Gunn, William

Late deafened. Worked as a pit boy in a mine, then at age 13 allowed to work at a coal mine face because he already had the build of a man and was exceptionally strong. An accidential explosion left him deaf. The law at that time required deaf (but not hearing) persons to be educated up to age 16, so he was packed off to the Northern Counties Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. There, he became a chronic troublemaker and was eventually expelled from school for being violent and obstructive. He then went to work as a dock laborer at Newcastle. He had a habit of getting so drunk and disorderly that the police regularly had to be called in. Court appearanced did not help since the judges merely let him off because of his deafness and inability to answer questions. One night he was found dead, killed by a blow to the back of his head. The killer was never found.