Maurice Madden's Last Day - Friday 02 July 1915 Nether Edge Sheffield
The 1911 UK Census shows the Madden family living at 19 Montgomery Road in the Nether Edge district of Sheffield. The father MAURICE and mother Phoebe were both born in Ireland whilst the only son 6 year old MAURICE was born in Glasgow in 1904. MAURICE's occupation is given as manager (dentistry).
The incident that devastated the family occurred on Friday 02 July 1915 very near to their home in Montgomery Road
Sheffield Independent - Saturday 03 July 1915
SHEFFIELD. Yesterday, in Sheffield, another motor fatality occurred, the victim being a nine year-old boy named Maurice Madden, of Montgomery road. It is stated that the boy alighted from tramcar which was proceeding from Nether Edge to the city, at Kenbourne road stopping station, and at once ran to the rear. A motor car owned by Mr. Wm.
Lambert, of Glossop road, and driven by George Wm. Hartshorn. Sbarrow Vale road, was proceeding towards Nether Edge, and the boy’s progress brought him straight in front of this. Apparently the motor was too close him to enable the driver to pull up or avoid him. and the lad was struck on the head and knocked down. He sustained a fractured skull, and died almost immediately.
Another report appeared in
Sheffield Daily Telegraph - Saturday 03 July 1915
BOY KILLED BY MOTOR-CAR. The danger of passing quickly round the rear tramcars was again emphasised in Sheffield, yesterday, when Maurice Madden, aged nine, of Montgomery Road, Sheffield, received fatal injuries through being knocked down by a motorcar near his home just after mid-day. The boy, it is stated, had just aligtited from a tram-car and had run round the rear of the car when he failed to notice the approach of a motorcar belonging to Mr.'W. Lambert, Glossop Road, and driven by George William Hartshorn, of Sharrow Vale Road. Owing to the suddenness with which the boy came out from the rear of the tramcar, the driver of the motor-car had little chance to pull up or to avoid accident. The boy was struck down and sustained a fractured skull, which caused his death a few minutes later. Dr. Evans, of Wostenholm Road, was passing at the time of the accident, and he rendered aid to the injured boy, who was taken into his home close to the scene of the accident.
The inquest into the accident was held on Monday 05 July 1915
and was reported in the
Sheffield Independent - Tuesday 06 July 1915
BOY’S FATAL DASH. KNOCKED DOWN AND KILLED BY TAXI IN SHEFFIELD.
Mr. J. Kenyon Parker yesterday held inquest relative to tbe death of Maurice Madden, aged 10, of 21. Montgomery road, Sheffield, who died from a fractured skull caused by being run over by motor-car on Friday. The evidence showed that the boy alighted from tram car proceeding from Nether Edge to the city at Kenbourne road, and ran round the rear of the car. A motor taxi-cab was being driven towards Nether Edge by George Won. Hartshorn, and, according to his story, he first saw the boy about a yard in front his car. The boy fell forward without the car touching him, and seemed though the front offside wheel passed over him. Hartshorn made every effort to avoid the boy. He had sounded his horn when approaching the stopping station. All the witnesses agreed that the speed was moderate. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death, and exonerated the driver from blame. They also expressed sympathy with the parents.
The other interesting point to note is that the day after the accident a reader wrote to the paper and this was printed in their opinions column. the readers concerns are still valid today, perhaps more so!
The Madden family grave in Sheffield's Rivelin Cemetery
The Madden family grave in Sheffield's Rivelin Cemetery
Rivelin Cemetery Sheffield
Rivelin Cemetery Sheffield 1914
The tragedy continued for the MADDEN family Two years later Maurice's father passed away at the age of 39 and was buried alongside his only son MAURICE. His wife Phoebe was to remain a widow for the next 30 years before dying at the age of 76.
MADDEN, MAURICE (buried St Michael's section, age 39yr). Died at 21 MONTGOMERY RD; Buried on July 4, 1917 in Roman Catholic ground; Grave Number 180, Section W of St Michaels RC Cemetery, Rivelin. Plot Owner: ~ ~ of ~. Page No 14361
MADDEN, PHEOBE ANNE (buried St Michael's section, age 76yr).Died at 56 BURNGREAVE RD; Buried on March 1, 1948 in Roman Catholic ground; Grave Number 180, Section W of St Michaels RC Cemetery, Rivelin.Plot Owner: ~ ~ of ~. Page No 17332
MADDEN, MAURICE J (buried St Michael's section, age 10yr).Died at 21 MONTGOMERY RD; Buried on July 7, 1915 in Roman Catholic ground; Grave Number 182, Section W of St Michaels RC Cemetery, Rivelin.Plot Owner: ~ ~ of ~. Page No 14002
In July 2022 I was going through some old magazines, one of which was a local advertising magazine called "Grapevine." In the January 2021 edition there was this article that was submitted by Mr. Jason Heath of John Heath and Sons. It refers to a photograph that was taken in Montgomery Road, Nether Edge, Sheffield by the company some hundred years ago. There were no details on the photograph but a couple of local residents definitely identified the houses and the road as being Montgomery Road, the same road were the Madden family lived and died. Of course you can never be sure but the funeral could well be that of either the son Maurice who died in July 1915 or his father who died two years later in July 1917. Apart from the location the fact that the aforementioned trees are in leaf would point a funeral that took place in summer rather than winter.
In September 2022 I managed to locate a copy of Jason's original article
Sources
Sheffield Daily Telegraph - Saturday 03 July 1915
Sheffield Daily Telegraph - Saturday 06 July 1915
Sheffield independent - Saturday 03 July 1915
1911 Census
Sheffield Indexers
Grapevine Magazine dated November 2021 and January 2022
From The Sheffield History Forum)
This page was last updated on 31/12/24 15:32