On This Day in Wembury — 7 October 1927
A motor accident at Goosewell Cross claimed the life of seven-year-old John Syms, of Deans Villas, Plymstock. He was struck by a car driven by Rev. Ernest Hughes, rector of Meavy, who was travelling from Wembury towards Meavy. Hughes told the inquest he had been driving at about six miles an hour, sounding his horn continuously, when a group of children ran into the road. One boy escaped but John was hit, carried home, and died the following day. The inquest on 13 October returned a verdict of accidental death, and the coroner urged schools to supervise children across dangerous roads.
Source: Western Morning News, 13 October 1927
The case highlights how quickly motor traffic was transforming rural life. Country lanes, once the preserve of walkers and horse carts, became hazardous as cars grew more common. Goosewell Cross was already a notorious blind corner, and John’s death pressed home the need for safety measures that today we take for granted.