Life story retold by Yota Dimitriadi
In the early hours of 1912, amidst the austere walls of the Reading Union Workhouse, a young domestic servant named Caroline ELLIS brought a new life into the world. Her son, Frederick Dudley ELLIS, bore the delicate weight of his circumstances from the moment of his birth. He was an illegitimate child, born into a world where societal judgments often loomed as heavily as the challenges of survival. Caroline, striving to make sense of her own precarious existence, faced the impossible task of securing a future for her son.
At just three weeks old, baby Frederick was placed in the care of Mrs. Ellen Palmer, described as a compassionate woman living at 104 Kennet Side in Reading. Caroline made this difficult decision, entrusting her infant to Mrs. Palmer, who also cared for another of Caroline’s children. It was a quiet arrangement, marked by £1 monthly payments and the hope that love and care would fill the void Caroline’s circumstances could not.
Mrs. Palmer nurtured Frederick as best she could, but during the inquest of his death it was described that the child was frail. From birth, he struggled with his health, spending seven weeks in the hospital under the watchful eyes of doctors and nurses. Yet, despite these efforts, Frederick’s condition remained tenuous, a puzzle without resolution.
On Sunday night on 10 November 1912, Frederick’s cries filled the quiet home on Kennet Side. Mrs. Palmer stayed close, soothing him as she could, but the cries continued, restless and unrelenting. By the morning light of Monday, November 11, the house had grown silent. Mrs. Palmer approached the cradle and found that Frederick had slipped away.
Dr. Hewse, who later examined the child, could find no clear cause for the wasting illness that had claimed Frederick’s life. It was a mystery, he admitted, one of those rare cases where even medical science fell short of explanation. Nevertheless, it was evident that the child had been cared for—he was clean, his surroundings were orderly, and his foster mother had taken every reasonable step to ensure his well-being.
The coroner’s inquest, held on Tuesday, November 12, concluded with a verdict of “death from natural causes.” There was no blame, only sadness—a poignant acknowledgment of a life too brief and too fragile. He was 7 months olf.
unmarked grave in the unconsecrated part of the cemetery