She
was born on 23rd November 1910 and was the daughter of Henry
Slight Bradwell (1875 -
1944) and Lucy Ettie Sykes (1880-1961). The
family
lived at Beech Hill Road, Broomhill, Sheffield.
The
family were well known in the confectionery industry. Her grandfather
William Sykes of 33 Whitehouse Road, Sheffield was a
confectioner,
and her father was a commercial traveller for the firm.
She
was killed on the night of December 1st 1939 when a care she
was a passenger in was in collision with the back of a lorry.
An
inquest was opened at the Bridge Hotel, Penistone, on Tuesday, on Gladys
Wendy Bradwell, of 16, Beech Hill Road, Broomhill,
Sheffield,
a telephonist in the auxiliary section of the R.A.F., who was killed in a
road accident on. the Manchester Road, Midhope, on
Friday
night. The inquest was conducted by Mr. S. H. B. Gill, deputy district
coroner, who sat with a jury, of which Mr. R. Bishop was
foreman.
Others present were: Mr. A. F. Bates, of Messrs. H. Jackson and Co.,
solicitors, Sheffield, who represented Miss Bradwell's
family;
Mr. K. Mitchell, who represented the owners of a motor lorry involved in
the accident; Mr. J. F. Walker, 19, Thirwell Road,
Sheffield;
Superintendent Varley, and Inspector Garrod. Henry Sleight Bradwell, of
326, Langsett Road, Sheffield, wholesale confectioner,
said
the girl was his only daughter. She was 28, and resided at 16, Beech Hill
Road, Broomhill, Sheffield. She was a typist in the R.A.F.
She
had very good health; her sight and hearing were good. He last saw her
alive about a month ago.
The
Coroner asked if the driver of the car was present. He was informed that
the driver was detained in Sheffield Royal Infirmary and was
not
represented at the inquest. Charles Simpson, of 23, Allison Crescent,
Sheffield, motor lorry driver, said on Friday night he was driving
a
lorry along Manchester Road, Midhope, in the direction of Sheffield, at
about ten o'clock. It was a dark night, but the moon came out
occasionally,
when it was very bright. Witness thought his lorry was pulling sluggishly
and got down thinking one of the back tyres might
have
punctured or blown out. He felt the tyres and was down about two or three
minutes when he noticed a motor car coming towards
him
from behind. It was about 60 or 70 yards distant when he first saw it. It
was not driven at an excessive speed. Witness said he went
to
the front of the lorry and waited for the motor car to pass. He noticed,
however, that it did not make any attempt to swerve, and that
it
was coming straight for the lorry. The impact was terrible, said witness.
The car went up into the air, turned round, and finished facing
in
the opposite direction, on the off side of the road. The car was on its
side. Witness went to the car and helped the driver out. He
seemed
very dazed for a minute or two, and then seemed to go right off
altogether. Witness said he saw a woman with her legs through
the
sunshine roof, and her body under the side of the car. She seemed to be
dead. He did not lift her out from the car. In answer to the
Coroner,
witness said there was a rear light at the back of the lorry. It was
alight. The Coroner: Do you think your body was obstructing
the
rear light of the lorry? Witness: No, sir; I was at the side of the lorry
examining the tyres. I am quite sure on this point.
P.C.W.
Newton, stationed at Carlecotes, near Penistone, said the place was
approximately a quarter of a mile on the Manchester side of
the
Midhope crossroads, on the Manchester Road. He saw a motor lorry
stationary by the near side of the road facing Sheffield, near to
the
grass verge. The previous witness said he was the driver of the lorry.
Witness examined the lorry. The rear off-side was damaged.
The
rear light was burning. It was attached to the body of the lorry, about
one foot six inches from the off-side, and it was showing a
good
light. The light was about four feet from the ground and was visible about
a hundred yards distant. At the off side of the grass verge
was
a car, facing in the direction of Manchester. It was on its wheels and was
badly damaged. The whole of the near side was ripped off;
the
front axle had been forced back on the near side. The damage was
consistent with its having collided with the lorry with great force.
The
off side of the car was not damaged. Witness said he saw the driver of the
car, who was dazed. He gave his name as Wilfred Harold
Carter,
of 172, Dore Road, Dore, near Sheffield. Immediately behind the car, on
the grass verge, witness saw the woman lying. She was
dead
and had received severe injuries to the back of the head. She had been
seen by Dr. W. M. Robertshaw, of Stocksbridge, before
witness
arrived. Witness removed the body to the Penistone mortuary. In reply to
the Coroner, witness said the driver did not say
anything
to him. Dr. Robertshaw had ordered his removal to Sheffield Infirmary. The
driver, however, had given a statement on the
following
day. Coroner: Does he know of these proceedings here to-day? Witness: No,
sir. Coroner: We will not take the statement to-day.
Witness
said the road was quite straight at the place where the accident occurred,
with plenty of room to pass. The moon was shining
when
witness arrived. There were no skid marks on the road. He affirmed that
the rear light on the lorry was burning. The near side
headlamp
of the car had a regulation shade, but this lamp was smashed; the off-side
lamp was hooded. In reply to Mr. Bates, witness said
there
was a bank and some trees on the off side of the road, but there was
nothing to hide the moonlight. In reply to Dr. Wilson. witness
said
there was a pool of blood immediately opposite the front wheel of the
lorry, and five feet from it. Dr. A. G. Wilson, of Thurlstone,
said
he made a post-mortem examination of the body, and described various
injuries, those which in his opinion were the cause of death
were
fracture of the base of the skull and fracture of the third right rib.
