Eleanor Davison was a miners wife six months pregnant and suffering from
severe headaches and fits. On the evening of Sunday 9th October 1921 in
their home in Catherine Terrace, New Herrington, William Davison began to
get alarmed as his wife was starting to black out with the pain. First
thing Monday morning William, fearful for his wife and new born child went
for the local doctor. Dr Willis was a 50 year old who had worked for the
miners for only a few months but was already known as doddery, William
could not afford anyone better.
Dr Willis went to their home and examined Eleanor and said she had a blood
poisoning condition called eclampsia, this was extremely dangerous for
pregnant women, without surgery to remove the baby she would die. They
arranged the surgery for the next evening, Tuesday. On Tuesday Eleanor
seemed much better and the surgery was postponed, by Wednesday morning
Eleanor was again having fits and the doctor returned. The first thing
William noticed was the doctor smelt of alcohol which was a shock as it
was only 11 o'clock in the morning, being a polite man William said
nothing and agreed for the surgery on his wife to be done that night in
his home.
The doctor arrived at 6 o'clock but as his wife who would normally be with
him was ill and his housekeeper Eleanor Hall had come with him to give the
anaesthetic, which she had only done once before. Sarah Lillie, the
midwife was with her patient and noticed the doctor smelling strongly of
drink and almost fall over the bed. She voiced her concerns along with the
husband William and grandmother Eleanor Clark that the doctor was unfit to
carry out the surgery. The housekeeper Mrs Hall suggested the doctor go
home and have some strong cups of tea and come back later that night. Dr
Willis still unsteady and smelling of drink returned at midnight insisting
he was able to perform the surgery, William was still not sure but as he
told the court later he did not feel it was not his place to confront
the doctor and not being able to watch the surgery he had left and gone
for a walk.
Mrs Hall, the housekeeper then used chloroform to put Eleanor to sleep,
then the doctor slowly cut into Eleanor's womb to remove the baby, but as
his hands were badly shaking the surgery started to go badly wrong. Before
long Eleanor started to come round and Mrs Hall gave her more chloroform.
At one point the doctor was trying to recover a piece of gauze, which had
been used to stem the bleeding and was covered in blood when instead he
pulled out part of Eleanor's intestines. The midwife was heard to gasp
What the devil is that, doctor? At around 2 o'clock Eleanor had come
round and screamed in agony at the doctor that she could feel every cut he
was making.
