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 heard of this horrific tragedy so checked our Coroners records and discovered a file for the children and 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………

George’s burial is recorded in the register for Alnwick St. Michael: 

George’s will, dated 14 March 1827, which I was able to access on the North East Inheritance Database (ref. DPR/1/1827/D1) gives some interesting details: 

• His household goods, furniture, books, plate, linen, china, clothes and other goods were left to his “dear wife”, her executors, administrators and assigns 
• To William Davison, Chemist and Druggist of Alnwick, and to George’s brothers-in-law, Thomas Anderson, Hardwareman, of Alnwick, and Robert Anderson, Sadler, of Alnwick – all messuage, burgage or tenement with appurtenances in Alnwick in which he lived, to hold in trust, but that his wife and children must be allowed to live there until the public sale or private contract – whichever brought the best price 
• The three gentlemen also to dispose of the business in Newcastle, and to collect all debts owed to the business in both Alnwick and Newcastle, and to then use this money to pay off his debts and pay for his funeral 
• The executors to allow his wife to conduct and carry on the gun makers business in Alnwick under their direction – if she did not wish to do so, or died before the youngest child was 21 years old, the business and stock was to be disposed of and converted into money  
• Left £1 to his eldest son, Thomas Bilton Davison, once he attains 21 years of age, as he had already had a greater share of George’s effects than his brothers 
• His other sons to share everything else not already mentioned – George Davison, John Francis Davison, Edward Anderson Davison, Bilton Davison, Robert Anderson Davison, William Septimus Davison, Charles John Davison, and Anderson Davison, and any other child or children he may have 

After George’s death in 1827, it was said that Mary ran the shop as a gunmaker in her own right, but although the business was in her name, we can see from George’s will that she was under the direction of William Davison, and her brothers, Thomas and Robert Anderson. 

By 1829, George’s premises in Alnwick were to let.  A notice in the Newcastle Courant on Saturday 14 March 1829 reads: 

To be LET, and entered to at Whitsuntide first, 

A HOUSE AND SHOP, most eligibly situated in 

the Market-Place, Alnwick, at present occupied by Mrs 

Davison, Gun-Maker.  The Premises may be seen, and fur- 

ther Particulars known, on Application to Mr. F.C. Rattray. 

Alnwick, March 4th, 1829. 

Although the original shop was no longer available, the business continued.  In the Davison collection again, I found a letterhead dating to 1830, which names the proprietors as Davison and Snowdon.  This is presumably Mary, who has gone into partnership with George Snowdon – the apprentice that ran away from the business in 1820! 

Within Pigot’s Directory (Northern) dated 1834, Mary is listed as one of two ‘Gun Makers’ in Alnwick, alongside George Snowdon, who must have left the partnership to start his own business by that time. 

Ref.  Pigot’s Directory – Northern, 1834 

 Mary was still operating the business herself in 1836, as there is a letterhead, again in the Davison collection, which lists her as the sole proprietor. 

The next mention we have been able to find for Mary is in The Berwick Advertiser on 3 February 1838: 

Alnwick. 

Lately presented to the Museum of Mr. Davison, Apothe 

cary, Alnwick, Northumberland,… by Mrs Davison, gun 

maker, Alnwick, an Arctic Skua (Cataractes Parasiticus), 

and a Grey Phalarope (Phalaropus Lobatus)… 

Several online sources suggested that in 1838, Mary joined her brother-in-law, William Davison, at his gun shop in Newcastle, after filing for bankruptcy, but I was not able to confirm this.  By 1841, no Davison’s are listed as gun makers or smiths within Alnwick, according to Robinson’s Directory for Northumberland.  The only gunmaker listed in the town is George Snowdon, who still had a property in Narrowgate.  By 1887, in Bulmer’s History and Directory of Northumberland, only the Hardy Bros. of Fenkle Street are noted as gun makers. 

The last mention we found of Mary was her death in 1847, reported in the Durham Chronicle on 26 February: 

…in Prudhoe-street, 18th, aged 66, much respected, 

Mary, relict of the late Mr. George Davison, gun- 

maker, of Alnwick and Newcastle… 

Today, examples of guns made by George Davison are preserved within the Royal Armouries at Leeds, as well as within private collections. 

