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Further to Barnsley Public Hall tragedy

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  • Further to Barnsley Public Hall tragedy

    Reading this post reminded me of my OH's great uncle who was killed in the Victoria Hall Calamity in Sunderland in 1883 when 183 children lost their lives.

    They were watching a free show when, at the end ,the magician on stage started throwing sweets to the downstairs audience and the children upstairs stampeded down the stairs in order not to miss out. Unfortunately the downstairs doors were locked and 183 chidren were crushed to death .
    When I read the list of names of the dead children it made me so sad - some families lost more than one child.

    There's a memorial of the event in Mobray Park, Sunderland.
    Cath.

  • #2
    Cath,

    being brought up in Sunderland, it was always drummed into us, to never ever to run down stairs at school.

    We were often reminded of the Victoria Hall disaster, but it wasn't until I was researching something else a couple of months ago, that I came across an article about it in the Times online.

    I hadn't realised it was so long ago, or that so many had died, I ended up crying, reading about all the poor children, one set of parents lost all 4 children if I remember correctly.
    ~ Louise ~

    Researching Dalzell, Highmore & Sumpton in Cumbria, also Braidford & Chevalier

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    • #3
      The other tragedy involving young children that springs to mind is the cinema in ?Paisley, which featured in the last series of Restoration.
      Uncle John - Passed away March 2020

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      • #4
        I was just reading about the Barnsley one on teletext. They are having a service for the families. Hadnt heard of any of these tragedys until today. I suppose they are well known in the local vacinity. Thats awful about the kids rushing to get sweets.

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        • #5
          Another disaster involving children was also near Barnsley. The Huskar pit disaster on 4 July 1838 in which 28 children who worked in the mine were drowned as they went the wrong way to escape a flood.

          There is a memorial with the names on in Silkstone churchyard. My gg grandfather married a widow who had lost a child in the disaster. She was only 8 years old and the youngest child to die was 7.

          Anne

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          • #6
            And we all moan about Health and Safety rules now.
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            Jacob Sudders born in Prussia c.1775 married Alice Pidgeon in 1800 in Gorelston. Do you know where Jacob was born?

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