Sheila Pattison

Sheila Pattison was found dead on South Shields beach on Tuesday 24 March 1959.

She was found on the beach about 12 hours after she had left a church in Jarrow about four miles away.

She was noted for being unusually serious-minded and almost obsessed with religion.

She had lived in Windsor Gardens in South Shields.

A doctor said that her death was due to drowning. He added, 'There was no suggestion of any criminal factors being involved'.

Her father said, 'She had a very strong faith and she admired Dr Albert Schweitzer and used to read his books and talk about him'. When the Coroner heard that he said, 'That is very heavy reading for a girl of 14'.

Her father then said that Sheila Pattison had had a knee complaint in 1957 which had kept her from school for 10 or 11 months and that because of that she had done a great deal of studying at home, sometimes up to 11pm and that she never went out with her friends. He added that she also had a lot of homework recently because she had changed schools after moving to South Shields from Jarrow.

He said, 'Every Sunday morning she went to Holy Communion. In the afternoon she taught at the Sunday School, and in the evening she went to service in Jarrow. She was fond of reading the history of the church and at one time had an idea of being a missionary'.

The inquest heard that there was no evidence that she had been depressed in any way and an open verdict was returned. The Coroner said, 'There is no evidence to show that she had been depressed in any way. We are left with a very strange set of circumstances'.