The Sinclair

Memorial Cross

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On the 6th of July 1983 at around 3.30pm the Princetown area of Dartmoor was hit by a ferocious thunderstorm and a torrential downpour. This part of the moor is well accustomed to storms but this one rated amongst one of the worst for many years and for many its memory will live on for many more to come.

At one time there were a number of men, known as 'leat men' whose job it was to keep the leats flowing and in good repair. As time passed many of these leats became redundant and so the sight of a leats man clearing weed from the channel became a distant memory. However, some of the leats still run with water, some of whom supply drinking water to various places. One such leat is the one that supplies Dartmoor Prison with much of its water and clearly it is/was a vital source of water with regard to the number of inmates and staff within. In order to maintain a constant supply Dartmoor Prison employed their own leat man who in 1983 was Cyril Sinclair. He had been employed as the prison's leat man for over thirty years which meant he was more than used to working out in the Dartmoor weather. However, on this particular day it was noted that he had not reported back to the orderly room at the end of his shift and at 5.15pm this fact was brought to the attention of the senior works' officer. This was most uncharacteristic of Mr. Sinclair as he was always a, 'diligent and conscientious' person and in this light two officers were sent out to find him.

One of the two officers came running back to the prison and reported that Mr. Sinclair had been found lying injured beside the leat and that an ambulance was needed as quickly as possible. A phone call was placed with the emergency services and meanwhile the senior works officer and six officers drew a stretcher from the stores and went up to the leat in a land rover. The intention was to transport the unfortunate leat man to the ambulance as it would have been unable to transverse the moorland terrain to where he lay. The party soon reached Mr. Sinclair but on arrival quickly realised that he was already dead and so eventually they carried his body to the waiting ambulance who had managed to get partway up a nearby track. A later inquest came to the verdict that the tragic cause of death was, 'lightening strike'.

Two days later the senior works officer cut a horizontal slab of granite into a cross which would serve as a memorial to the unfortunate leat man. The next day, with the help of a prisoner, the slab was carried out to the exact spot where the body had been found and cut into the turf. The centre of the cross was positioned at exactly the place where his heart would have been. This was only possible because when the body was lifted onto the stretcher the senior works officer had marked the spot with two matches. Ironically, the prisoner who helped carry the cross was normally assigned to work with Mr. Sinclair on the leat. However, on the fateful day he remained at the prison to recieve a family visit, otherwise he too would have been out on the moor during that fearsome thunderstorm.

On checking the meteorological records for that day it was noted that at 3.20pm when the storm was at its height 34.2mm of rain fell in just 15 minutes. To get an idea of how vicious that storm was, from 1961 - 1990 the average rainfall for the month of July at Princetown was recorded as being 117.9mm, (online source, 2008, Met Office). That means that a nearly a quarter of the average month's rainfall fell within 15 minutes.

Reference.

Joy, R. 2002. Dartmoor Prison - Vol. II. Tiverton: Halsgrove Publishing, pp.119 - 121.

The Meteorological Office. 2008. Online source: Princetown, 1961 - 1990 averages. Found - HERE.