Newmarket widow searches for answers after death of shipyard worker husband Peter McKernan

The Newmarket widow of a former shipyard worker has begun a search for answers following the asbestos-related death of her husband.

Originally from Liverpool, 86-year-old Peter McKernan, died from mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung associated with exposure to asbestos, before he could provide detailed evidence of conditions he had worked in as a young man, but an inquest into his death held in March concluded that his cancer was an industrial disease arising from his likely exposure to asbestos dust at work.

His widow Tess, of Malvern Close, is now working with the legal team at asbestos-related disease expert Irwin Mitchell, which is investigating his illness to ascertain if Peter’s exposure to asbestos was linked to his work history.

And she has appealed for any of Peter’s former workmates and friends to come forward to provide details on the working conditions he faced during his career as a fitter.

“Peter had been in good health prior to his illness, so it was such a shock to be given such a terrible diagnosis,” said Tess. “We knew it was serious but the mesothelioma progressed so rapidly.

“Peter was a wonderful husband and father and the house is so quiet now without him here.

"Nothing can ever be the same again and the future seems so uncertain. This illness robbed us of our final years together and he didn’t deserve to face this at the end of his life.”

When he left school aged 15 in 1950, Peter went to work for the local Cammell Laird Shipbuilding Company. Starting as an apprentice fitter in August 1950 he remained with the firm until 1956.

Ships often contained large quantities of asbestos for insulation purposes at the time and prior to his death, Peter told his wife and family he believed he had come into contact with the substance.

He later worked for English Electric Company, again as a fitter, for more than three years, from June 1958 to September 1961.

After he retired in the late 1990s he and Tess moved to Newmarket and he had been in good health until he started to develop symptoms of mesothelioma last year.

Tests and scans confirmed the disease in September when Peter’s condition deteriorated very rapidly and he died just weeks later, on October 3, 2021.