Memories
The memories of the Tragedy live on locally, but inevitably become dimmer. Older residents gradually disappear and the story becomes handed down to succeeding generations in general detail only. However, every so often something more vivid and personal emerges, and the resonances of those events reverberate anew.

The existence of this web site has played a key role in enabling the Society to add to its archive on the Tragedy via the personal memories of witnesses and relatives. Two contributions, given via the links below, have been especially important.

In autumn 2001, the Society heard from the grand-daughter and great-grand-daughter of the George and Lily Green who lived at the Gatehouse Lodge in 1912. Lily passed down stories of the Tragedy and events at Hanslope Park and they have been kept alive in the family, together with photos of George and Lily. The Society is grateful for their kind permission to use these photos on the site.

Even more dramatic was a contact from an actual eye-witness to the events. In March 2002 from Lynda Lancaster in Wrea Green, Lancashire, who was writing on behalf of a 98-year-old lady who wanted to research her roots in Tathall End. Beatrice May Anderton had been born Beatrice Geary. Her family lived close to the Farrows in Tathall End, and her father worked for Squire Watts. She was 8 years old at the time of the Tragedy, but was present at the immediate aftermath of the shootings, saw the coffin of William Farrow in his cottage in Tathall End, and was present at the funerals of both Squire Watts and William Farrow. Beatrice is almost certainly the last living witness of the events of July 1912.

The Society is indebted to Lynda and Beatrice for permission to reproduce Beatrice's account of the Tragedy on this site, and for so generously donating a transcript of Beatrice's memories of life in Tathall End and Hanslope, with permission to publish in hard copy.