Tameside Local History Forum

'The Names on the Wall' is a fictionalized account of the Ashton Munitions Explosion which took place in Tameside on June 13th 1917. It was written as a result of research undertaken as part of the Behaviour Educational Support Team (BEST) involvement with St Peter's School, Ashton-under-Lyne where the commemorative plaque is to be found.

There are well documented benefits to people having feelings of affilliation and belonging to their community. One aspect of this can grow from seeing how their own personal history and the history of the area are interwoven.

Michael Keane from Tameside Local Studies and Archives Centre was instrumental in helping with the research.

The next part of the project is to work with the education department of Oldham Coliseum to adapt the story into a musical.

Beth Williams has worked as an educational psychologist since 1987 and with BEST since its inception in April 2005.

The pictures included in the book are published with the agreement of Tamesdie Local Studies and Archives Centre.

The BEST Logo was designed and is published with the permission of Lowtonbailey Creative Services.

newspapers of the time
letters sent by people to request financial support from the fund
school logs from both St Peter's and West End schools Ashton-under-Lyne
government report (acquired from the National Archives)
parish records from St Peter’s church
relevant death certificates

In all of this research we were unable to ascertain how Sarah Ann Higginson died. She is not listed in the official list of the dead given to the coroner, neither is her family listed as receiving support from the fund for a funeral. She is not listed amongst the injured taken to any of the number of hospitals used following the incident although another child named Clifford Higginson is. The names of the children who died are not recorded in the school logs. She does not appear in the baptismal or burial records for the church nor in national death certificate records.

Consequently the exact manner and time of Sarah Ann Higginson’s death remains unknown and the inclusion of her name on the plaque on the wall remains a mystery.

The Names on the Wall

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