The East House Murders New Years Day Sheffield 1960 - An Update

This is the first post of the year and also number 700 since the blog was started in November 2010. It is also a landmark inasmuch as it is the first time that I have appeared in a podcast. 

The East House Murders was one of the earliest articles I posted to my site and also the latest in terms of date. I have always adhered to the "forty year rule" and do not publish articles of a contemporary nature, The simple reason being is that it makes life easier. In fact the only living person that appears on my website is its owner!      

In the summer of 2023 I was contacted by the grandson of one of the policemen who arrested the perpetrator after the murders. He had read the article on the website and wanted to find out more about the events that led up to the murders and also the aftermath.

He asked for an interview  and I was delighted  to assist in the project.

The outcome can be found on the BBC Sounds site. I am very pleased how the project turned out and hope that the readers of this blog will find the podcast interesting and informative. And it does have a pleasant surprise at the end!

There Won't Be Mail in Crookes This Xmas (2024 Version)

 Well it has been over 14 years and 699 blog posts since View From A Hill was founded in November 2010. The other day I looked back at the first posts and was astounded to find that on 7th November 2010 I posted a blog "There Won't Be Mail in Crookes This Xmas" . 

It was a prediction that was made 14 years ago that Royal Mail would become a source of plunder for the monied classes and so it has proved with the news that Royal Mail is now owned by a reclusive Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský. His EP Group now owns Royal Mail after the UK government approved the takeover of the postal service's parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS), in December 2024. The deal was worth £3.6 billion. 

"The takeover marks the end of over 500 years of public ownership for Royal Mail. The government retained a "golden share" in IDS, which gives it the power to approve any major changes to Royal Mail's ownership, tax residency, or headquarters. The government also requires EP Group to maintain the Universal Service Obligation (USO), which means Royal Mail must deliver letters six days a week and parcels Monday to Friday." 

Křetínský has promised to invest in Royal Mail's modernization and transformation. He has also said that he's considering ways to allow UK citizens to invest in the company."

Ah a billionaire's promises  - I think we have been here before and in nearly every case it has ended with the workers and taxpayers picking up the tab for corporate greed,

The mail this Xmas has been its usual patchy self - days without letters and cards and then a bundle arrives tied with an elastic band. Some of these have taken 7 - 10 days to arrive and not 2 - 3 as promised by the Royal Mail. The company get fined for late delivery by the so-called regulator  Ofcom but they just raise their postal prices to pay the fine.

"Pay More Get Less" a slogan for today

And with that observation all that remains is to wish my readers a happy and prosperous New Year! 

   

  

  

Sir Wilson Mappin (1848 - 1925)

Several years ago I posted an article to the site relating to the life and achievements of his father Sir Frederick Thorpe Mappin "Sheffield's Grand Old Man (1821 - 1910)" 

Sir Wilson Mappin was his third son and like his father a noted benefactor to the city of Sheffield. His home Thornbury is now a private hospital.

This obituary is from the Sheffield Daily Independent dated 9th June 1925

  

The Real Santa Claus - A History For Readers Young And Old

 This is from the Leeds Mercury dated 2nd January 1913

Christmas at Bramall Lane Sheffield 1974

I came across this advertisement when I was looking at some old Sheffield United programmes. This was taken from a home game against Burnley on Saturday 16th November 1974. It was my 21st birthday but sadly the match ended in 2 - 2 draw. Disappointment but that can be the case when you watch the Blades.

Anyway I had to have a wry smile at this advertisement

Fifty years on in 2024 it is a different world. To visit the club shop now either in person or online, the first and only requisite is to have substantial disposable income at your disposal as none of the products are inexpensive.  And it is not just Sheffield United, it is every football club that has pricing that at times can be eye-watering.

The Sheffield United shoulder bag that is advertised above cost £1.75 in 1974 and allowing for inflation it would be in todays money £12.75.  A visit to the aforementioned Sheffield United shop today for a  Sheffield United shoulder bag would set up back £18.00. 

The 1975 SUFC calendar priced at 60p is the equivalent of £4.37 in todays money. The 2025 calendar for SUFC £9.99. mmm

And 50 years on something does not change - the Blades are playing Burnley at home on Boxing Day. Does disappointment await! 

 

  

Lizzie Siddal - Tragic Story of Model with Sheffield family

This is from the Sheffield Weekly Gazette dated 1st February 2007. Many years ago I was going to post an article on Lizzie to the site but as you can see in the text, a book has already been written about her and there is plentiful information now online.

But what I did not know was that lizzie was related to William Ibbitt, 1805-1869

"A designer and chaser by trade, but now known for his large coloured prints of the town and

districts of Sheffield which are striking and on the whole accurate."

A couple of his paintings are featured below and often feature in Sheffield history books.

 

Wardsend Bridge 1855

View from Crookesmoor 

John Firth's Obituary - April 1869 Sheffield

 In January 2019 I posted a blog about the funeral of Mr John Firth of Holt House Sheffield. John was a major figure in the industrial and commercial life of mid-nineteenth century Sheffield. This week I located his obituary in the Derbyshire Courier dated 24th April 1869 which details the circumstances surrounding his death,

 

5 Durham Road Sheffield - 4th July 1960

A researcher contacted me this week regarding a feature of his family history

" there is one that I feel I must find more about; the death of Linda Valerie Pridmore, aged 12, in December 1960.  This, of course, is late 20th Century when the child mortality rate had improved quite a lot, which poses the question, how did she die?  She survived the usual infant diseases, although children of all ages are vulnerable I know.  But I have a feeling that there is more to Linda's death that I just need to find  out about; it is niggling me.

