Friday 2nd June 2023  

Child drowned at Quorn, 1903

Leicester Chronicle, Saturday 25th April 1903

CHILD DROWNED AT QUORN
On Monday afternoon John Roughton, the four year-old child of John and Lois Ada Roughton of Freehold Street, Quorn, was playing on the riverside at Quorn with another four year-old boy named Harry Pole, when he fell into the water and was drowned. Pole ran home to his mother and stated that Roughton was on the bank throwing bread to the fishes when he fell in. The body was recovered by a labourer named Wm Thompson. An inquest was held on Wednesday evening and a verdict of accidental death was returned.
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Newspapers are not only a valuable source of specific historical information, but they reflect changes in social norms and attitudes. It is unthinkable today that two four year-olds would be playing out on their own, to say nothing of being alone on the river bank.

Submitted on: 2023-04-18 Submitted by: Sue Templeman Artefact ID: 2534 Artefact URL: www.quornmuseum.com/display.php?id=2534 Print: View artefact in printer-friendly page