The Monotonous Life of the Barker Sisters - Sheffield 1967

The following report is from the Sheffield Star dated Tuesday 20th June 1967. It surprised me inasmuch as the two sisters gassed themselves in Park Hill flats. I assumed that the flats would be electric only but it appears that in the Park Hill complex there was a choice of either gas or electric. It is a also unusual for a senior police officer Detective Inspector Alfred Harris to take such a leading role. The coroner told the parents that they had made detailed enquiries into the lives of their daughters so that they could establish a motive for their suicide. But apart from a broken friendship in the workplace earlier in the year there was nothing to indicate that suicide was comtemplated.    

The impression that is left by the inquest is that all the active parties were non-plussed about what had happened to Patricia and Beryl. Detective Inspector Alfred Harris stated that he could find no reason as to why they took their lives but speculated that they had an introverted disposition and that they were both prone to depression.  

Notes

Surname First name(s) Mother District Vol Page 
Births Jun 1943 Barker Beryl Glossop Sheffield 9c 681 

Surname First name(s) Mother District Vol Page 
Births Jun 1940 Barker Patricia Glossop Sheffield 9c 1222 

Surname First name(s) Mother/Spouse/Age District Vol Page 
Marriages Dec 1932 Barker Alfred Glossop Sheffield 9c 1265 Glossop Bertha Barker Sheffield 9c 1265 

Surname First name(s) Mother District Vol Page 
Births Jun 1933 BARKER Audrey Glossop Sheffield 9c 739 

Births Mar 1910 GLOSSOP Bertha Sheffield Volume 9c Page 545

Name: Bertha Barker
Death Age: 80
Birth Date: 11 Jan 1910
Registration Date: Aug 1990 Registration district: Sheffield Inferred County: South Yorkshire

1939 National Register

Name: Bertha Barker
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Married
Birth Date: 11 Jan 1910
Residence Year: 1939
Address: 91
Residence Place: Sheffield, Yorkshire (West Riding), England
Occupation: Unpaid Domestic Duties
Schedule Number: 17
Sub Schedule Number: 2
Enumeration District: KILB
Registration district: 21. B.
Inferred Spouse: Alfred Barker
Household Members: 
Name
Alfred Barker
Bertha Barker

Sources

Free BMD

Sheffield Indexers

Sheffield Star Tuesday 20th June 1967