Liverpool Hidden History

Secret Pasts of Everyday Places

  • Home
  • About
  • Walking Tours
  • Shop
  • Get In Touch

A WINTER TRAGEDY IN LITHERLAND

October 10, 2015 By Steven Horton

A grave in Liverpool’s Roman Catholic Cemetery at Ford reveals a tragic tale of boys being killed playing on the winter ice over 100 years ago.

January 1Murphy drowned boys grave RC cemetery905 was a bitterly cold month that saw temperatures across Britain remain below zero for a number of weeks and bodies of water freeze over up and down the country. Children took advantage of this to slide on the ice but in many cases such dangerous practices ended in tragedy, leading to 35 children dying at various location in a seven days period.

One such tragedy occurred at Moss Lane in Litherland where a now long gone pond had iced up. On the 24th January that year after school two brothers, seven year old Arthur and eight year old Vincent, went sliding on the ice with their friend Edward Paddock, aged ten. The boys, who lived next door to each other in nearby Alexandra Mount, got more venturesome and went towards the middle but all at once the ice gave way. All three fell in and despite their frantic efforts to stay afloat they soon sank below the surface, the pond being about eighteen feet deep.

A fourth boy named O’Donahue had remained on the bank and ran to Alexandra Mount for help but when several adults came to the scene, all they could see was two caps on the ice next to the hole.

Murphy drowned boys grave RC cemetery (2)

The bodies were recovered using grappling irons and an inquest the following day returned a verdict of accidental death, the Coroner calling for the dangerous position of the pond to be brought to the attention of the local authorities.

Arthur and Vincent were buried in the Liverpool Roman Catholic Cemetery at nearby Ford. It was the second time their parents had buried their offspring, another son called Sidney having died at the age of two in 1901. The boys’ father Thomas was a manager in an iron foundry and he and his wife had two more children according to the 1911 census.

 

 

 

 

Please share:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • More
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Print

You may like to read these related posts too:

Default ThumbnailTRAGEDY OF PETER KAVANAGH’S SON-IN-LAW Default ThumbnailThe Pelican Tragedy of 1793 Default ThumbnailBoys Drown in River Ribble Tragedy Default ThumbnailCHURCH TRAGEDY AS STEEPLE COLLAPSES

Filed Under: Tragedies Tagged With: ice, Litherland, Liverpool Roman Catholic Cemetery, sledging

About Steven Horton

I am a local history author and tour guide based the Liverpool region, specialising in bespoke tours tailor made to suit the individual or group. Whether it be football, Victorian murders or Liverpool sites connected to the US Civil War, I can arrange something that will suit the customers needs, not go where I want to take people.
I have published seventeen books, all of which are available via the shop page. As well as writing for the Liverpool Echo and Times, I have made guest appearances on local radio and TV. Local history is a real passion of mine, if you enjoy my site please feel free to share through facebook, twitter etc and maybe leave a comment.

Comments

  1. Jacci Meadows says

    November 20, 2017 at 12:02 am

    Do you know address children lived in Alexandra mount and what information do you have on Edward paddock where did he live can not find any information on Edward

    • Paul Lawler says

      March 15, 2018 at 6:40 pm

      1. Ivy Bank, 18 Alexandra Mount

      2. I believe the Paddock’s lived next door (to the left, standing in the Mount). The house was bombed

  2. Sarah says

    January 30, 2018 at 12:25 am

    Hi is the red lion hotel on bridge road Seaforth haunted

ABOUT

Steven Horton has been a freelance writer for 20+ years. He is the author of 7 books has written for the Times, Liverpool Echo, numerous fanzines and websites, and also appeared on Radio Merseyside/City Talk, ITV News and Sky Sports News. ..read more

Subscribe to our mailing list for news and offers

FOLLOW ME

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Google+
  • Twitter

Tags

Blue Coat School Broadgreen Castle Street children Childwall cholera City Centre Cricket crime Dale Street derelict Dingle Edge Hill fire Football George's Landing Stage Ireland Lime Street Liverpool & Manchester Railway Liverpool city council Liverpool Corporation Liverpool Mercury Liverpool Town Hall plaques Prescot pubs Queen Victoria Religion Renshaw Street River Mersey Royalty Sefton Park Station Statue St James Cemetery suicide Theatre Three Graces Toxteth Toxteth Park Cemetery transportation University of Liverpool Waterfront Wavertree William Brown Street

Past Posts

RSS Stevens Other Local History site – Liverpool Murders

  • Backside Kick Means Lenient Sentence
  • New Born Baby in an Ashpit
  • Doctor Guilty of Manslaughter
  • Friday 13th Boarding House Drama
  • A Warning to Drunkards
PayPal Acceptance Mark

Recent Comments

  • Steven Horton on About
  • Norma Jones on About
  • Margaret Mills on The Tragedy of T J Hughes
  • Jay C on The Tragedy of T J Hughes
  • Steven Horton on FANNY CALDER – DOMESTIC SCIENCE PIONEER
  • Website Shop Terms and Conditions
  • Cookie Policy
  • Shop

Copyright © 2022 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This site uses cookies More info