#OnePlaceTragedies and #OnePlaceJoys Part 2

There has been an amazing response to these prompts, far more than I initially realised, which is why I’ve split the round-up into two posts. If my maths is correct, which frankly is debatable, there are 35 Tragedies posts and 13 Joys posts from 22 places. So if we could have some more #OnePlaceJoys to balance it out, that would be great please! Please contact me if I’ve missed you off this list and I’ll get you added.

Joys are mixed in with tragedies again and it is sorted alphabetically by place name.

Dunster in Somerset, England (Liz Craig)

Concealment of Birth. This very sensitive and detailed post looks at two case studies and the issues surrounding both the concealment and the treatment of the women.

North Walls and Brims, Orkney, Scotland (Jane Harris)

Tragedies. As Jane says “Island communities were only too familiar with loss of life at sea, not least fishermen.” The most famous loss for the community was the loss of the Longhope Lifeboat and all her crew in 1969. The sea was not the only cause of tragedy though...

Picture courtesy of Jane Harris

Numurkah in Victoria, Australia (Jenny Scammell)

Numurkah Railway Tragedy. In 1905, a buggy with 6 passengers was hit by a train at Allan’s Crossing. Sadly 3 of those passengers were killed, 2 seriously injured and only 1 survived unscathed.

Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, formerly Northamptonshire, England (Our Journey Peterborough)

Dr Comissiong’s Misfortunes. Peterborough’s first BAME doctor, Dr Joseph Watson Comissiong ran his own practice, was a surgeon, a ‘man midwife’, coroner, and vaccination officer but his personal life was filled with tragedy.

Richmond in Maine, United States (Eric White)

Mourning Marshall Spring Hagar. Lawyer, judge, senator, and ship builder, Marshall Hagar made a fatal error of judgement while trying to retrieve his valise from a moving train.

St Day in Cornwall, England (Lesley Trotter)

The St Day Calamity. 5 young women and girls lost their lives in an explosion at the Unity Safety Fuse Manufactory in Tolgullow, and were buried together in the St Day churchyard.

Springhill in Lancashire, England (Janet Barrie)

OnePlaceTragedies #1 Eliza Tattersall. The death of baby Eliza and her mother Ann highlights the dangers of pregnancy and childbirth in the 1800s.

OnePlaceTragedies #2. Tragic events in the collieries part owned by John Ashworth of Springhill.

#OnePlaceTragedies, #OnePlaceJoys and #OnePlaceThreats The effect of the collieries on the local environment.

Sticklepath in Devon, England (Helen Shields)

A concealed pregnancy.  A newspaper report of a concealed birth and the discovery of the body of a stillborn baby girl.

The Toddler’s Tale. The leat, or small stream, through Sticklepath is the cause of the first tragedy to befall Thomas and Annie Finch.

Double #OnePlaceTragedies. The tale of Leslie Finch, a little lad who was very popular and well-liked, and who possibly had Down’s Syndrome.

#OnePlaceJoys Devon Potato Chopper – for Hash Browns? How to make a hash brown properly and with the correct tool!

A Distressing Miner’s Accident Part 1. For 30 hours, the colleagues of John Croote worked in very tense and trying conditions to try and rescue him from under a fall of gravel and stone. Sadly, their attempts were unsuccessful and John became the first victim of a fatal mining accident at Sticklepath in over 30 years.

Part 2 of the Miner’s Accident  has a #OnePlaceJoys lovely and intriguing photograph of Captain Jobling, the manager of the mine where John Croote died.

Part 3 is a #OnePlaceJoys report on the athletic achievements of Mr Jobling.

The Victorian Commons, History of Parliament’s House of Commons, England

From typhus to trains. The Victorian Commons creates biographical entries for English Members of Parliament 1832-1868 and used the #OnePlaceTragedies prompt to bring together some of the more unusual deaths in their records, including the Abergele railway disaster in 1868.

Turners Retreat and Woodlands Place in London, England (Chris Jolliffe)

A baby’s breakfast. Baby Thomas’ untimely death and a condescending coroner in a tragedy of its time, but still relevant today.

Tyneham & Worbarrow in Dorset, England (Martin White)

@TynehamDorset  The London owner of Sheepleaze House at Worbarrow Bay fell to his death from the balcony of his London home in 1926.

Waters Upton in Shropshire, England (Steve Jackson)

Waters Upton’s first amateur entertainments (Part 1). Part 2  and Part 3 #OnePlaceJoys  A spectacular retelling of the entertainments that took place to raise funds for injured railway porter and gate keeper John Preece. With lyrics and embedded videos – relive the evening’s entertainment in full.

Public domain image from Pixabay.

John Preece, his bravery, and his terrible injuries.  Steve wrote about John’s accident and his bravery for a guest post on the Railway Work, Life and Death project.

The Death of William Lloyd. William’s life was not a good one, known as a tramp, taking whatever shelter and employment he could find. He died as he’d lived, on his own.

Wing in Buckinghamshire, England (Alex Coles)

The Bowden Murder, 1856. A very tragic tale of the murder of baby Jane Bowden by her grandmother Maria who had become seriously mentally unwell, and was later admitted to Bedlam Hospital in London.

Yuin Reef in Western Australia, Australia (Emmerson Brand)

#OnePlaceJoys Joy at Yuin Reef. The wedding of Reginald Fremlin and Edith Brand with a fine meal and dancing into the early hours.

A Tragedy at Yuin Reef. Humfray Roy Hassell’s preventable death in the Yuin Reef mine.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to February’s prompt of #OnePlaceTragedies. It is sad and difficult reading at times, but these are important stories that have directly affected our places and the people within them, and are now remembered and the people honoured. Do read the #OnePlaceJoys posts as well for some light and happiness, because we all need that in our lives too.

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Julie Groom
One-placer for Long Buckby Wharf