One caveat that I must include is that Mary Davison probably wasn’t what we would recognise as a gun “maker”.  We know that she took on the business after her husband’s death, but it is highly unlikely she would have actually “made” the guns.  This task could have been carried out by Snowdon, and when he left the business, there could have been another apprentice who took on that role.  Or the guns could have been bought in and the Davison name engraved upon them.  Mary’s business would likely have consisted of buying and selling, perhaps with onsite workmen carrying out small scale manufacture or repair – the premises on Market Street may have contained a small workshop area for this practice.  So there is no evidence of Mary making guns herself but, unless we go and visit the premises in a time machine, we will never know for certain.  & I quite like the picture I have in my mind of Mary donning her leather apron and getting down to a bit of metalwork… 

Within the collection of William Davison, the famous Alnwick printer, we have some printers’ proofs that relate to George Davison, Gun-Maker, of Alnwick.  As someone who has spent a lot of their life in and around Alnwick, I couldn’t recall hearing of Mr. George Davison, and decided to delve a little further.  When I googled George and read that his second wife, Mary Anderson, was also described as a gun maker, my interest in the Davison’s was well and truly cemented, and I needed to know more. 

After again using the tried and tested historical research method of Googling, I discovered that George Davison was the son of Thomas Davison and Isabel Forrest of Wooler.  I have been able to find the marriage of Thomas and Isabella in the records of Wooler St. Mary [ref. EP 33/3], but could not find a baptism of a George Davison that would provide evidence of his parents being Thomas and Isabella.  At the moment, this link remains unsubstantiated. 

The internet also carried the tale that Thomas Davison was a cutler who later became a gunsmith in Alnwick, and that George, as Thomas’ oldest son, took over the gunsmith business from his father; again, this is unsubstantiated in the research that I have carried out. 

On 7 December 1805, George Davison, bachelor, and Margaret Bilton, spinster, were married at Alnwick St. Michael’s by Licence [ref. EP 132/8].  When Margaret died in 1815, aged only 31 years, the couple were living in the Market Place in Alnwick.  George re-married in 1817 to a Mary Anderson, spinster, again at Alnwick St. Michael’s. 

In July 1820, Davison’s 19 year old apprentice, George Snowdon, ran away from the premises, and we have a printers proof in the collection that gives a description of Snowdon and the reward offered. 

Using the British Newspaper Archive, I found several adverts relating to George’s business, that spanned several newspapers, right across the north-east.  One advert in the Durham County Advertiser on Saturday 21 August 1824 read: 

TO GUN-MAKERS 

Wanted immediately, a good Workman in the above line; good encouragement and constant employ will be given, by applying to George Davison, Newcastle and Alnwick 

N.B.  An Apprentice wanted at the Newcastle shop. Pilgrim-street, Newcastle, August 19th, 1824 

This backed up the claims I had read online that Davison had premises in the Market Place in Alnwick, as well as within Newcastle. 

A theft occurred from Davison’s shop in July 1825, when a pair of twisted copper cap double gun barrels were stolen from the Alnwick shop.  The notice of the theft was printed by William Davison, on behalf of the Alnwick Parish Association and George Davison, who were both contributing to a seven guinea reward (about £86 in todays’ money). 

In 1826, a notice placed in the Tyne Mercury, as well as other newspapers, reads: 

GEORGE DAVISON 

GUN-MAKER, Pilgrim-Street, Newcastle, and Alnwick. Has great pleasure in informing his Sporting Friends, that the improvement he has lately made in his PERCUSSION POWDER renders it equally harmless to the gun as common gunpowder, and which he warrants certain fire and water-proof. 

An extensive assortment of DOUBLE and SINGLE COPPER- CAPPED GUNS, with the latest improvements, and of superior workmanship, on sale at his shops as above. Pilgrim-street, July 21, 1826 

The Durham County Advertiser reports the death of George Davison in their issue on Saturday 24 March 1827, having occurred ‘Saturday last’, and note that he was a ‘…gunmaker, of Alnwick and Newcastle, aged 44.’  It is interesting to note than an Alnwick gunmaker’s death was reported as widely as Durham – I did find mention of the event in several newspapers of the time – and suggests that he was a well-known character in shooting circles. 

To be continued……