Crickhowell
Victorian school days
  Killed by a falling tree  
 

Young children were much more likely to die in Victorian times than in recent years. The greatest danger was from diseases which could spread very quickly and cause many deaths.
But there were also many reports of accidents in the Log Books of the early schools, such as this tragedy from 1883. This comes from the records of Crickhowell British School -

  
23rd June
1883
 School diary entry
"Mrs Reynolds (Sewing mistress) is going to the funeral of the late George King, who was shot by a poacher on Saturday morning last. Four of his children attend this school".
Crickhowell British School
18th January 1876
Drawing by
Rob Davies
 23rd June - "Attendance this week much lower and more irregular than for the last weeks. On Tuesday evening the trunk of a tree on the roadside, from some cause or other, fell on Margt. [Margaret] A Davies - a 2nd Standard [class] girl, and killed her on the spot. The funeral is to take place Friday. I took the children there. Revd. [Reverend] J.Parry also attended with the school children". Fallen tree
 

This is an accident which could have happened at almost any time, but most fatal accidents in Victorian times were caused by the lack of safety measures which are required by law today.

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