§ 21. Mr. Thorneasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he can give the House any information in connection with a skilled labourer killed on 9th March in the Portsmouth Dockyard while he was working on board the destroyer "Vortigem"; and how many men working under the control of the Admiralty have been killed or injured during the past six weeks?
§ The Civil Lord of the Admiralty (Mr. Kenneth Lindsay)I regret that on 9th March a skilled labourer (Slinger) was killed on board His Majesty's Ship "Vortigern," then lying in dock at Portsmouth, in the following circumstances. A four-inch gun with its mounting had been lifted by jacks in order to examine the roller path and pivot of the gun. On completion of the examination, the gun was being slowly lowered, when it tilted unexpectedly and the slinger in charge, who was kneeling on the deck, was unfortunately pinned by the mounting against two ammunition racks, bolted to the deck, receiving fatal injuries. An inquest was held on 12th March, the verdict being "Accidental Death caused by misjudgment." A court of inquiry will be held by the dockyard authorities. This is the only fatal accident in His Majesty's Dockyards which has occurred in the six weeks ended 13th March. I take this opportunity of expressing on Admiralty behalf sympathy with the widow and relatives of the deceased; every effort will be made to expedite the award of the compensation payable.
It is not possible to give the total number of workmen in all Admiralty establishments injured during the same period. Returns from the yards at Portsmouth, Devonport, Chatham and Sheerness, where the great majority of the men are employed, show that during this time out of a total of 42,000 men, 244 received injuries as a result of accidents which necessitated their being placed on the hurt list.