This Day in History: "On 19 December 1881 the former Conservative MP for Thirsk, Sir William Payne Gallwey, died following an accident while out shooting on his estate at Thirkleby Park, near Thirsk. He was not the only MP to die while pursuing this hobby: James Platt, Liberal MP for Oldham, died after the mayor of Oldham discharged his gun accidentally while they were out with a shooting party on the moors near Saddleworth. Platt was hit in the lower leg and suffered extensive blood loss, expiring just over an hour later.
In Gallwey’s case, however, it was not a firearm which caused his demise, but a turnip. As the Northern Echo reported, he ‘was out shooting in the parish of Bagby, and in crossing a turnip field fell with his body on to a turnip, sustaining severe internal injuries’. Although ‘all that medical aid could do was done’, Gallwey, who was 73 years old, was already in failing health and did not recover. He died at his home at Thirkleby Park and was buried in the local parish church three days later." Source
This however was not the last "death by turnip." In 1989, Leslie Merry, 56, was fatally injured after being hit by a turnip that was thrown from a passing car. "The attack apparently was carried out by a gang who toss vegetables at random at passers-by. Another man suffered stomach injuries in April after being hit by a cabbage, police said. Leslie Merry died...nine days after he was hit in the back by a turnip that knocked him to the ground as he walked near his home in London’s East End, Scotland Yard said. He had a broken rib and ruptured spleen and died from respiratory problems." Source
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