Surgeon’s son died as he held breath in party game in family’s pool
A CAMBRIDGE graduate drowned in a swimming pool at his brother’s birthday party after playing a game in which he held his breath underwater, an inquest heard yesterday.
Surgeon’s son Dominic Hamlyn, 24, died on July 28 this year after friends pulled him from the pool at his family home early in the morning.
They had been celebrating his brother’s 21st birthday and Mr Hamlyn had just given a 15minute toast in front of all the guests before going for a swim.
Opening an inquest into his death at the Archbishop’s Palace in Kent, assistant coroner Sonia Hayes said Mr Hamlyn had competed to see how long he could hold his breath underwater.
His father, one of the country’s leading neurosurgeons Peter Hamlyn, attempted to perform CPR on his son while waiting f or an ambulance to arrive at the their home in Canterbury.
Paramedics found a weak pulse and rushed him to William Harvey Hospital, where he died.
A post- mortem examination revealed that the cause of death was multiple organ failure, with acute respiratory distress syndrome and drowning also named as contributing factors.
Leading the tributes after his death, his father said he was a ‘beautiful, beautiful boy’.
He added: ‘Why did he die? He was a superb athlete competing in both rugby and rowing at Cam
‘Talented and charming’
bridge. We are broken. If Dominic is to be remembered, it is as a hero and one of the world’s helpers.’
Mr Hamlyn attended The King’s School in Canterbury, before studying engineering and science at University College London, where he graduated with a first-class degree in 2017. He then went on to study at the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge for a Master of Philosophy.
Outside his studies, he founded online retail business Mitchinson Random Ltd, could speak Spanish and was an accomplished rugby player. He represented UCL’s 1st XV for three years, and was elected as the university’s sports officer in his final year. In 2014, he ran the London Marathon in aid of The Brain & Spine Foundation and raised almost £5,700. He was inspired to do so after watching his surgeon father walk the route with boxer Michael Watson in 2003.
Peter Hamlyn had saved Mr Watson’s life in 1991 after a blood cl ot f ormed on his brain following a fight with Chris Eubank, and the pair walked the route over six days together.
Peter Roberts, headmaster of The King’s School, also paid tribute to his former pupil.
He said: ‘ Everyone at King’s shares the shock and deep sense of grief at the tragic loss of such a talented and charming young man as Dominic.
‘He shone in the classroom, on the sports pitch and in every social context by the brightness of his mind and his charismatic personality.
‘Our hearts and support go out to his parents, brothers and family.’
The full inquest into Mr Hamlyn’s death was adjourned and will take place at Canterbury Magistrates’ Court on December 4.