Rob's sad tale of a trajedy in Bembridge in 1907

Elaine Rivis Anderson - The Little Girl In The Cemetery

We can go through life seeing tragedy and misfortune on the television and in the newspapers every day and although it may leave an impression on us at the time it does not linger for too long. We forget and carry on with our lives until the next time. I make no excuses for the fact that this describes me perfectly. Funny then, how a chance discovery in an old graveyard on the Isle of Wight has had such a profound effect on me.

My wife and I were taking a weeks holiday in St Helens on the Isle of Wight in March 2003. On a walk into Bembridge we passed an old church and cemetery just before you come to a small parade of shops in Lane End Road. As regular visitors to Bembridge we had passed here many times before but this time I suggested that we should go in and have a look around. This was not morbid curiosity but simply out of our interest in the local area. After a while we came upon a small grave, no upright headstone, just a small horizontal plaque which read : Elaine Rivis Beloved Daughter Of George and Jane Anderson Who Was Drowned At Bembridge December 26 1907 Aged 9 Years We stood there for a while and it was soon clear that we both felt the same. What a tragic event. Here was a young girl who only the day before was probably excitedly opening her Christmas presents and then, just a few hours later, lay dead in the waters of Bembridge. It was then that I decided that I must try and find out all I could about Elaine and her family, where they were born, where they lived but most importantly how Elaine came to be in such terrible danger that day in December 1907. I have never really attempted anything like this before so it was difficult to know where to begin. I use the internet a lot so this seemed a good starting point.

In the first instance I keyed in a search for Elaines name in the hope that somebody before me had carried out some research but this drew a blank. Then I remembered the 1901 Census web site that was in the news some time ago. They were having problems at the launch due to so many people trying to log on so I was pleased that when I tried it was up and running. Basic information on this site is free so firstly I tried a search for Elaine with the Isle of Wight as her place of residence but with no luck. I then tried George and Jane Anderson. This looked more promising as two results were returned showing a George and Jane Anderson living in Carisbrooke in 1901. Unfortunately they would have been too old to be Elaines parents. So, it was time to forget the Isle of Wight for the moment and concentrate on a wider area. This time I keyed a search for Elaine but left the place of residence blank. I also worked out that she would have been 2 years old in 1901 and this I included in the search. One result was returned and that was for an Elaine Anderson living in Lambeth, London but born in Cheltenham Gloucs. Well, it was a start but the unusual second name of Rivis was missing. Next I keyed a search for Elaines parents using the same format but not including the age. This seemed to be the breakthrough that I was looking for. Among the results of this search were a George Anderson living in Lambeth aged 39 who was a confectioner and agent and a Jane Anderson also living in Lambeth aged 26. George was born in York and Jane was born in Chatham in Kent. The ages were right, the location was right but I needed to confirm all of this. It was time to get the credit card out. You only get so much information for free on this web site and I needed to find out more details of these two people living in Lambeth. So, after submiting my credit card details I tried again. This time I started with George Anderson. I was now able to get the full address which was 238 Clapham Road . Another option was presented to me at this stage and that was to be able to see all other people living at this address. Choosing this I was presented with a page showing George Anderson as head of family.

Next was Jane Anderson wife of George. Things were looking good. I had to scroll down to the next entry and there she was…Elaine Rivis Anderson aged 2 yrs. The last time I had seen her name was in an old graveyard in Bembridge some weeks before, now here she was again. Her name showing on an old document as a 2yr old, oblivious of what the future would hold. I was so taken aback at actually finding her that I nearly overlooked the fact that there was another entry on the page. Hilder Kathleen Anderson aged 7 months. So, Elaine had a sister Hilder who was born at Shanklin, Isle of Wight. This could be the connection that would lead Elaine to Bembridge on that fateful day some years later. Time to re-cap. Born in Cheltenham, Elaine was 2yrs old in 1901 and living with her parents George and Jane and sister Hilder at 238 Clapham Road, Lambeth, London. Hilder was just seven months old in 1901 but strangely was born in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight. Did they live there some seven months earlier or did Jane go there to have Hilder? If so, it would suggest that there were other family living on the island. Among my early search results I discovered a Jane Anderson residing at The Bembridge Hotel so I decided to investigate her in more detail. She is described as Living on her own means. This would suggest that she owned or ran this hotel. She was 74 yrs old in 1901 and had two grandaughters living with her, Kathleen G Hawkes aged 5yrs and Mabella H.S. Hawkes aged 2yrs. Also living in the hotel were two servants, one a barmaid and the other a nurse domestic, presumably to look after the young children. I am not sure if she will play a part in this story but there are two connections to the Andersons of Lambeth. Firstly and most importantly is that this Jane Anderson was born in York, the same as George and secondly, Elaines sister Hilder has the middle name of Kathleen, the same as one of the grandaughters living in the hotel. Could this Jane Anderson possibly be Georges mother ? and could she, for some reason, be looking after Georges sisters children ( if he had a sister ! ) ? This would provide a vital Isle of Wight connection and could possibly explain why Hilder was born on the island. It would also give reason for Elaine to be here some years later. The Bembridge Hotel is very close to the harbour! More investigation is needed here but not at the moment. Time now to move forward for a while and try and discover what happened on the day Elaine died. This may provide more information to fill in the blanks that exist at the moment. The Isle of Wight County Press is the main newspaper on the island so after visiting their web site I sent an email to them asking if they could help. Surely somewhere in their archives there must be a mention of Elaines death ? A few days later I received a phone call from them. Yes, they had found an artical about what happened to Elaine and it was in the post. A week later I received a photocopy of the newspaper article containing the information about Elaines death.