Death would be practically instantaneous. The Coroner said the
police
had still enquiries to make, and he would therefore adjourn the inquest
until Thursday morning, December 21st.
Further
Inquest on 22nd December 1939.
He
was driving with his customary caution at about 30 miles an hour when the
accident occurred, said Wilfred H. Carter, secretary, Dore
&
Dore, Sheffield, at the inquest at Penistone yesterday on Gladys Bradwell,
of Beech Hill Road, Sheffield, who was killed at Midhope,
when
returning with Carter, in his car, from Manchester on 1st
December 1939.
He
agreed that just before the accident they had been singing as he drove
along. He did not see the red light of the lorry into which they
crashed.
A verdict of “Death through misadventure”, was returned. Miss Bradwell
was a telephonist in the W.A.A.F. was buried with
military
honours.
The
inquest had been adjourned from 8th December.
At
the previous hearing, Simpson, the driver of the lorry explained how while
he was examining the back tyres of his lorry a car came
along
and crashed into the lorry. the accident they had been
Simpson
said the driver of the car Mr H. Carter told him they were so happy in the
car they had been singing as they drove along.
The
Deputy Coroner (Mr S.H.B. Garter ) sat with a jury.
Wilfred
H. Carter who appeared with a cover over his left eye said he was driving
his own car from Manchester to Sheffield about 9.43
p.m.
Miss Bradwell was riding in the car in the front on his left. The moon
kept coming out fitfully. He had just passed a car going in the
same
direction and had no difficulty seeing its red light.
He
did not see any light on the lorry and all he saw was a large black object
out in front.
It
must have been only split seconds before crashing into it that he saw it.
The wheel was pulled strenuously in an effort to swerve – but
all
in vain. The car turned over onto its side. he got out of the car and
called Wendy (Bradwell’s name) two or three times but there was
no
response. In reply to the coroner witness said he did not see a light on
the lorry. There was no traffic approaching. Had the red light
been
on the lorry he would definitely have seen it. If there was a light it
must have been hid by the driver’s body.
The
Coroner: Had he been standing at the back of the lorry you would have hit
him. Witness agreed. In reply to Mr. Bates, who
represented
Miss Bradwell’s relatives, witness said they stayed at the Flouch Inn
for about three-quarters of an hour. In reply to Mr.
Scorah,
who represented Carter, witness said he had done considerable night
driving since the war began and was accustomed to it and
had
never had an accident before. He agreed that they had been singing as they
drove along, but he was driving with his customary
caution
at about 30 miles an hour.
Charles
Simpson, the driver of the stationary lorry, confirmed the evidence he had
previously given and said he was certain the red light
at
the rear of the lorry was lit and that he was standing at the front of the
lorry to allow the car to pass. P. C. W. Newton said the rear
light
on the lorry was fixed temporarily and gave a good light which might have
been seen at 150 yards. The light was complying with the
law.
The Coroner, summing-up, said there were only two questions for the jury
to consider. One was that of manslaughter, the other that
of
an accident. From the evidence they were told that there had been no
culpable neglect, and he advised a verdict of misadventure, to
which
the jury agreed.
Her
funeral took place on 6th December 1939
Shots
were fired over a woman’s grave in Loxley Cemetery, Sheffield,
yesterday, when Miss Gladys (Wendy) Bradwell was buried with full
military
honours after a service at St. Mark’s Church, Broomhill.
Miss
Bradwell, whose parents live at 16, Beech Hill Road, was killed during
Friday night, when a car in which she was accompanying with
her
friend, Mr. W. H. Carter, from Manchester, collided with a stationary
lorry at Midhope. The service was attended members of the
Balloon
Barrage to which Miss Bradwell was attached as a telephonist, by the
officers of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force in the Sheffield
district,
and many members of the W.A.A.F. unit of which Miss Bradwell was a member
(941 Squadron). The coffin, draped in the Union
Jack,
bore, in addition to floral tributes, Miss Bradwell’s W.A.A.F cap and
badge. It was taken to the church and to the cemetery on an
R.A.F.
lorry.
On
the way to the church, it was preceded by the Balloon Barrage firing party
with reversed arms. The Balloon Barrage also provided the
bearers,
with non-commissioned officers of the W.A.A.F as escort. The family
mourners were followed by the officers and other members
of
the W.A.A.F. The Rev. A. B. Swallow, curate of St. Mark’s Church,
conducted the service and the interment. After the committal
service
the firing party fired three rounds. Buglers of the unit sounded the Last
Post and Reveille.” The family mourners were Mr. and
Mrs.
H. S. Bradwell (father and mother), Mr, Colin Bradwell (brother), Mrs.
Dale, Mrs. McVeigh, and Mrs. Thompson (aunts). Miss Frith
(cousin),
and Mr. Jarvis and family (cousins), Mr. and Mrs. O’Donnell, Mrs.
Whittington, Mrs. Ashton, Mr. and Mrs. Clark, and Mrs. Suggett.
General
Refractories Limited, by whom Miss Bradwell had been employed for about
four years until she became member the W.A.A.F.,
were
represented by Misses m. Haworth, M. Hammings, N. Clark, M. Fulford, A.
Cox, B. Street, Harris, Crookes. Winfield, Conroy, and
Gilbert,
Messrs. R. Flowerday and R. Peck.
Click
for Site Directory