117-556: Mary Flora Bell (born 26 May 1957) is an English woman who, as a juvenile, killed two preschool-age boys in Scotswood , an inner suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne , in 1968. Bell committed her first killing when she was ten years old. In both instances, Bell informed her victim that he had a sore throat, which she would massage before proceeding to strangle him. Bell was convicted of manslaughter in relation to both killings in December 1968, in
234-583: A psychopathic personality disorder . In his official report compiled for the Director of Public Prosecutions , David Westbury concluded: "[Mary's] social techniques are primitive and take the form of automatic denial, ingratiation , manipulation, complaining, bullying, flight or violence." The trial of Mary Bell and Norma Bell for the murders of Martin Brown and Brian Howe began at Newcastle Assizes on 5 December 1968. Both girls were tried before Mr Justice Cusack and
351-448: A bomb penetrated the road and tunnel at Balham tube station , blew up the water mains and sewage pipes, and killed 66 people. At Bank station , a direct hit caused a crater of 37 by 30 metres (120 ft × 100 ft) on 11 January 1941; the road above the station collapsed and killed 56 occupants. The highest death toll was caused by an incident at the unfinished Bethnal Green tube station on 8 March 1943, when 1,500 people entered
468-556: A cage-like construction beneath it. It was designed by John Baker and named after Herbert Morrison , the Minister of Home Security at the time. It was the result of the realisation that due to the lack of house cellars it was necessary to develop an effective type of indoor shelter. The shelters came in assembly kits , to be bolted together inside the home. They were approximately 1.98 metres (6 ft 6 in) long, 1.2 metres (4 ft) wide and 0.76 metres (2 ft 6 in) high, had
585-498: A constant interior temperature of 7 to 10 °C (45 to 50 °F), which made them perfectly suitable for laboratories, both during and after the war. They were used to protect people, administrative centres, important archives and works of art. Their structures took many forms: usually consisting of square blocks or of low, long rectangular or triangular shapes; straight towers of a square plan rising to great heights, or round tower-like edifices, even pyramidal constructions. Some of
702-546: A derelict house located at 85 St. Margaret's Road. She is believed to have committed this crime alone. Brown's body was discovered by three children at approximately 3:30 p.m. He was lying on his back with his arms stretched above his head. Aside from specks of blood and foam around his mouth, no signs of violence were visible upon his body. A local workman named John Hall soon arrived on the scene; he attempted to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), to no avail. As Hall attempted CPR, Mary Bell and Norma Bell appeared at
819-495: A disused air raid shelter when he had been pushed 7 ft (2.1 m) from the roof to the ground, inflicting a severe laceration to his head. He was unsure of which one of the girls had actually pushed him. The same evening, the parents of three small girls contacted police to complain that both Mary and Norma had attempted to strangle their children as they played in a sandpit. That evening, both girls were interviewed about these incidents. Both girls denied any culpability for
936-414: A game of chicken , both girls called upon the house of his mother, June, asking to see her son. When June Brown replied that they could not see her son because he was deceased, Mary replied: "Oh, I know he's dead; I want to see him in his coffin." On the afternoon of 31 July 1968, a three-year-old named Brian Howe was last seen by his parents in the street outside his house playing with one of his siblings,
1053-443: A great deal of energy through plastic deformation without falling apart. (This was in marked contrast to other trench shelters which used concrete for the sides and roof, which were inherently unstable when disturbed by the effects of an explosion – if the roof slab lifted, the walls fell in under the static earth pressure; if the walls were pushed in, the roof would be unsupported at one edge and would fall.) However, when
1170-515: A high-density area of the capital. An estimated 170,000 people sheltered in the tunnels and stations during the war. Although not a great number in comparison to the population of the capital, it almost certainly saved the lives of the people who probably would have had to find alternative, less secure means of protection. Artists and photographers such as Henry Moore and Bill Brandt were employed as war artists to document life in London's shelters during
1287-515: A house was sucked or blown out by a nearby blast, and the floor of the first storey pivoted about its other end (supported by a largely intact wall) and killed the inhabitants. The Morrison shelter was therefore designed to be able to withstand the upper floor falling, of a typical two storey-house undergoing a partial collapse. The shelter was designed to absorb this energy by plastic deformation, since this can absorb two or three orders of magnitude more energy than elastic deformation. Its design enabled
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#17328560824041404-433: A jury, and both pleaded not guilty to the charges. Mary was defended by Harvey Robson QC ; Norma by R. P. Smith QC. Against protests from both defence counsel, on the first day of the trial, the trial judge waived the defendants' right to anonymity on account of their age. As such, the media were allowed to publicise the names, ages and photographs of both girls, who each sat alongside plainclothed female police officers in
1521-491: A policewoman's arms. She denied her co-defendant's accusations, insisting that although she had observed the body of Martin Brown at St. Margaret's Road, she herself had never harmed the child, and that she and Norma had later asked the boy's mother to view his body as the two were "daring each other and one of us did not want to be a chicken". Mary also conceded she had divulged to others her knowledge of Martin's death could "get Norma put straight away". Questioned with regards to
