ALBERT ANTONY COLLINS

or ALBERT AUBREY COLLINS  
NB  FreeBMD gives two entries

SAD DEATH OF A CHILD AT SPEENHAMLAND
An inquest was held at the "Bacon Arms" Hotel on Monday evening , before the Borough Coroner, H. Watson, Esq., M.D. on the body of a child named Albert Antony Collins, aged seven years, living with his parents at the "Fighting Cocks," Speenhamland, who met with his death, that morning under very distressing circumstances.
The jury included Mr. E.F. Seymour (foreman), Messrs. P. Pocock, R. Legg, J. Webb, I.E. Hamblin, C. Leach, J.J. Kingham, F. Keep, H. Shuff, J. Pound, E. Pike and J. Targett. After viewing the body the jury returned, and the following evidence was taken.
Eliza Collins, the mother of the child, said- Last Wednesday evening about half-past five I left the deceased in the kitchen and went to the front door. Hearing him cry out shortly afterwards I ran and met him at the door with a knife in his face. Drew it out and blood followed. I at once called for assistance and Mr. Palmer, the butcher, my opposite neighbour, at once came and assisted me in stopping the blood. In the meantime Mr. Palmer's assistant came at once and strapped up the wound. The boy was very quiet all night and the next night, and on Friday he got up and seemed cheerful. He did not get any worse till Sunday evening when he complained of pains in his head, and was very sick. He gradually got worse and at half-past four on the following morning he died. The knife was his own little pocket knife. James Palmer deposed — I was called on Wednesday evening to come over to Mrs Collins' at the "Fighting Cocks," by a man who said "For God's sake come across there's an accident." I saw Mrs. Collins at the door with the child in her arms, with the blood flowing freely from the wound. We tried to stop the flow of blood, and Dr Palmer was sent for, his assistant coming at once. I saw the child at the window on Friday and again yesterday, the day of his death. Mr. M. Palmer, surgeon, said he saw the child on Thursday morning, he having been seen and attended by his assistant. He was shewn a pocket-knife by the mother, the blade of which was about two inches long and half-an-inch broad, and was an ordinary boy's knife. She said that had caused the injury. The symptoms of the case continued favourable until he saw him on Sunday evening. He had seen him also in the interim. On Sunday afternoon he met the boy in the Donington-road and spoke to him. And in the evening his father came to him and said the boy was dying. Upon his arrival he found he had almost collapsed. His face was blanched, hands and feet icy cold, pulse almost imperceptible — about 30 to the minute, pupils both delated, especially that of the right eye. He was conscious. He lived until half-past four the next morning and then died. He was paralysed to a great extent on the right side. He considered the cause of death to have been either the injury to his skull with a subsequent formation of matter and abscess, or to the detachment of a clot of blood at the side of the injury and its probable blocking up of one of the arteries to the brain.

By the foreman — The deceased told me that the injury occurred from his falling on the knife accidentally.
The jury immediately returned a verdict of "Accidental Death" in accordance with the medical evidence.

This was the first inquest held by the Borough Coroner (Dr. Watson) in the newly added district.

Newbury Weekly News 24 October 1878 Mrs. P p 123 LN16 Died 21 October 1878 in 8th year, child of ?Anthony and Eliza Collins.

Buried 21 October 1878, but named as "Albert Aubrey Collins" aged 7 Bk 1868 p 184 no. 3870