Vehicle   

Sewell's Daimler car

Categories: Tragedy

On 25 February 1899 this petrol-driven, Diamler, motor car was being driven by Edwin Sewell on Grove Hill in Harrow, when the rear wheel collapsed and Sewell and his passenger, Major Richer, were thrown from the vehicle. Sewell died at the site but Richer died in hospital 4 days later, the first recorded driver and passenger fatalities respectively, of a petrol-driven vehicle. Interesting to note that no other vehicle was involved. There are reports that the car overturned but the photo does not show the amount of damage one would expect were that true.

We can understand that Sewell, an engineer, would be an early-adopter of motor cars. But his address at death is a small house and his effects, in current terms, were about £18,000, so he was not a rich man, surely not able to afford a motor car. Perhaps he was employed as engineer/driver to Richer, who lived up to his name, but he wasn't richer by much. His house was slightly larger and his worth at death was, in today's terms, about £57,000. His last occupation, superintendent tramways, does not suggest the wealthy man one imagines splashing out on a car. In July 1897, the end of its first 7 months, the Daimler factory had manufactured a total of 20 cars and was producing 3 per week. We can't discover how much a car cost at this time but it was not an item that most people could afford.

The source of this image, Daimler, have other lovely early photographs of their cars.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Sewell's Daimler car

Commemorated ati

First driver killed in road accident

Take Heed The first recorded motor accident in Great Britain involving the de...

Read More

Other Subjects

Philip Geddes

Philip Geddes

Journalist, 24. From Geddes Trust (previously geddesprize.co.uk): The awards are named after Philip Geddes, a member of St Edmund Hall {Oxford University} and a journalist of considerable promise. ...

Person, Journalism / Publishing, Tragedy

1 memorial
Karolina Gluck

Karolina Gluck

Karolina Anna Gluck was born on 24 November 1975 in Chorzow, Poland, with her twin sister Magda Gluck. She came to the UK in 2002 to live with her sister who had already come to London. She lived i...

Person, Tragedy, Poland

3 memorials
Elizabeth Webb

Elizabeth Webb

From East London Cyclist: "Elizabeth was killed at the junction of Burdett Road and Mile End Road on Friday 24th September 1999 at 1.00 pm. The incident involved a 38-ton lorry turning left from Mi...

Person, Cyclist, Tragedy

1 memorial
Mark Slavin

Mark Slavin

Wrestler. Born in Minsk, Belarus SSR. Winner of the Soviet Greco-Roman wrestling middleweight junior championship in 1971. He moved to Israel to join their Olympic team. Murdered by Palestinian ter...

Person, Sport / Games, Tragedy, Germany, Israel/Palestine

1 memorial
Uğur Kaynar

Uğur Kaynar

37 years old, poet

Person, Tragedy, Turkey

1 memorial