Beckham County, OK - Deaths: Herbert Williams, 1926 Thursday, 19 February 2009 Submitted by: delma25@pldi.net (Delma Tindell) ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm ************************************************ WILLIAMS, HERBERT (10 Jun 1926, Sayre Headlight, Sayre, Beckham Co, OK): DEATH OF NEPHEW CALLS MRS. DEATHERAGE MONDAY Mrs. W. S. Deatherage was called to Weatherford Monday night on account of the accidental death of her nephew, Herbert Williams, thirteen year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Molt Williams of that city. Young Williams was employed in a second hand store at that place and Monday while cleaning a gun in stock, it was accidently discharged and the shot struck him in the head killing him instantly. Herbert was very well known in Sayre having visited with the Deatherage family a few months ago and made many friends, who will be grieved to hear of his untimely death. (Reprinted from Weatherford News, Custer Co, OK): It certainly was a bad accident that occurred Monday afternoon when the shell exploded just across the street from this office. A boy had located a six-inch shell among the junk and scrap iron pile back of John Cates second hand store. The boy had started to work for Mr. Cates that morning and along in the day he told Mr. Cates that he was in the notion of building a fire around the shell and melting the lead out of it and he was informed by Mr. Cates to "let it alone, that it might be loaded and he would get hurt." Mr. Cates put him to work in the back room of the store, but the boy instead of paying attention to what Mr. Cates had told him went out in the back yard and proceeded to carry out his own plans. He built the fire and no sooner had he done this than he was again told of the danger that might come to him by Tom Cardin, who runs the Merchants Cafe, he, seeing the fire, went out there to see what was going on and when he discovered the intent of the boy he cautioned the boy to remove it from the fire, but he paid no heed to the warning and continued to carry out his plan. The shell lay in the fire until the heat was sufficient to ignite the charge of TNT with which it was loaded and the shell exploded, scattering fragments of it all over the town, some pieces carrying as far as three-fourths of a mile from the spot where the accident occurred. Some of it possibly was thrown farther than that. The shell was a monster, being six inches in diameter and about two feet in length and was charged with the highest powered explosive that is known. Some pieces of the shell fell in the C. A. Galloway yard, at Bill Wheeler's home, at R. T. Hoberecht's, Arthur Taylor's, the lumber yards and many other parts of the city, so one can see that it scattered out over considerable territory. The shell is one commonly known as a "dud" and loaded with the highest explosive known in the manufacture of war munitions. It was brought here from Ft. Sill, it is presumed, and has been lying about the city for a number of years. It came in here during the war times and was supposed to be a dead or unloaded shell. The boy who met his death in this accident was Herbert Williams, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Williams, the father being in charge of the pumping station at the Rock Island depot. When noticed by some folks he was sitting on the running board of an old car about two feet from the fire and it is supposed he was still there when the explosion occurred. He was struck in the top of the head with some of the particles of the shell which took out the entire top of his head and his body and limbs were perforated with holes. When found he was on the opposite side of the car from where he was last seen. The boy was fourteen years of age and exceptionally bright, and graduated from the eighth grade this year. The report from this explosion was terrific. It was plainly heard at Clinton. It jarred the whole town and in many of the buildings broke out windows. A number of other children were playing about fifty feet from where the shell lay in the fire. They were just back of the marble works and behind a pile of long marble slabs. One of the fragments of the shell went straight toward them, striking one of the slabs and breaking it in two. This certainly saved one or more of them from injury, possibly death. --------------------------------------------------------- Return to Beckham County Archives: http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ok/beckham/beckham.htm