Deaths of Children

Tony McGrane

13 year old Tony McGrane attended Conewood Street Assessment Centre, and was murdered in 1986. More on Tony McGrane here.

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.

Jason Swift

14 year old Jason Swift was murdered by Sidney Cooke and his gang in 1985. For some time before his death he attended the tuition unit at Conewood Street Assessment Centre. More on Jason Swift here.

Vivian Loki

17 year old Vivian Loki went missing in Islington on 22nd December 1987. Her body was eventually found in March 1988 in a black plastic bag in a locked meter cupboard. More on Vivian Loki here.

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).