Charles (Mike) Lynch, 38
Construction of the fourth Welland Canal in the Allanburg area required the removal of a large volume of excavated earth.
Parallel rail tracks in this area connected to tracks that stretched along the length of the new canal to transport this material.
May 7, 1928, would start off as any other day, with ‘dump trains’ loading up, or getting into position to be loaded. Charles Lynch was working that day as a brakeman switching cars.
When the last string of cars was ready to advance he leaned out from the rear car to signal the train operator to proceed. As he did so he was unaware of another train approaching him from around a curve. It struck him. Lynch was rushed to St. Catharines General Hospital where he died from shock and hemorrhage resulting from his injuries.
A newspaper report the following day, under the title “Injuries to Mike Lynch prove fatal,’ was able to provide few details about the deceased: “The deceased is thought to have come to the district from Quebec, but up until late this afternoon it was impossible to ascertain if he had any relatives in this country.”
Lynch’s remains were taken to Williams Undertaking Parlour in Thorold. On May 10 a funeral service was held at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church followed by interment in Lakeview Cemetery. The newspaper report of the funeral spoke of a large wreath from his employer, the Porter Brothers construction firm, and another from his fellow workmen. Those, along with flowers from friends and relatives, adorned the casket.
An inquest was held in the Thorold police station on Thursday, May 17. Several witnesses testified. The jury established the details of his death, blamed no one for it, and ruled the death accidental.
The official death registration for Charles Lynch was filed on May 23 by an acquaintance, Mr. A. Montgomery of Thorold, who provided some of Lynch’s further details about the deceased: Lynch was single, of Irish origin, 38 years old, born 1890, and had lived in this area for 10 years.
Despite the research efforts, for some men it is still not known where they were from nor other personal details such as their date and place of birth or family connections. In all likelihood, the families of some of the men on the fallen workers list probably never learned of their relative’s death, though they may have suspected something after all communications simply stopped for unknown reasons. The committee continues to search for the details of Mr. Lynch’s life. — This article is part of a series highlighting the men whose lives were lost in the construction of the Welland Ship Canal. The Welland Canal Fallen Workers Memorial Task Force is a volunteer 1890? (Ireland) May 7, 1928 crushed by a train (Section 4B, Allanburg) train Brakeman, Porter Brothers construction firm group established to finance, design and build a memorial to recognize workers who were killed while building the canal. For more information about the memorial or to contribute to the project visit www.stcatharines. ca/CanalWorkersMemorial.