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Baby

Age: 0

Sex: male

Date: 31 Mar 1939

Place: 32 Gloucester Street, Pimlico

The mummified body of a newly-born child was found in a suitcase at 32 Gloucester Street in Pimlico.

The suitcase had been collected from an address in Maida Vale the day earlier.

The woman at 32 Gloucester Street said that they day before the child was found in the suitcase she had received by carrier two suitcases that had belonged to her late sister who had been in service at 21 Carlton Mansions in Maida Vale and had died from tuberculosis. She said that her sister had died two months earlier.

The woman said that she had the authority to collect her belongings and said that her other sisters went over and packed up her stuff and then sent it along to her. She said that there were some letters and two frocks, as well as a cardboard box which when it was opened on the Friday was found to contain the mummified body of a child.

The inquest heard that the child's body was wrapped up in newspaper that was dated 12 October 1936. The inquest also heard that there was nothing to suggest where the child had been born.

The sister said that she was not aware that her sister had been pregnant and said that if she had been she was sure that she would have noticed.

The pathologist that examined the child's body said that the child had been born full term but said that there was no evidence to show whether it had lived and that there were no signs of injury.

He said that the body had been wrapped up in a towel but that it had no markings.

The coroner concluded that the child's body was found in a cardboard box that was found amongst the sister's belongings but that it was impossible to say what the cause of death had been or whether it had been born alive and an open verdict was returned.


*map pointers are rough estimates based on known location details as per Place field above.

see www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

see Fulham Chronicle - Thursday 06 April 1939

see Chelsea News and General Advertiser - Thursday 06 April 1939