Rare survival of this flyer imploring the public to ‘alleviate [the] sufferings’ of the wives of Douglas and Fennell, who ‘lost their lives at Covent Garden Theatre’: ‘They have each THREE YOUNG CHILDREN, and are both likely to become Mothers of a posthumous Offspring’. During a performance at the theatre, when some 2,000 were in the audience, a rapid escape of gas occurred in the Gasometer Room. Unfortunately Mr. Douglas, the steward and store keeper who also collected coats and umbrellas at the door, and Mr. Fennell, the gas-master, got trapped, and were trying to escape the room when the gas explosion occurred. Apparently a Mr Cooke, who was one of the audience and by all accounts a busybody, who liked pottering about the theatre, thought to help Douglas and Fennel find the leak, by taking a common lamp into the gas room! In the confusion that followed it took another two hours before the two men could be found, by which time both had died from asphyxiation. Mr Cooke escaped with his clothes on fire but inevitably died a week later. Both had supported their families and so a subscription was inaugurated. Douglas was reported to have an aged mother, a pregnant wife and three children, the eldest of which was an ‘imbecile’, Fennel also had a wife to support together with three young children. The theatre survived the explosion although the proprietors agreed to stop the use of gas as being too dangerous - a lie as they continued to use it and although Limelight was introduced for the stage lighting gas continued to be used until the theatre was consumed in flames in 1856 - probably the result of gas! The Flyer begs that ‘the smallest contribution to these afflicted persons’ will be acceptable, and instructs that any subscriptions are to be directed to a Mr. Fawcett, or Mr. Notter at the Box-office. No mention of the amount raised by subscription for the unfortunate Douglas and Fennell families, has been found. Not in OCLC, and unrecorded as far as we are aware.