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Baby A

Age: 0

Sex: male

Date: 26 Jun 1953

Place: Vansittart Street, Harwich, Essex

The bodies of five babies were found in a flood damaged house in Vansittart Street.

The first two were found by builders whilst they carried out rewiring and the other three were found by the police in the roof.

One of the bodies was found by workmen sewn up in a canvas parcel whilst the other was wrapped up in a coat.

It was said that the remains had been in the house for a number of years and that the house had been unoccupied for nearly four years during the war.

The house was in a part of Vansittart Street that had been flooded to a depth of several feet in the previous winter, 1952, and had to be totally evacuated.

A 51-year-old woman was convicted of concealing their births at the Essex County Sessions on Wednesday 2 September 1953 and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. When she heard the sentence she burst into tears and had to be assisted from the dock.

It was said that two of the infants had been born to her whilst the other three infants were born to a woman or women unknown.


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

see www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

see Portsmouth Evening News - Friday 10 July 1953

see Birmingham Daily Gazette - Wednesday 26 August 1953

see Londonderry Sentinel - Thursday 03 September 1953

see Londonderry Sentinel - Saturday 11 July 1953

see Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail - Friday 10 July 1953