From the Southeastern Gazette, 1 May 1866 Sheerness.bmp"

Fatal Fight between Artillerymen.

On Wednesday last two artillerymen, named Thomas Belsh and Thomas Grogan, met by previous arrangement on the beach, where they fought for about twenty minutes, and in the affray Belsh received a mortal blow. Belsh was a powerful young fellow, aged 20, while Grogan is rather slightly built. On Thursday an inquest was held at the “Navy and Army Hotel,” before Mr. T. Hills, coroner, when the following evidence was taken:—

John Hudson, a Runner in the Royal Artillery, said:— Yesterday afternoon, about a quarter-past five o’clock, deceased was cutting my hair in my own room. Grogan came into the room, and said to deceased, “Are you coming, Tom ” Deceased said, “Yes,” and threw down the scissors. I asked him where he was going, and he said down on the beach, to settle a little affair. They both went away towards the beach, Grogan first, and deceased following him. Several other gunners also followed, to see what was the matter. When they got to the beach they both stripped, and began to fight; nobody seconded. The fight, as near as I can tell, lasted twenty minutes, during which time nobody interfered. Sometimes one fell, sometimes the other, and sometimes both together. They fell several times. There was nothing that I could see unfair in the fight. They both struck each other heavy blows. They hit each other as hard as they could. Neither seemed to get the better of the other, and deceased did not appear to be hurt until the last round. In that round Grogan hit deceased under the ear. In half a minute deceased seemed to become giddy, turned round, and fell upon the ground. We wetted his forehead, but, seeing his face change colour, I ran down to the hospital immediately for assistance. A stretcher was sent, and deceased was taken to the hospital, after which I saw no more of him.

Another gunner, named Mason, corroborated this statement, and said that the deceased, after receiving the blow on the ear, came up sparring, but appeared giddy, and fell. They put his clothes on him before he was removed to the hospital, but he was perfectly helpless and insensible.

P.C. John Stuart deposed:— I received Grogan into custody from the guard-room on Wednesday evening, and took him to the police-station. He said that he and the deceased had had a few words about a portrait of his (Grogan’s), and that deceased had broken it. Grogan told the deceased to name the day when he should meet him. Deceased said that he would meet him on the 26th of April, if he (Grogan) would call upon him. He went, and called him, and they went down on the beach and fought.

Mr. A. M. Drysdale, in charge of the Royal Military Hospital, stated:— Deceased was brought into the hospital at about half-past six o’clock. I received him, but he was then quite dead. I have made a post-mortem examination of the body. All the organs were perfectly healthy. There were marks of blows on the face and forehead, and below the right ear. They were such marks as would be produced by the blows of a fist. The skin was not broken. The substance of the brain was naturally healthy; and I can come to no other reasonable conclusion than that the congestive apoplexy, the cause of death, arose from the blows the deceased had received. The stomach of the deceased was loaded with food and fluid, and he no doubt fought under disadvantages from that circumstance, as a blow would have a much greater effect on him than as if the stomach was comparatively empty.

The jury returned a verdict of “Manslaughter” against Thomas Grogan,