Brenda - A Child's Life Remembered

 

I often visit the graveyard of my local church, St Peter's in Formby, Sefton. It is a very peaceful space - I first visited it regularly in lockdown and now go at least once a  month. I find it really helps my mental health to have such a lovely area to sit in. I don't find it at all morbid! One of the reasons I go is because I love tracing the stories of the people who are buried there. The stories of "ordinary" people are very often, extraordinary.

The tranquil churchyard of St Peter's

 

On one visit during lockdown I photographed this little headstone that just has the words "Brenda" - June 1938 on it.

 

Detail of Brenda's grave: showing only her first name

and date of death

 

In order to find out more about Brenda I researched her first name and date in the British Newspaper Archive. Because there was a coroner's court, I found out all about her. There was a very long article about how she died,. She was scalded in an accident, when she was found with a big bucket of hot water tipped over her. They think she was trying to climb to see some horses on a farm oppisite her house in what is now Cable Street . She was just two years old.

 

 

Her parents were Albert Edward Lowry And Ethel Beatrice Randall. They married in 1926. Albert died in 1965 but Ethel lived for many years after his death, dying in 1998. they had one other child, Muriel. Albert was a Solicitor's Managing Clerk.  

 

Before she married,  Ethel, who was born in Ramsgate, worked in the Fur Department in the large department store of Broadbents, in Southport.

It's so sad that Brenda is not buried near her parents who aren't in the graveyard. Albert is buried in Duke Street Cemetery Southport. Nor was her surname on the memorial.

Every time I go to the church I go to see the grave It always has a flower, or little toy on it. It is a mystery to me who does this: Brenda died in 1938. Her parents died decades ago. There must be a member of the family keeping her memory alive.

 

 

I often add a flower myself

 

I have found a report of Brenda's funeral in the local paper. The mourners included mummy and daddy, "Grandma" and her sister Muriel. The number of mourners is awesome.

 

 

Although aged only 2 when she died, Brenda's memory is kept alive with flowers and toys placed on her grave. It is a lovely gesture. Brenda now lies peacefully in the beautiful surroundings of St Peter's Church. RIP

 

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk

British Newspaper Archives.

Standupforsouthport.com