Her name isn't common and if there was anything untoward about her death, it may have been reported in the local press.  I wondered if you could do a search of the local papers of December 1960. The date of her death falls just within the embargo of coroners' reports, so I can't go there yet.  I would be grateful for anything that you can dig up."

I checked the BMD and found the following for Linda

 Birth Name Linda V Pridmore Registration Date Jul 1948

Registration Quarter Jul-Aug-Sep

Registration district Sheffield Inferred County South Yorkshire

Mother's Maiden Name Todd

Volume Number 2d  Page number 86

Death  Name Linda V Pridmore Death Age 11

Birth Date abt 1949

Registration Date Jul 1960 Registration Quarter Jul-Aug-Sep

Registration district Sheffield Inferred County Yorkshire West Riding

Volume 2d Page 45

And then I checked the excellent Sheffield Indexers site and found these burial records

PRIDMORE, Ellen (Wife of George, age 57).  Died at 5 Durham Rd; Buried on July 9, 1960 in Consecrated ground;      Grave Number 30979, Section F6 of City Road Cemetery, Sheffield. Plot Owner: ~ ~ of ~. Page No 250

PRIDMORE, Linda Valerie (Daughter of George, age 11). Died at 5 Durham Rd; Buried on July 9, 1960 in Consecrated ground; Grave Number 30979, Section F6 of City Road Cemetery, Sheffield. Plot Owner: ~ ~ of ~. Page No 250

Mother and daughter buried on the same day looked ominous and so I checked the BNA and Newspaper Archive and found this report from The Guardian dated 5th July 1960

I relayed this information back to the researcher and needless to say he was dumbfounded by this revelation. He also informed me that  George and Ellen lost two other children, both less than 12 months old in 1941 and 1942.  George, who found the bodies, was their first born and their only child to survive childhood.  Such a sad story

I can find no photo of the house on Durham Road as it is now the site of  the University of Sheffield's multi-storey car park. I have a feeling that the house where the tragedy occurred may have been late Georgian in style similar to those on adjacent streets

And of course if anyone could supple me with any further information I would be grateful. 

  

Joseph Goddard's Death Mask - Sheffield

The following cutting is from the Sheffield Telegraph dated 13th March 1949. I was going to do an article on Joseph but there is quite a bit of material and content online about his life and career and so I did not take it any further.

But there is nothing online about this article which is at times quite sad but also very interesting. 

Death at Rawson's Brewery, Pond Street Sheffield - February 1939

 

The photo shows Rawson's Brewery in Pond Street Sheffield. 

Thomas Rawson's and Co Brewery situated in Pond Street Sheffield was totally destroyed by enemy action and was never rebuilt. The irony of the destruction was that in the late 1930's Sheffield Corporation was giving serious consideration to demolishing the Brewery itself and constructing a new technical college. The air raid flattened the site and the brewery was never rebuilt. It was developed after the war as Sheffield Polytechnic which is known nowadays as Sheffield Hallam University

This report is from the Times dated 16th February 1939 - it is rather ironic

Similar reports appear in a few regional newspapers, and one states that William was still alive when he was reached but had extensive injuries and as a result died soon afterwards. 

All the reports refer to William Oswald Furniss but his burial record states that his middle name was Oliver and not Oswald

FURNISS, William Oliver (Brewers Engineer, age 67).

     Died at Rawsons Brewery, Pond Street; Buried on February 20, 1939 in Consecrated ground;

     Grave Number 8587, Section H of Shiregreen Cemetery, Sheffield.

His wife Florence died 12 years later

FURNISS, Florence (Widow, age 78).

     Died at City General Hospital; Buried on July 28, 1951 in Consecrated ground;

     Grave Number 8587, Section H of Shiregreen Cemetery, Sheffield.

   

  

Robert Hollingworth - Wadsley Bridge Station Sheffield January 1890

 I have just posted an article to the site relating to the life and death of a Sheffield banker Mr William Wild of Pentonvillle, 23 Northumberland Road Sheffield. The newspaper reports are just prodigious in the detail they contain and the tone they set.

Just below the report of his death in the Evening Telegraph and Star dated 21st January 1890 was this report of an inquest into the death of Mr. Robert Hollingworth at Wadsley Bridge railway station.

It appears from the report that Robert was an experienced platelayer but he obviously lost concentration for just a moment and that cost him his life.  

John Lipsey Bright (1860 - 1900) - Ladysmith South Africa

I have jus updated the article on the Bright family in Sheffield to include details of the life and Death of Maurice De Lara Bright. I had not updated the article for a number of years and I was saddened to find that the excellent Deane Road Cemetery website was no longer in existence. This is happening more frequently and I can only assume that the owners/contributors have moved on to other media outlets or decided that they had taken it as far as they could.    

But I also found this rather poignant report in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph 14 November 1911 relating to the death in South Africa of John Lipsey Bright, Maurice's son. John was forty years of age at the time of his death.