Baby

The body of a newly born child was found on the shore at Dumpton Gap on Monday 22 March 1948.

The child’s body was found by a man who lived in Belvedere Road in Broadstairs as he was walking along the beach with his wife between 4.15pm and 4.30pm. He said that it was about 12 or 15 feet from the bottom of the cliff and that it was an unclothed male child.

A two handled hessian bag, a large piece of green canvas and several fragments of cloth were also found lying about in a 20 square yard area. The policeman that found the item said that the hessian bag appeared to be blood-stained.

A pathologist said that death was caused by asphyxia, but that there was no further evidence as to the cause of it.

He said that the child had been dead for between 12 or 18 hours and said that he had come to the conclusion that the child had probably been suffocated and then thrown into the water, although he added that there was no evidence to support that theory.

The police said that they had failed to produce any evidence establishing the identity of the child's mother or to show how the child came to be on the shore. They said that enquiries were ongoing, but that the chances of any progress being made seemed remote unless someone came forward to supply further information.

The coroner closed the inquest without recording a formal verdict, stating that it was known that the child's death was caused by asphyxia, but that there was no further evidence.