Deaths of Children

Vivian Loki

Michael Jarrett Lowe

Michael Jarrett Lowe was at the Highbury Crescent children’s home. At 17 years old he went missing and years later his body was found upside down in a shop chimney on Upper Street. More on Michael Jarrett Lowe here.

Tony McGrane

Tommy North

Tommy North was 18 years old when he was killed by Peter Daniels, age 51 years, who had known Tommy since he was 16 years old. Tommy had moved into Mr Daniel’s flat in Stelfox House, Weston Rise , Islington.

Daniels was convicted of manslaughter and got a sentence of 6 years. He admitted strangling Tommy in May 1989 but was not arrested until the October as he had gone on the run and was finally arrested by police in London.

The press coverage provides a picture of Peter Daniels and his life but there is no information as to how Daniels got to know Tommy or why Tommy was living with him. We have no proper analysis of how Tommy came to be in this situation because as far as we know there never was no inquiry by Islington social services following this tragedy.

ISN have learnt that Tommy had links to Conewood Street in 1986 and knew Tony McGrane (who was also a victim of manslaughter). It is not known if Tommy was a resident in this children’s home, or attending the education unit or mainly a friend of others there at the time. As there is no investigation ongoing into child sexual exploitation connected with this specific home then no checks have been made about Tommy North and if he was known to social services. Perhaps someone will clarify this one day. It seems very probable that he was.

‘Man killed gay lover court told. Wife found body on floor of kitchen‘

This was the headline of the Cambridge Daily News press coverage of the killing of Tommy North age 18. When Tommy was a child age 16, Daniels would have been 49. Yet the contact between them was not described as exploitative. The reports say Daniels reported Tommy North as ‘throwing a tantrum for no apparent reason’ but we will not know what happened because Tommy was not there to tell us and only the opinion of the criminal is on record. Police and social services must have known about the risks to Tommy given what was known about Conewood Street at the time – the Operation Orchid police had interviewed boys there about the murder of Jason Swift in 1985 because he had attended the Conewood Education Unit . Tony McGrane also attended the Education Unit and he was killed in 1986.

So much information about the deaths of these boys has been hidden but the truth should and must be known. Why was there no Islington investigation of these most serious crimes against children known to social services and police? An investigation, if in place, would have accessed these boys’ social work files. The next of kin could still apply for them now and ISN would of course assist the process. Files related to the Education Unit are, we understand, not available as they were Education and not Social Work files. Managers in social services responsible at that time have not been asked about their knowledge and actions in relation to these tragedies

Cambridge Daily News 21.6.89 and 24.6.89

Black Kalendar (Crimes of homicide 1254-2026) entry for Peter Daniels

Jason Swift

This book published in 1993 by Warner Books provides excellent coverage by two journalists of the child murders and abductions of young boys, during the 80s in London and the South East, including an account of the murder of Jason Swift and police investigations Operation Stranger and Operation Orchid. The website https://spotlightonabuse.wordpress.com/ also has links to press coverage of the police investigations.

The Beeches

The Beeches was a private run children’s home set up in 1954 for children with cerebral palsy, sometimes described as ‘a home for mentally handicapped children’ situated in Ixworth, Suffolk. It was registered and licensed with West Suffolk County Council under the National Assistance Act 1948 (as extended by the Mental Health Act 1959). Sometimes the children are described as ‘mentally subnormal’.

(NB: The terms mentally handicapped and mentally subnormal are no longer acceptable but were in use at the time).

At any one time about 35 – 40 children were resident at The Beeches sent from the London Boroughs of Islington and Hackney. ISN do not know how many of the children were in the care of the local authorities.

In 18 years (1954-1972) 43 children were believed to have died at The Beeches. Some of the parents considered that the deaths raised serious concerns about the treatment at the home. It was confirmed by a government minister that between, December 1967 and March 1972, 8 children had died of pneumonia. Of these 3 had died in a period of just 4 months. (In November 1972 the Minister said in the previous 6 years there had been just 2 inquests. (One was Tara Pratine Naiker – the other a boy of 4 in 1966).

More on The Beeches here