Kentish Mercury, Friday 1 May 1885.

Sudden Death.

Mr. E. A. Carttar held an inquest at the "Jolly Woodman," Beckenham, on Thursday, touching the death of a boy named Wilfred Augustine Anscombe, age 11 years who died at the St. Augstin Convalescent Home on Monday evening.

Eliza Pritchard, wife of a builder living at Bloomsbury, said the deceased was her nephew, and on Monday she brought him to Beckenham to the convalescent home. He appeared to be very weak that day, but she thought the journey had fatigued him. On the previous day had been out walking, but was short of breath. From what she saw she did not think the journey down would hurt deceased.

Elizabeth Pain, an assistant at the convalescent home, said the deceased appeared to be very ill and exhausted when brought to the home. He was put to bed just before 5 o'clock, and had some milk, and also beef tea and iron wine. This seemed to revive him but he died about twenty past ten on the same night.

Louisa Chapman, the nurse, corroborated, and said she did not think it necessary to send for a doctor, thinking deceased, who suffered from heart disease, was exhausted by the journey.

A certificate from Dr. Pearse, obtained the day after the child's death, set forth that he considered the primary cause of death to be heart disease.

The Coroner, in summing up, said he thought in such a case as this that it would be well in future to have a medical examination when a child was admitted to a convalescent home.

The jury returned a verdict of "Death from natural causes," and expressed the opinion that such a case ought not to have been sent to a convalescent home.