), so I was rather hoping there might be some obscure resource out there I could have a dig around in.
Hodge; Southport, Lancs
Pugh; Salop, Liverpool
Hulm; Bootle, Southport
Guildford; Liverpool
Clausen; Denmark, Liverpool
Yapp/Yopp; Salop
Marshall, Rimmer, Howard, Johnson, Jackson; Southport
Bury; Heref, Herts
Dady; Norfolk, Southport
Colebourne; Liverpool
Small; Barbados, Liverpool
Murray; West Indies, Liverpool
Williams; Africa, Liverpool
Jenner; Glos

Offline Istrice

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Re: Ideas tracking info on 1947 road accident
« Reply #5 on: Thursday 09 November 17 18:31 GMT (UK) »
Hi,
Apologies for the long link, but you may get a step for a hint in the Lancashire Police Records. (http://www.open.ac.uk/arts/research/policing/sites/www.open.ac.uk.arts.research.policing/files/files/ecms/arts-policing-pr/web-content/guide-to-police-archives.pdf)
Istrice

Offline Candolim_Imp

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Re: Ideas tracking info on 1947 road accident
« Reply #6 on: Thursday 09 November 17 20:01 GMT (UK) »
That's a really interesting document.
Hodge; Southport, Lancs
Pugh; Salop, Liverpool
Hulm; Bootle, Southport
Guildford; Liverpool
Clausen; Denmark, Liverpool
Yapp/Yopp; Salop
Marshall, Rimmer, Howard, Johnson, Jackson; Southport
Bury; Heref, Herts
Dady; Norfolk, Southport
Colebourne; Liverpool
Small; Barbados, Liverpool
Murray; West Indies, Liverpool
Williams; Africa, Liverpool
Jenner; Glos

Offline Lambendsor (aka IGS)

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Re: Ideas tracking info on 1947 road accident
« Reply #7 on: Thursday 21 December 17 23:16 GMT (UK) »
You may have seen this, but if not: Manchester Guardian, 10 Nov 1947. p5:
ENDSOR: Tamworth/Manchester
LAMB: Leeds/Manchester
SMITH: Manchester
HOLMES: Kirk Ireton/Manchester
WORTHINGTON: Middleton/Manchester
SHORROCK: Manchester
BROOKS: Wilmslow/Knutsford
By marriage in Manchester: BAXENDALE, DODD, EYERS, FIRTH, FISHER, FO(R)STER, HARGREAVES, J(A/E)RVIS, McKEOWN, OSBALDESTON, PICKWELL, PODMORE, SCHOFIELD, SHALLCROSS, STONES, WALKER
GREY, DOYLE, GOLDEN, MONAHAN: Ireland
HAWE, FRENEY, NARY: Co. Kilkenny
DONOHO and variants: Co. Longford

Offline Candolim_Imp

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Re: Ideas tracking info on 1947 road accident
« Reply #8 on: Friday 22 December 17 05:31 GMT (UK) »
Oohh. Not seen this. Where did you dig that up?

This is really helpful. Funny that it says it was at night (my mother in law was only 11, and I've always got the impression they were meeting during the day).

The hotel name helps to place the incident, too
Hodge; Southport, Lancs
Pugh; Salop, Liverpool
Hulm; Bootle, Southport
Guildford; Liverpool
Clausen; Denmark, Liverpool
Yapp/Yopp; Salop
Marshall, Rimmer, Howard, Johnson, Jackson; Southport
Bury; Heref, Herts
Dady; Norfolk, Southport
Colebourne; Liverpool
Small; Barbados, Liverpool
Murray; West Indies, Liverpool
Williams; Africa, Liverpool
Jenner; Glos