Skegness Magazine

DREAM OF DEATH.
SKEGNESS EXCURSIONIST DROWNED.
STRANGE PREMONITION OF A TRAGEDY.

Source: Skegness Herald 1911

How a young man dreamt of death, came to Skegness and was drowned whilst bathing, formed a sad story at the Police Station on Tuesday afternoon.

The deceased was Herbert Read, aged 21, agricultural labourer, of Hardwick, Clumber Park, Worksop, and a member of the local church choir. The latter arrived at Skegness on Tuesday morning about 10 o’clock, the event being their annual excursion.

Mr G J Tredaway was in charge of the party, who travelled in a saloon. “Deceased” said Mr Tredaway at the inquest, “was a very upright young man, and on the journey was one of the jolliest of the party.”

“He told us”, proceeded the speaker “on the journey down to Skegness that he had had a dream on the Sunday night. He dreamed that three or four of them were in a boat on our lake, when it capsized and he was drowned.”
Deceased further added that directly he had had his dinner at Skegness he was going to have a bathe. Witness pointed out to him that he ought not to go into the sea immediately after a meal.

John Read, a younger brother, identified the body. He said he parted from deceased outside Hildred’s Hotel, but later saw him with a friend named Smidt enter a bathing van on the beach. After walking along the sands witness returned to the bathing place, and then learned that his brother had been drowned. . He knew he could not swim, although he had been in the sea before.

Rudolph Smidt, a young carpenter, said deceased, himself and another friend named Alcock, engaged a van and went into the sea to bathe. Deceased waded into the sea, until the water was nearly up to his neck. Witness called to him several times to come back, but deceased regarded it as a joke and asked witness to follow him. Then a great wave came along, and completely covered Read, who was ten to fifteen yards further out to sea than witness. They never saw him alive again. Witness could not swim, but called for assistance, and Alcock swam out with a rope, but Read could not be seen.

In reply to the Jury, witness said that without a doubt deceased had waded out beyond his depth into the creek.

Inspector Moore said everything possible was done to find deceased by boatmen and the pier diver. The place where he had disappeared was about 100 yards south of the Pier, and about an hour and three quarters later the body was washed ashore about 20 yards north of the Pier. Artificial respiration was tried without avail.

The Foreman of the jury (Mr John Green) said it had been hinted that deceased had got into quicksands. Personally he did not think there were any.
The Inspector said he was satisfied that there were no quicksands. The sands were very firm. If a boat bad been on the spot nothing could have been done, because deceased went down immediately.

Had it not been for the creek the body would no doubt have been carried out to sea. It was hazardous for deceased to venture so far out.

The Coroner remarked that the case was a very sad accident but similar accidents were continually occurring at seaside resorts. Of the hundreds of bathers the great bulk could not have any knowledge of the winds and tides. People who did not know anything about the North Sea ought to keep nearer the vans. He had known Skegness for over fifty years and there was not a ghost of a chance of deceased having got into quick sands.

The verdict was “accidentally drowned,” and the Jury expressed their sympathy with the relatives.

On the Jury were Messrs J. Green (foreman), J. Coupe, J. A, Houghton, T. Barton, J. Patrick, G. Woodcock, S. Moody, J. Morrill, J. Connell, G. H. Lambert, A. Rowley and W. Pybus.