Lance Corporal William Thomas Carson (7042467) served in 1st Company Inland Water Transport Royal Engineers during the Second World War. He was the son of Thomas Elliott Carson and the late Louisa Carson of Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, and the husband of Martha Matilda Carson of Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh.
William died on 13th February 1941 aged 49 years old. He was crossing Market Street, Lurgan, Co. Armagh when struck by a military lorry in blackout conditions. Witnesses reported the Lance Corporal calling out to his Alsation dog Pat before the incident. Some newspaper reports from the time, list Carson as a young, unmarried soldier.
Coroner Dr. Dougan and Lieutenant Neville of the British Army attended an inquest. There, Sergeant Somerville of the Lurgan Royal Ulster Constabulary gave evidence. He states that at 2135hrs on Thursday 13th February 1941, he found a crowd gathered around a military vehicle in Market Street, Lurgan, Co. Armagh. About 9 feet from the front of the lorry lay the body of Lance Corporal Carson with his uninjured dog sat beside him.
Dr. WM Darling – House Surgeon at Lurgan and Portadown District Hospital stated cause of death to be a fracture at the base of the skull and resulting trauma to the brain. Sapper HW Dundas had identified the remains as those of his stepfather. Further evidence came from a Mr. Alexander of Ballynabraggett and Sapper Albert Bradshaw who was with the driver of the lorry. Miss Kathleen McCarroll of Taylor’s Yard, Lurgan, Co. Armagh gave evidence that she encountered a soldier lying in the street at 2050hrs. He was unsteady on his feet and there was a smell of alcohol. He refused help from passers-by as he called out for his dog Pat.
The inquest found the death to be the result of an accident due in part to the blackout. No blame was placed on the driver of the British Army lorry. William Thomas Carson’s grave is in Section H, Grave 8 of Lurgan Cemetery, Lurgan, Co. Armagh. His headstone bears the inscription:
Safe in the arms of Jesus.