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- Aberdeen Evening Express 18 August 1916, p4
Workman's body found in lift at mills.
Yesterday afternoon a distressing accident happened at Culter Mills, whereby one of the workmen, Mr George Silver, Church Terrace, lost his life.
He had been missed for a short time, and one of the workment on making investigation, was horrified to find his body near one of the lifts used in connection with the works.
How the accident happened is a complete mystery.
Mr Silver is mourned by his wife, one son, and a daughter.
Aberdeen Evening Express 14 September 1916, p4:
Crushed to death
Culter Mills Fatality Inquired Into To-Day.
Before Sheriff Young and a jury at Aberdeen to-day an inquiry was held into the circumstance connected with the deeath of George Silver, 12 Church Terrace, Culter, paper mill worker, in the employment of the Culter Mills Paper Company, who on 16th August was crushed by a lift and killed.
In answer to Mr Maclennan, the fiscal, George Robertson, engineer at the mills, said Silver had been in the employment of the compnay for about twenty years. He described the discovery of Silver's body at the bottom of the lift.
In all probability he had gone down for something he had dropped, and had been crushed by the lift.
The Fiscal-How did the lift get in motion?
Witness-He must have started that himself from the bottom by drawing the rope. In the opinion of witness, it was a pure accident.
Duncan Bisset, mill foreman, corroborated. He found that the cage would not go down, and went up again to see how it would not work. Robertson and witness went down and found Silver in a leaning position outside the well, his right hand hanging by his side.
He was quite dead.
He had no occasion to be down there that witness knew of. He might have dropped something and was searching for it.
The cage had been set in motion, and it came down upon him. Witness thought it was a pure accident.
Alexander Berry, millworker, 9 Church Terrace, Culter, said it was his duty to visit the pan house every two hours. About four o'clock he went to look for Silver, but could find no trace of him. He went back to the boilerhouse, but before going he left message with other workers to tell Silver that he was looking for him.
William Elmslie, labourer, Craigton Place, Culter, said he saw Silver a few minutes after four o'clock.
Acting Police Sergean Alexander M'Lennan spoke to the position in which the body was found. He was of opinion that it was the weights that had crushed Siver. They weighed about 15 cwt.
The jury found that Silver had been crushed by the cage or the weights of the lift, and that the occurrence was accidental.
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