Baby

The body of a newly-born child was found in a garden shed behind a house in Clovelly Road, Ealing on 9 March 1953

The child's mother was later identified but she said that after the child was born she did not know that it was alive and so put it in a shed in a nearby garden.

The inquest on the child returned a verdict of misadventure with the Coroner stating that the child died because the mother had not realised that it was alive.

The inquest heard that the child had lived for about an hour and that there was no reason why it should not have continued to live if cared for.

The woman who lived in Coningsby Road said that she gave birth to the child on 1 March 1953 and that there was no one with her. She said that when it was born the child did not cry or make any sound and that she didn't realised that it was alive and so later that night put it in a shed in a nearby garden. The woman said that if she had realised that the child had been born alive that she would not have done what she did.

The woman’s mother said that she did not know that her daughter was expecting a baby. She said, 'My daughter did not tell me, and I did not suspect'.

The police said that after the child's body was discovered on 9 March 1953 that they went to see the woman but that she denied knowing anything about it. A detective inspector said, 'I saw the woman and she told me she knew nothing of a baby. Later she said, 'It was my baby. I put it over the fence. It was a wicked thing to do''.

The police said that they had submitted a report on the child's death to the Director of Public Prosecutions but had got no reply.

When the Coroner summed up he said, 'The child died from want of attention at birth. Had it received that care and attention there was no reason why it should not have lived. This child died as a result of misadventure. The woman had no wicked intentions. There was no malice aforethought. This child died because she failed to realise it was alive. I accept her evidence that, had she known this, she would not have done what she did'.

The Coroner then returned a verdict of misadventure and added, 'I should point out that in law a mother owes no duty to an unborn child. Failure to make preparations does not bring the mother within the law until the child is born'.