RELATIVES of the 16 children who were crushed to death on a staircase in the Civic Hall attended a moving ceremony to mark the event’s centenary.
Some of the guests were direct relatives of the children who died, and they described it as an emotional experience.
Pat King, 61, of Branksome Avenue, is the niece of Mary Lea, who was killed at the age of five.
Mary’s death is part of Pat’s family history, and she said it was a little upsetting to visit the scene of the disaster. Her uncle Tom took Mary to the cinema on that fateful day.
“They got caught up in this fall. When she was pulled out there wasn’t a mark on her body, but she had a broken arm from where he’d tried to pull her out.
“Afterwards apparently he kept saying ‘I broke her arm’. He would never talk about it. If the subject was brought up, he would walk out of the room. He never got over it. Never.”
Dozens of guests crowded into the newly refurbished Civic Hall to see the unveiling of the plaque, although the staircase at the heart of the tragedy was blocked off.
The mayor, Coun Len Picken, said it was with “a great sense of humility” that he unveiled the plaque, and added: “I can only imagine what it was like that day.”
The unveiling ceremony was followed by a minute’s silence at the war memorial outside the town hall. A crowd gathered at the monument, huddled underneath umbrellas in the rain, and watched as a new generation of children laid flowers to remember those who died.
