DEATH OF BOY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22341, 28 May 1947, Page 4

DEATH OF BOY

HEAD STRUCK WALL 1 BOXING IN SHED FIRST VISIT TO SCHOOL Falling heavily on a piece of wood nailed to the wall of a shed in which he was sparring with another boy at 8.15 p.m. yesterday, a 16-year-old grocer’s assistant, Peter Hackett Proudfoot, eldest son of Mr. Leslie Proudfoot, 16 Oswald street, lost consciousness and died. The boy left home early last evening to attend a boxing school in a shed at the rear of Mr. Robert Maxwell’s house at 434 Aberdeen road. The deceased was sparring with Brian James Alley at the time of the accident. They had been sparring for about a minute when Proudfoot fell backwards and struck his head. Medical aid was called and life pronounced extinct. Proudfoot was one of a family of nine. At an inquest opened before the coroner, Mr. E. L. Walton, S.M., this morning the father gave evidence of identification. His son had been keenly interested in many forms of sport and had participated in boxing tournaments in Gisborne, he said. He had enjoyed good health. It was the boy's first visit to the boxing school. Mr. G. J. Jeune appeared for the Gisborne Boxing Association, and Sergeant R Griffith for the police. The inquest was adjourned sine die.