The grave of young drowning victim Thomas Brown of Little Marlow. Died July 17 1855 age 12. Also on the grave is his sister Ann who died age 4 in 1850. (Grave at Little Marlow)
When we published a post on the lives of the bargemen who lived and worked in Marlow, we included some information about a few of those that were drowned in the river. This was sadly only the tip of the iceberg and this post is dedicated to a sample few of the children who died in the water pre 1920..
Most of the children died after deliberately entering the water to bathe, or because of a boating accident. The current, weeds, sudden drops in water depth, obstructions, and for the girls in particular unwieldy clothes and lack of swimming instruction all played their part. The case of a little girl who tumbled into the river when trying to retrieve coins thrown from a passing steamer was a little different. She is dealt with in a different post, along with the death of a 14 year old barge hand.
The grave pictured above of Thomas Brown age 12 belongs to the second boy of Little Marlow to drown within the space of 4 years in the 1830's. Thomas went to bathe at Marlow Bridge and was swept out of his depth by the current. Another boy who went to his aid was nearly killed also. It is interesting if sad to read that the water was so clear that the body of young Thomas could be seen lying at the bottom of the river and so it could be recovered almost immediately.
The following year 2 more children were claimed by the water. With the water high and stream running fast, 8 year old James Johnson stood little chance when he overbalanced while crossing Hurley Lock. He was carrying a rake and bucket as he had been helping his dad cut some grass. Despite his fathers frantic efforts, the boy could not be reached in time to save his life. The second victim was Miss Croxon who fell from a punt while playing. On this occasion, the water certainly was not clear enough to find her quickly. It took some time to recover her body.
This last death had an unfortunate echo when 14 year old Grace Simpkins drowned at Temple Lock in 1904. She was the daughter of the lock keeper*. The circumstances are not absolutely clear because the only witness was across the other side of the river. He saw Grace fall from her bicycle down the steep bank adjacent to the lock and within sight of her home. But he did not see what occasioned her fall. This witness James Davis was a gardener at Temple Lodge and he had been mowing a lawn there. He shouted to gain the attention of the lock keeper but could not be heard. He ran to get a boat but the delay meant that it was 20 minutes before the alarm was successfully raised. When William Simpkins, Grace's father, came running to help he had no idea that the young lady victim was his daughter. On seeing her bicycle in the water, he is said to have exclaimed "My God, it's my poor girl". The most likely explanation is that Grace over balanced as she was carrying a milk can, having stopped to buy some on the way home from school as she had done many times before. They believed she had perhaps hit her head as she fell or was washed out of her depth by the current or by the wash of a steamer which passed through the Lock while Davis was getting the boat. The people on the boat had not seen the girl in the water but had tragically seen a floating milk can.
The lack of a proper safe public bathing place was constantly raised after the death of a child or adult in the Thames. As time passed there was some provision made by private individuals or clubs such as the Boys Life Brigade - the story of swimming in the Thames can be found elsewhere on the blog. The last drowning we will feature in this post shows how urgent the need for such a facility was. In 1904 George Finch, age 15, who could not swim, nevertheless decided to have a bathe. He went to the (unmanned) Boys Life Brigade bathing place in the back waters behind the lock, although he was not a member and had not obtained a ticket. It seems the bathing shed was unlocked and he undressed there. Later his clothes were found inside but there was no sign of the boy. A search was made and his body was recovered near the back of the Compleat Angler, just 4 yards from the bank. George worked at Wethered's brewery.
This is just a small sample of the young victims we could name. There are also children who had a narrow escape and were saved thanks to the bravery of other young swimmers or adults.
*Grace was the second lock keepers daughter to drown at Temple. 11 year old Ellen Lawrence Wood died there in the summer of 1888. (Daughter of William John Wood) And at Hurley in 1909 lock keeper Henry Wise lost his 4 year old son Teddy to drowning. The child was supposed to have climbed into a punt to play and then fallen in. Even after the doctor had declared the boy dead, his father was seen to still attempt to resuscitate his son, hoping against hope for a miracle that never came.
For information on the bargemen and others who drowned while working on the river - see this post
Floods in Marlow History, and plans to "embank and canalize" the river between Marlow & Henley here
Bellows, bricks and brandy - reviving the drowned here
Avert your eyes, bathers about! Victorian nude bathing at Marlow and swimming races here here
Biography Robert Shaw, king of the river here
Sources
Fennell, John Grenville - The Rail and the Rod - or Tourist Anglers Guide to Waters and Quarters (H Cox 1867)
Royal Commission on River Pollution -Third Report of the Commission appointed to inquire upon the best means of the pollution of the River Thames - 1866 (G E Eyre and W Spottiswoode 1866)
Berkshire Chronicle - 25 July 1835, from British Library.
Bucks Gazette - 1 August 1835, as above
Reading Mercury - 23 May 1836, as above
South Bucks Standard - 26 June 1896, 12 June 1908, as above
Henley Advertiser 20 August 1904, as above.
Humane Society for the reviving of persons apparently dead by drowning - (Royal Humane Society London 1783.)
Researched and written by Kathryn Day.
©Marlow Ancestors
