The Bedlington Tragedy: Part One

Warning – this blog focuses upon historic murder and suicide.

While looking through a newspaper for information about a shipwreck in 1907, I saw a large headline about an inquest into ‘The Bedlington Tragedy’. On 9 October 1907, Sarah Short drowned all five of her children in a water butt/poss-tub at her home in Red Row, Sleekburn. Afterwards, she walked to Cramlington station and committed suicide on the railway line. George Short, husband and father to all five children, lost his entire family in one day. I had never head of this horrific tragedy so checked our Coroners records and discovered a file for the children & their mother. The report contained witness statements and notes from the Coroner, Mr Henry Taylor Rutherford. 

NAME	RELATIONSHIP	AGE
Sarah Short	Mother	31
Eleanor Short	Daughter	7
George Short	Son	4
Thomas Short	Son	3
Elizabeth Annie Short	Daughter	2
Robert Short	Son	8 months

Witness Statements 

John Herron 

Mr Herron stated that he was a retired miner and the house occupied by the Short family was his property, and he was their landlord. On the afternoon of the 9 October, he went to the house at 5 Red Row and was engaged in painting the woodwork on the back door. He saw Mrs Short carry some water from a barrel into the house and she asked him if he was going to do any repairs inside of the property and he replied “no.” Thomas, one of the young boys was with her but he didn’t see any of the other children. It was about 3pm and Mrs Short took hold of Thomas’s hand and led him into the house and said, “we are going away now.” She then locked the door behind her. Mr Herron was outside for about 20 minutes longer and he heard no noise and never saw her appear again. 

Eleanor Elliott 

Eleanor, a 13 year old servant resided with the Short family and slept in the upstairs front room. Eleanor recalled that on 9 October, Mr Short left the house to go to work at 9.45am. About 11am, after the children were dressed, Mrs Short went out then returned with some Lucky Packets which she gave to the four youngest children. Eleanor, the eldest child was at school. About 12.30pm, Mrs Short sent the young servant on an errand to the grocers and then told her that she could have the afternoon off as she was going to take the children to Stakeford. She told Eleanor to meet her at 4pm. At 4pm, Eleanor returned to the Short household but the door was locked. She had a parcel so took it to Mrs Short’s mother-in-law’s house then continued to Stakeford to meet Mrs Short. She could not see her there so returned to Red Row and saw Mr Short on his way home from work and informed him that he had to go to his mother’s house for his dinner. She told him that she had been to Stakeford to meet Mrs Short but could not find her. 

Anne Short 

Anne Short stated that she was the mother-in-law of Sarah Short. On 9 October about 12.30pm, her granddaughter Eleanor Short came from school to have lunch with her then left about 1pm to go back to school. About 2pm, Sarah visited and asked her if she could cook George’s tea as she was going to Stakeford with the children. George came home from work about 5.15pm and had dinner then went to his own house to get washed and dressed. Anne accompanied him and said that there was nothing unusual about the house. The same evening George became very concerned and went away to look for his wife and children but could not find them. On the following night, (10 October) Anne, George and a friend named William Dodds [Undertaker] went to George’s house and on Mr Dodd’s suggestion a more detailed search of the house was conducted. They went upstairs and saw the bed was made. Anne took hold of the quilt and turned it up and saw all five of her grandchildren lying dead. Eleanor and Thomas were lying at the head of the bed, George and Robert at the foot and Elizabeth Annie lying cross over. In the front room downstairs and at the end of the bed were Sarah’s clothes which were very wet about the front part. The back of them was dry. The skirt and bodice were the same that Sarah was wearing when Anne saw her the previous day. 

George Short 

Mr Short stated that he left home at 9.45am on Wednesday 9 October to go to work at the pit. His wife did not say anything to him about intending to take the children to Stakeford. He didn’t think it was strange that his family were absent when he returned from work around 5.15pm that night. However, later he became uneasy & made a fruitless search for them at Stakeford and Sleekburn. On the evening of Thursday 10 October, he heard about a woman being killed on the railway at Cramlington so proceeded there and identified the body as that of his wife. When he returned from Cramlington about 9pm, he searched the house thoroughly with a man named William Dodd & found all the children dead in bed fully dressed and covered with a blanket and rug. Their clothing was still wet. He could give no reason why his wife would commit such a crime unless it was in consequence of her suffering from rheumatism nervous debility. She had been under medical treatment for this for the past six months.   

Part two to follow………