I was sent the following newspaper cutting by Wendy Collin. It relates to a tragedy that befell her great aunts.
The story was carried by most newspapers in the land. The story presented was as follows:
The accident occurred on July 3rd 1903 at Cleveleys, a resort midway between Blackpool and Fleetwood on the Lancashire coast.
The family of Mr Frederick Warburton, a prominent manufacturer of Chorlton-cum-Hardy had been staying for the past week at Seabeach House. The party consisted of Mrs Warburton, her four daughters, and a son-in-law, Mr Lord, the husband of the oldest daughter. The party, with the exception of Mrs Warburton, were very fond of the water, and bathed every day.
About four o’clock on Saturday afternoon, though warned that the sea was rather rough, they all went off in a very happy mood for another dip. The tide was running very rapidly. Powerless to help, the horror stricken mother saw them carried away and appealed for aid. This was promptly forthcoming, and her son-in-law and one daughter were rescued by Mr John Croft.
The other three, Miss Ethel Warburton, Miss Minnie Warburton and Mrs Lord had by this time been swept a considerable distance out, and though gallant efforts were made to reach them, they were swept away by the strong tide. and drowned before their mother’s eyes.
The ladies, who were all of very prepossessing appearance, were great favourites at Cleveleys where they had made hosts of friends.
When I investigated the family I discovered that Wendy Collin was actually my 8th cousin, so the tragic family were part of my Hale Barns clan. The names were included in my tree, though I wasn’t aware of the drowning story. Furthermore, the sisters had an older brother, Godfrey, who was the grandfather of my first DNA cousin Clive i.e. the first person to be a Y-chromosome match. We subsequently worked out how we connected and that we are 8th cousins. There is a section on our relationship on page 7 of my DNA Results Commentary.
I have now expanded the family in my tree, but as I am currently working on other parts of the tree I have not yet uploaded it to the website.
Some other aspects of the story came to light during my research. There were actually 5 sisters. Wendy’s grandmother was Beatrix who was only 5 at the time so not in the holiday party. The second daughter Jessie was also not present. The daughter saved was Madge, the eldest daughter and second child after Godfrey. She later married, but died in 1917 aged 33.
Ethel’s body was only recovered 8 days later, 5 miles away at Fleetwood.
An inquest returned a verdict of accidental drowning. John Croft said the day was not fit for bathing, the sea being very rough. Newspapers reports of the inquest named Madge as the sister saved, and Willian Henry Lord as the other person rescued.
John Croft was a local boatman. He was presented with a purse of gold, a silver watch, and an illuminated address, subscribed for by visitors who desired to recognise his bravery.
Although newspaper reports said Nora Lord was also a sister, she was said to be aged 30 and so born about 8 years before the girls parents, Frederick and Martha, were married. Neither seems to have had a previous marriage.
My investigations indicate she was actually Eleanora Maria Pickles from Hay in Breconshire, who married William Henry Lord at Chorlton, St Clements the previous year. They are obviously from the same area as the Warburtons, and were part of their party, but it would seem they were just friends.
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