Life story shared by Yota Dimitriadi
Winifred (Winnie) BALLARD was an eight-year-old girl from Reading, whose mysterious and tragic death in 1914 captured the attention of both the local and national community and remains an unsolved case. She was the daughter of William BALLARD a drayman and his wife Minnie and had two sisters, Jessie Florence and Vera. Winnie attended Katesgrove School and was known as a bright and spirited child. We know little about her life and her death.
The Disappearance
On the evening of Monday, 16th February, 1914, Winnie was sent out by her parents around half past six. She never returned home. A search party, including Boy Scouts with bicycle lamps and lanterns, scoured the nearby fields and buildings throughout the night but found no trace of her.
One of Winnie’s playmates later reported seeing her speaking to a strange man, a “big, black-looking man”, who wore a cap and carried an empty sack on his back. This would be one of several reported sightings of an unidentified man in the area around the time of her disappearance.
The Discovery of Her Body
The following morning, Tuesday, 17th February, a man named George Lunnon discovered Winnie’s body in a tributary of the River Kennet running through Reading. The discovery suggested foul play, as her hat and money were missing, and her skipping rope was never recovered.
The inquest, held on Thursday, 19th February, revealed troubling details. Doctor Howse, the police surgeon, stated that Winnie was either unconscious or semi-conscious when she entered the water. He found minor injuries, including a small abrasion on her upper lip and a bruise on her right shin. A particularly mysterious detail emerged when a bangle or band, typically worn by men to hold up their shirtsleeves,was found around her wrist. Winnie’s mother testified that the band did not belong to her daughter and that she had never seen it before.
George Dunmow, who recovered the body, believed that it was impossible for the girl to have ended up in the water naturally. Instead, he suggested that she had been thrown in from the bank. Despite these unsettling facts pointing toward foul play, the jury returned an open verdict, meaning there was insufficient evidence to determine whether her death was murder or accidental.
A Town Gripped by Rumours
Winnie’s tragic fate shook the community, leading to widespread speculation. Some claimed to have encountered a “tall dark man” behaving suspiciously in the area. Some of these accounts were investigated and concluded that they were fabricated influenced by newspaper reports and local gossip. For instance, Mr. Robert Fisher, of 19, Alpine Street, on Tuesday 24th February informed the police that when he arrived home on Monday night about 8.30 p.m. his daughter Elsie, aged 15 years, who was employed at the Biscuit Factory, told him that she was with two other girls in Elgar Road about 7 p.m. on Monday, “when a tall dark man, wearing a long coat, and cap pulled over his eyes, came up to them, caught hold of one of the girls and asked them to get him some tobacco, but they ran away”. The police interviewed the girl on Tuesday and she said that it was not true but had made the remark because she had read in the papers ‘”about a tall dark man in the Winnie Ballard inquiry, and she wanted to talk about it, as she had heard other girls talking about the case” (Berkshire Chronicle, Wednesday 25 February 1914).
Adding to the mystery, Winnie’s father received an anonymous letter at the beginning of March bearing a “London, S.W.” postmark, which claimed to identify a young man who could provide information about the case. On Monday 2nd March Daily News (London) reported:
“The spelling is rather bad, but the letter is plainly intended to indicate the name of the man who is suspected of having murdered the child. It runs as follows: The name of the man is —, working for —, near Remenham, a few miles away. Try and find this out if you can. Age of the man is 18 or 19 years. The letter has been placed in the hands of the police”. On 9th March the Portsmouth Evening News reported that “the police believe that the letter recently forwarded to the parents of the child and containing suggestions as to foul play was a wicked hoax” (page 3).
The police investigated but later dismissed the letter as a cruel hoax.
The Funeral and Community Mourning
On Saturday 21st February 1914, Winnie Ballard was laid to rest in Reading Old Cemetery. Despite heavy rain, hundreds of mourners gathered in Elgar Road and at the Cemetery to pay their respects. Her coffin, “smothered with wreaths” from her family but also Scholars and Teachers of Katesgrove School, was met at the entrance of St. Michael’s Church by Reverend H.P. Bowen, the cross bearer, and a boy choir. There was a large number of children among the congregation. The service was very touching, especially when the choir boys led the singing of the solacing hymn (the only one sung at the service), “There’s a Friend for Little Children”, moving many of the adults as well as Winnie’s little playmates to tears. At its conclusion the coffin was carried out of the church amid hushed silence.
Her parents, sisters Jessie and Vera, lots of aunts and uncles, along with many adults and children walked solemnly behind the coffin which taken to the Cemetery on a glass car. Along the funeral route, there “was probably not a house in Elgar Road, from Winnie’s house to Pell Street” that did not have its blinds drawn as a mark of respect. One little boy was heard asking, “Where are they taking Winnie? “ and was answered in soft tones “To Heaven, dear.”
At the Cemetery some of her playmates dropped on the coffin bunches of primroses and snowdrops, ”modest but eloquent symbols of sorrow”. The funeral arrangements were carried out by Mr. J. E. Hope.
Winnie is buried in Reading Old with her parents and her sister Jessie who sadly also died young.
The Unanswered Questions
The mystery of Winnie Ballard’s death remains unsolved. Key evidence, such as her missing skipping rope and hat, was never found. The blue woollen hat discovered near Silver Street School, by a Corporation street care worker named William Aldridge on the morning after Winnie disappeared, was taken to the Corporation refuse pit. Aldridge lived opposite the girl’s home, but did not attach any significance to his discovery, at least not till two days later and it could not be found. As a result it is not certain that it was Winnie’s at all. Other crucial leads, including the mysterious bangle and the unidentified man, never led to arrests or conclusions.
Division 60, Row A Plot 11