SOMERTON MAN: CARL WEBB: THE BAKERS HANDS...

THE HANDS OF 

A BAKER...

Photo ABC TV

 What you see here is a baker about to remove loaves from an older, wood-fired oven. I imagine but don't know for certain, that in the 20s and 30s, ovens like this would have been the norm.

It would not be too much of a stretch to think that a young Carl Webb may well have learned the ropes of the family business at the coal face so to speak. The business for the record was in 'Spring Vale', not 'Springvale'. The name was changed around 1955.

That sparked a thought, I wondered what kinds of injuries were most common in bakeries that used this kind of equipment.

Injuries experienced included, those associated with heavy lifting, slipping, falling, and of course, burns. Burns are and were very common as you can imagine. I spoke with a friend who happens to have his own bakery and he confirmed that burns were a big issue and that you would be lucky to get away without one or two, especially in the early years. The more serious burns can leave lifelong scars. Dermatitis is another common problem for those involved in the bakery business, it can also leave lasting scars if not correctly treated.

Another common and quite different issue is that those employed in bakeries commonly develop more muscles in one arm than the other. Apparently, that's down to whisking various mixes. You would tend to think that that problem would have been more common in the 20s and 30s.

So, that being the case, young Mr. Webb maybe wasn't that much involved in the bakery or maybe he was just lucky and avoided the common injuries.

The Somerton Man had just a few small scars. 3 small scars on the inside of his left wrist and a 1-inch scar inside his left elbow plus a boil-like scar on his upper left arm.

Yet another relatively common problem for bakers was carpel tunnel issues. This was the result of constant use of the old fashioned rolling pin. Sometimes that resulted in lumps forming on the inside of either wrist. I do not know whether a solution was the surgical removal of those lumps.

It has also been suggested that Mr Webb, apart from working in the bakery, could have been employed delivering bread and other bakery items. In a small family business he would probably have done both. 

Local deliveries in those days were quite often accomplished using a tricycle. That might account for well developed calf muscles.