Red Hot in Hull

This in an interesting story from The Hull Packet Newspaper in March 1858. 

It has a lot of social comment as it involves the status and influence of one of the main industrial families of that era and the plight of the ordinary working man. 

The main protagonist is Mr George Reckitt, one of the three sons of the founder of the Reckitt Empire, Isaac Reckitt and who would, upon the death of his father only four years on become promoted to the Board to take the fledgling company into its halcyon days of production and early profitability. 

The Reckitt name has strong philanthropic associations in Hull due to charitable work and in particular the establishing of early twentieth century social housing by George's brother, James in the leafy district of Garden Village in the East of the city. 

On a March afternoon the aspiring George was walking along the western side of one of the dock basins, Princes Dock. 

It was a very mixed area just on the southern fringes of central Hull characterised by poorer calibre artisan dwellings, commercial premises, timber yards and, following its acquisition in 1845 by C and W Earle, a thriving and very bustling Junction Foundry and Engineering Works. 

His reasons for being in a rather dodgy part of town may have been worthy of question. 

He was just passing alongside the walls which bounded the Foundry, quite imposing brick markers of some nine, ten or eleven feet high when he felt something on his person. An object had fallen from somewhere above him and the shock of it had caused him to involuntarily take evasive action and make a sprightly avoiding manouvre. 

It appears that Earles, a very well known and respected company of Shipbuilders and Repairers were working on a vessel close to their outer wall and quayside of the Dock. 

Gathering his composure George Reckitt then saw a piece of glowing, red hot iron of a hefty 10 to 12 pounds in weight take the same trajectory as the earlier object and hit the ground on the very spot that he had just vacated. 

Within seconds the head and shoulders of a boy popped up over the top of the wall.

George recounted to the lad what had evidently been a narrow escape from injury or worse by the molten fragment to which the youth rather meekly replied " The man below should have told me". 

Perhaps lesser figures in society will have felt that a verbal complaint was entirely sufficient to bring about a conclusion there and then to the chain of events but George wanted his day in Court and the matter was brought before the Hull Magistrates within a matter of days. 

The clout of the Reckitt dynasty will no doubt have hastened the legal process compared to mere mortals who will have had a prolonged wait for any chance of justice. 

The residing official said that given the good character of Mr Earle, the business owner and originator of the red hot fragment he had no doubts that he would be keen to have an example made of those responsible for the near-accident. 

Giving evidence the now community minded George expressed his desire to prevent anyone else from risking injury and that although he knew not the name of the boy he would certainly recognise him in any subsequent identity line-up. 

The Police were directed to give all necessary assistance to try to find out the name of the boy so that he should be brought to the Court and, on the case being proved, duly punished. 

I am still trying to find out what happened subsequently and will get back to you soon, if possible.