On This Day in Wembury – 12 September 1935
Tragedy at Wembury Wood: runaway tractor claims young life
A tragic accident unfolded at Wembury Wood when a six-ton tractor, used for hauling timber, slipped into reverse on soft ground and careered backwards down a steep 100-yard slope towards the River Yealm. At the controls was 26-year-old George Westcott of Newton Abbot, a respected worker with Messrs. Kirby & Co., who had been with the firm for a decade.
Despite the tractor’s gathering speed, Westcott held his seat and steered towards a great elm tree in the hope of halting the runaway machine. For a moment it worked – the vehicle slammed into the trunk and checked – but the force tore the tree out by the roots. Both tree and tractor toppled 25 feet into the mud of the riverbank below.
Colleagues including Mr. H. Packer, who had narrowly leapt clear of the runaway machine, rushed to the scene. They could just see part of Westcott’s back beneath the overturned tractor, but efforts to free him failed. Police officers, Dr. Murison of Plymstock, and later a team of workmen tried to assist, but the rising tide forced them to abandon recovery until evening. The mud’s suction and the caked earth on the tractor made it weigh far more than its 5½ tons.
By 8.45 p.m., with tidewaters receded, Westcott’s body was finally recovered and taken to Turnchapel mortuary. Volunteers, police, and workmen had all laboured together in difficult conditions. Witnesses said Westcott had been “waiting to get married” and was well known and liked in Newton Abbot, where he lived with his parents and sisters.
This was no ordinary accident; it was a moment of courage met with misfortune. Westcott tried to steer the tractor into safety rather than abandon it, a choice that cost him his life. The story, with its detail of men battling against tide and mud to recover their comrade, reminds us how the working lives of ordinary Devonians were full of hidden risks. In the sweep of Wembury’s history, this sits alongside other tragedies at sea and land, showing how closely human lives were bound to the natural landscape – and how quickly it could turn against them.
