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Clara Wragg

Age: 22

Sex: female

Date: 15 Nov 1922

Place: 2ct, 2hse, Harmer Lane, Sheffield

Clara Wragg died from an illegal operation in Firvale Hospital on 15 November 1922.

She had been living at home with her parents at 2 Court 2 House, Harmer Lane in Sheffield.

It was herd that a married man was responsible for Clara Wragg's condition and he had admitted that Clara Wragg had asked him for some money to enable her to have an operation, but he said that he refused to give her any.

When the doctor carried out her post mortem, he said that there was no doubt that an illegal operation had been performed by someone other than Clara Wragg herself.

An open verdict was returned.

When the coroner concluded the inquest on Clara Wragg, he noted that he knew that it was difficult for the press to report such cases, but said that it was doubtful whether it was wise to suppress the reports because he thought it could not be too widely spread abroad what the danger of an illegal operation was. He noted that they were generally performed by a more or less unskilled person, and Coroners and medical men knew how often it resulted in death or serious illness.

The Coroner said, 'It might be wise if the attention of young women was called to the danger of this course. Where a girl has got into trouble, and naturally is more or less afraid to let her parents know, if she resorts to this desperate remedy, she is risking her life and may very likely lose it'.

Harmer Lane has since been redeveloped.


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

see www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

see Sheffield Daily Telegraph - Thursday 23 November 1922

see National Library of Scotland