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Cecilia Cuthill Read (1855–1925)

"I was lying in bed with a candle on my chest, reading. I must have knocked the candle over and caught alight," Mrs. Cecilia Reid [Read] told Dr. H. C. M. Delohery, when he was called to her home about 8.16 p.m. on November 10. She was a widow, 70 years old, and owned the house, in Gale-street, Woolwich, where she lived. Cecil John Knott, a machinist, was passing the house when he heard screams. He ran in and found Mrs. Reid, with her clothes alight, in the hall. He pulled the remainder of her burnt clothes off and put her to bed. She died, however, some hours later at the Balmain Hospital. The City Coroner to-day recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Additional Resources

Citation details

'Read, Cecilia Cuthill (1855–1925)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/read-cecilia-cuthill-27165/text34696, accessed 28 March 2024.

© Copyright Obituaries Australia, 2010-2024

Life Summary [details]

Alternative Names
  • Gale, Cecilia Cuthill
  • Cunynghame, Cecilia Cuthill
  • Wood, Cecilia Cuthill
Birth

1855
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Death

11 November, 1925 (aged ~ 70)
Balmain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Cause of Death

burns