An Edwardian Tragedy.
Death by accidental poisoning.
Walter Burton FZS (1854-1913) Naturalist, Taxidermist, Entomologist
1913. The fatal year.
1913 was the year that DH Lawrence published “Sons and Lovers” and Emily Davidson the Suffragette threw herself under the horse of King Edward at the Epsom Derby.
The British Prime Minister was H.H. Asquith (liberal) and the government of the day had just introduced pensions and the people’s budget. It was the first year of the now famous Chelsea Flower Show, and the year of the invention of Stainless Steel.
1913 was also the year of the sudden and shocking death of Walter Burton FZS, aged only 58yrs.
Walter Burton FZS. Naturalist, Taxidermist, Entomologist.
After a lifelong career in the family business and well-connected with the movers and shakers of the naturalist community of the time, Walter had taken over the family business at 191 Wardour Street after his father’s death, and the single identifier labels of Walter Burton appear from 1895 onwards. His business was successful. He had high profile clients, no money worries, and had moved his wife and two daughters out of central London to the fashionable suburb of Shepherd’s Bush.
Death by accidental poisoning
Walter Burton FZS, naturalist & taxidermist died in 1913 after ingesting a lethal dose of butterfly preservative, mistaking it for a glass of water.
On 7th August 1913 he drank some of the preserver by mistake – a bichloride of mercury. He shut up his shop at 191 Wardour Street, and went home since he was feeling ill. He told his wife what had happened and one week later on 15th August 1913, he was dead.
He was buried in Hanwell Cemetery on 18th August 1913.
The inquest that took place a week after his burial returned a verdict of “death by misadventure”.
MERCURY CHLORIDE POISONING
Mercury Chloride is soluble in water and is odourless. It has historical uses in photography, medicine and preservation.
Since the beginning of the craft of taxidermy in the 16th Century, preservatives and poisons have been used to clean and preserve skin and guard against insect attack. The Burtons were professionals with a long experience. Walter Burton had the best training and experiences. He would have known instantly that he was doomed.
Acute exposure to large amounts of mercuric chloride can cause death in as little as 24 hours, usually due to acute kidney failure or damage to the gastrointestinal tract. In other cases, victims of acute exposure have taken up to two weeks to die
The effects of acute mercuric chloride poisoning include burning sensations in the mouth and throat, stomach pain, abdominal discomfort, lethargy, vomiting of blood, corrosive bronchitis, severe irritation to the gastrointestinal tract, and kidney failure.
Hanwell Cemetery (Westminster).
Victorian Gothic Style
Opened in 1853
Walter was buried in Hanwell Cemetery on 18th August 1913. He lies in section R at grave number 6202.
His father, Henry James Burton (d. 1895) is also buried in the same cemetery at grave number 3802.
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