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William Watson
| Age: | 56 |
| Died: | 6th Sep 1956 |
| Accident: | 6th Sep 1956 |
| Year Born: | abt. 1900 |
| Colliery: | Brancepeth By Product works |
| Company: | National Coal Board |
| Occupation: | |
| Notes: | died while working in the chemical plant, death was due to heart failure caused by acute benzole poisoning |
| Buried: | [not known] |
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| Description | |
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Douglas Hunter noticed a very strong smell of benzole, and a lot of the liquid was flowing into the yard as he approached the benzole house. He dashed through the fumes and dragged Watson to the door.
Hunter was highly commended for his actions by the coroner. Then, on 19 December, he was presented with the Order of Industrial Heroism, often known as the "workers V.C.", at Brancepeth Miners Welfare Hall, Willington, by Mr. Arthur L. Horner, general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers.
On 15th January 1957 he was presented with a Carnegie Trust Fund certificate for bravery and a cheque for £6 by presiding magistrate Mr. W. Bourne at Crook.
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| Brancepeth Colliery Memorial | |
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| Sources | |
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- Text kindly provided by Jim Grainger from his research into early newspapers (primarily the Durham Advertiser and Durham Chronicle).
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| Researchers | |
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