This is the full transcript of that article just as it was written in 1907.DISTRESSING DROWNING FATALITY AT BEMBRIDGE Yesterday ( Friday ) were confirmed the worst fears which had been entertained as to the fate of a 9 year old girl named Elaine Anderson, niece of Mrs. Hawkes, proprietress of the Royal Spithead Hotel, when her dead body was found in the Harbour there. The girl, who belonged to Aldershot, was on a visit to Mrs Hawkes, to spend the Christmas holiday. After playing with some friends on Thursday morning she appears to have gone to the breakwater and to have been blown off into the water by the strong wind which was blowing or to have fallen off. She was missed about midday and the gravest apprehensions were caused by the discovery of her hat floating in the water on the St Helens side of the Harbour later in the day. Dragging operations were then commenced and the body was recovered yesterday ( Friday ) morning by Mr. Richard Mursell and other fishermen. The facts have been reported to the Deputy Coroner and an inquest will be held in due course. The distressing occurrence has cast quite a gloom over Bembridge. At last, everything was starting to fall into place. Another quick check on the Census site confirmed everything. Mrs Hawkes was in fact Jessie Hawkes who I am now sure was George Andersons sister as she too was born in York. She married George Hawkes who was a licenced victualler from Cork, Ireland. He was 63 in 1901 and Jessie was 40. Jane Anderson of The Bembridge Hotel, which was just up the road from the Royal Spithead, must have been George Anderson and Jessies mother and it would seem that Jessies children Kathleen and Mabella were staying with her rather than living at the Royal Spithead. Whether they were still living with their grandmother at the time of Elaines death is unknown. This problably answers the question of why Elaines sister Hilder was born on the Island. There were family here and it was the ideal place to convalesce. In the report of Elaines death Mrs Hawkes is described as proprietress of The Royal Spithead, yet in the census records of 1901 George Hawkes is classed as head of family and Jessie has no title. This would suggest that by 1907 George Hawkes may not have been alive and if he was, played no part in the running of the Hotel. There are still a number of unanswered questions such as, how did Georges mother Jane come to be at the Bembridge Hotel ? And were Elaine`s parents and sister also staying on the Island that Christmas ? If not, why? It does seem a little strange for one child to be separated from her parents and sister at Christmas. All of this however, will have to be another story.

I think that I have completed what I set out to do and so here then, in my own words, is the story of Elaine Rivis Anderson….

Elaine began her short life in Cheltenham in 1899 and by the time she was two years old had moved to Lambeth in London with her parents George and Jane. Her mother fell pregnant again and gave birth to her sister Hilder on the Isle of Wight where Georges Mother, also Jane, lived, at The Bembridge Hotel. Georges sister Jessie had married an Irishman named George Hawkes and they too lived in Bembridge, running The Royal Spithead Hotel, just a short distance from her mother. They also had two children, Kathleen and Mabella who stayed with their grandmother at The Bembridge Hotel. A nurse domestic was employed to look after them. The Royal Spithead Hotel was a much grander establishment, not the place to bring up children. By 1907 George and Jane Anderson had moved again, this time to Aldershot and it was this Christmas that Elaine spent at Bembridge with her Aunt Jessie. It is unclear if George, Jane and Hilder also spent Christmas here but I have a feeling that they did not. It must have been quite an adventure for Elaine, staying at the seaside for Christmas with her Aunt. She may have been missing her family but new friends and new places to explore would have taken her mind off of things. Anyway, Christmas Day came and went and on Boxing Day Thursday 26th December 1907 Elaine awoke, dressed and had breakfast. She had arranged to go out and play with friends, maybe even her cousins Mabella and Kathleen who lived nearby. A strong cold wind was blowing in off The Solent that day so she put on her heavy coat and hat and went out to play. At some point during the morning Elaine wandered off on her own towards the breakwater and slowly edged her way out. She may have stood there a while with the cold wind blowing on her cheeks. Looking down at the fast moving water she may have become disorientated and would have begun to lose her balance. Struggling to keep her feet, another strong gust could have blown in from The Solent but whatever happened Elaine fell from the breakwater. As she fell her hat blew away in the wind and landed some distance away on the water and began to drift away. It was freezing and soon her heavy coat would have become saturated and she would have fought to stay afloat. Maybe she cried out but no one would have heard her over the strong wind. So cold now, she could struggle no more and then she was gone. Elaine was not missed until midday and later in the afternoon her hat was discovered floating in the water on the St Helens side of the Harbour and the worst was feared. The local fishermen began to drag the Harbour but without success. As it became dark the search for Elaine was abandoned for the day. Next morning a short while after recommencing the search, Elaines body was found in the harbour by Mr. Richard Mursell and some other fishermen. A great sadness fell over Bembridge that New Year and after all of the formalities were completed Elaine was buried in the cemetery in Lane End Road. So, I think it is now time to leave Elaine in peace but if you are ever in Bembridge, take the time to walk down Lane End Road towards the LifeBoat Station. Just before you come to a small parade of shops you will see a church on your left. Walk in the main gate and you will find Elaine about halfway up on your right hand side. I am sure she will not mind if you leave some flowers.

If anyone who reads this has any comments or further information about Elaine and her family please contact me at the address shown below or by email. I shall be pleased to hear from you. What I would really like to do now is to put a face to the name. I know it is a tall order but there may just be someone out there who has a photo or image of Elaine buried away somewhere. If you do or think that you might have then please contact me.

My thanks go to The Isle of Wight County Press for providing me with the article about Elaines death. This tied up so many loose ends and confirmed the link between The Anderson and Hawkes family.

Rob Jennings

Rob Jennings has now updated this story and has also been published on a BBC website at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A4455506