ACTOR SHOT ON THE STAGE
DANGER OF THE WAD IN BLANK CARTRIDGES.
The real life tragedy which was enacted during the performance of a drama at the Elephant and Castle Theatre, London, on the night of August Bank Holiday, when an actor was shot, formed the subject of an inquest opened by Mr. Walter Schroder at Islington yesterday. The victim was Herbert Bonhote Wilson, 34, of Noel Street, Islington. The accident occurred towards the end of the last act of “The Woman Conquers,” in which the hero is supposed to be shot in the back by his rival in love. It appears that pieces of the wad in the blank cartridge used lodged in Mr. Wilson’s back, and were not found for some days – indeed a piece was found after Mr. Wilson had died at the Great Northern Hospital last Friday night.
At the inquiry Mr. Tristan Beresford represented Mr. G. Carlton Wallace, the manager of the Company; Mr. F. J. Williams appeared for Mr. Mannering, who fired the shot; Mr. Wilfred Powell was for Mr. Charles Barnard, owner of the theatre; Mr. G. A. Elgood represented Mr. Wilson’s relatives; and Mr. Gibbons appeared for Messrs. Gamage, who supplied the blank cartridges.
George Carlton Wallace, author manager, West Heath Drive, Hampstead, stated that August Bank Holiday was the first day of the production of “The Woman Conquers.” Mr. Wilson had played at a matinée in the afternoon and at the evening performance, and the two shows were practically identical. The play ran quite smoothly, and all the people on the stage appeared to be on good terms. After the accident Mr. Wilson was taken to his dressing-room, hot water was obtained and he was bathed, and a doctor was sent for. The play had not finished, and Mr. Wilson wanted to finish. He was very plucky about the matter. The witness cut out all the dialogue.
A single-barrel ejecting gun was the gun used, continued Mr. Wallace, and it would be fired at the man. The blank cartridges were purchased by the witness under the clear understanding that the cartridges would be used for theatrical purposes. The gun would be loaded by the actor who fired it.
THE CARTRIDGES CHANGED.
The witness at first said that the villain was supposed to shoot the hero in the back, but corrected the statement, and said that the hero was supposed to fall wounded in the leg, according to the action of the play. Mr. Wilson would be moving off the stage, and the other actor was supposed to direct the gun with the intention of firing at the leg, but not to touch him.
In reply to Mr. Elgood, the witness said the cartridges were specially bought for the play. He had never bought cartridges for guns before, but he had done so many times for revolvers.
Replying to Mr. Gibbons, the witness said a gun was never fired at a man, as the wad would inflict injury.
The day after the accident, the witness added, Mr. Wilson’s doctor told him that he had extracted a felt wad from the wound. The witness then went to the shop here the cartridges were bought, and said to the shopman: “Are these your usual cartridges, for we have had an accident? They give an extraordinarily loud report. Cannot we get something of a lighter nature?” The shopman suggested that they should get some cartridges specially filled, and promised to take the other cartridges back. The witness did not know whether Mr. Mannering had fired a gun before, but he was an actor of eighteen years’ experience.
In reply to Mr. Williams, the witness said that it was taken for granted that there was no danger with blank cartridges, and that he had been fired at thousands of times.
Replying to Mr. Beresford, the witness said he was now being supplied with cartridges containing a thin cardboard wad. There was a wad in the cartridges used on the night of the accident one and a half inches thick.
A stage hand said he noticed in the evening that Mr. Wilson did not fall after the discharge of the gun, as he had done in the afternoon.
A railway porter gave evidence that he was in the theatre on the 4th instant as an ambulance man, and was called to Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson would not let him touch him and went and finished the play. The wound was blackened a little with powder, and there was a wad in it.
DOCTORS AND THE WAD.
Dr. Henry Johnson, who attended Mr. Wilson at home, stated that when he saw Mr. Wilson the latter was in great pain, but wanted to go through another performance, and it was only with great difficulty the witness kept him at home. He found several pieces of wad, and two or three days after he thought it had been removed several pieces came out in the sponging.
Dr. Samuel A. Lane, house surgeon at the Great Northern Hospital, to which Mr. Wilson was removed a week after the accident, said that Mr. Wilson died two hours before the time fixed for an operation. A post-mortem examination revealed the presence of some pieces of bone and fair-sized wad in the wound. This wad was four and a half inches from the surface. The cause of death was cardiac failure, due to septic infection caused by the injury received and the retention of the wad from the cartridge.
By Mr. Beresford: The witness though the shot was fired from a distance of about 10 feet. The injury was in keeping with that view.
At this point the inquest was adjourned until next Tuesday.
(The Manchester Guardian, 20th August 1913)
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