Welcome to The Briercliffe Society Forum

Hello all, it's a while since I visited but I remember you all as a friendly and helpful bunch!
I'm researching a friend's family tree and wonder if anyone knows anything of a fatal accident in the 1920s - possibly 1924/5 on Manchester Road in Burnley, when a man was crushed to death by a runaway lorry?
The man's son was given up for adoption after by his unmarried mother.
Many thanks,
Debbie

Sorry, the only one I know of was in the 1940s. What was his name?

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Maureen
If you can't fight, wear a big 'at

If you can find the date of death then maybe Burnley Library would have a newspaper article on it. I have always found them really helpful.

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Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

It rings a bell....take a look at the link below.....

http://www.briercliffesociety.co.uk/tal ... ilit=lorry

Does this refer to the same thing?

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Mel

Searching for lost relatives? Win the Lottery!

Thanks for your time everyone. The staff at Burnley Library did indeed find it for me - it was what I was looking for. It sounds absolutely awful!

I quote from their email:

We have found a report in the Burnley
Express from 20 April 1921 that describes the crash in great detail.
Essentially, a lorry carrying concrete slabs lost control at the top of
Manchester road, it's breaks and gears appearing to have failed, and
careered down the road into the town centre, eventually reaching speeds
of 60mph and crashing into 2 shop fronts. The incident caused the death
of a Mr Thomas Riley who was apparently struck by a large slab of
concrete that fell from the lorry.

It used to be quite a regular occurence in the "olden days". Must have been horrific to see a large lorry careering down the road, wouldn't have liked to have worked in the shops across the T junction at the bottom.

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Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

I'm pretty sure they eventually put a diversion up for heavy goods vehicles to stop them going down Manchester Road. I think that even now they have to go down Glenview road and left into Todmorden Road to get to the town centre.

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Maureen
If you can't fight, wear a big 'at