1638-440: A policy of dispersal and eschewed the use of deep shelters, including the use of tube stations and underground tunnels as public shelters. Reasons given were the spread of disease due to the lack of toilet facilities at many stations, the inherent danger of people falling onto the lines, and that people sheltering in the stations and tunnels might be tempted to stay in them day and night because they would feel safer there than outside
1755-492: A public air raid shelter at Aldwych. Floodgates were installed at various points to protect the network should bombs breach the tunnels under the Thames, or large water mains in the vicinity of stations. Seventy-nine stations were fitted with bunks for 22,000 people, supplied with first aid facilities and equipped with chemical toilets. 124 canteens opened in all parts of the tube system. Shelter marshals were appointed, whose function it
1872-548: A solid 3.2 millimetres ( 1 ⁄ 8 in) steel plate "table" top, welded wire mesh sides, and a metal lath "mattress"-type floor. Altogether it had 359 parts and had three tools supplied with the pack. The shelter was provided free to households whose combined income was less than £400 per year (equivalent to £31,000 in 2023). Head of the Engineering Department at Cambridge University , Professor John Baker (later Lord Baker) presented an undergraduate lecture on
1989-470: A stocking before restraining her hands behind her back and forcing her to perform oral sex upon her clients. Both at home and at school, Mary exhibited numerous signs of disturbed and unpredictable behaviour, including sudden mood swings and chronic bed wetting . She is known to have frequently fought with other children—both boys and girls—and to have attempted to strangle or suffocate her classmates or playmates on several occasions. On one occasion, she
2106-575: A technical Committee on Structural Precautions against Air Attack. By November 1937, there had only been slow progress, because of a serious lack of data on which to base any design recommendations and the Committee proposed that the Home Office should have its own department for research into structural precautions, rather than relying on research work done by the Bombing Test Committee to support
2223-451: A third note simply read: "Fuch off we murder. Watch out Fanny and Faggot." The final note was the most complex, reading: "You are mice Y Becurse we murdered Martain Go Brown you Bete Look out THERE are Murders about By Fanny and auld Faggot you Screws." The police dismissed this incident as a tasteless and childish prank. Two days later, on 29 May, shortly before the funeral of Martin Brown, in
2340-419: A trial held at Newcastle Assizes when she was 11 years old, and in which her actions were judged to have been committed under diminished responsibility . She is Britain's youngest female killer and was diagnosed with a psychopathic personality disorder prior to her trial. Her alleged accomplice in at least one of the killings, 13-year-old Norma Joyce Bell (no relation), was acquitted of all charges. Bell
2457-504: A type of air raid shelters found in Israel inside homes, near residential areas and in other places across the country. These places are also called Merkhav Mugan ( Hebrew : מרחב מוגן , lit. ' protected space ' ). They are reinforced security rooms required in all new buildings by Israeli law. Cellars in the UK, were mainly included only in larger houses, and in houses built up to
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#17328560824042574-612: A week (equivalent to £390 in 2023, when adjusted for inflation ). Those with a higher income were charged £7 (£550 in 2023) for their shelter. One and a half million shelters of this type were distributed between February 1939 and the outbreak of war. During the war a further 2.1 million were erected. Large numbers were manufactured at John Summers & Sons ironworks at Shotton on Deeside with production peaking at 50,000 units per week. The Anderson shelters performed well under blast and ground shock, because they had good connectivity and ductility, which meant that they could absorb
2691-483: A week to children 5–12 (older children with disabilities and additional needs are also welcome). Scotswood Natural Community garden was awarded a Green Flag Community Award. In 2012 a Sculpture Trail was created which involved the creation of four sculptures by artists working with local community groups. West End RFC is a local amateur rugby club which plays its home matches at All Saints Sports Centre. The ward has 6,411 housing spaces, 6.4% being vacant, higher than
2808-509: Is known to have attempted to block the trachea of a young girl with sand. This violent behaviour made many children reluctant to socialise with Mary, who would frequently spend her free time with Norma Joyce Bell (1955–1989), the 13-year-old daughter of a next door neighbour, with whom she had become acquainted in early 1967. Although the girls shared the same surname, they were not related. According to one classmate at Delaval Road Junior School, by 1968, she and her peers had become accustomed to
2925-472: Is unknown if he is her actual biological father. Mary was an unwanted and neglected child. According to her aunt, Isa McCrickett, within minutes of Mary's birth, her mother had resented hospital staff attempting to place her daughter in her arms, shouting: "Take the thing away from me!" As a baby, toddler, and young child, Mary frequently suffered injuries in household accidents while alone with her mother, which led her family to believe that either her mother
3042-502: The Hochbunker was the Winkelturm , named after its designer, Leo Winkel of Duisburg . Winkel patented his design in 1934, and from 1936 onward, Germany built 98 Winkeltürme of five different types. The towers had a conical shape with walls that curved downward to a reinforced base. The dimensions of the towers varied. Diameters ranged between 8.4 and 10 metres (28 and 33 ft) and
3159-669: The Anderson shelter would be built in a garden and equipped with beds as a refuge from air raids. Cellars have always been much more important in Continental Europe than in the United Kingdom and especially in Germany almost all houses and apartment blocks have been and still are built with cellars. Air-raid precautions during World War II in Germany could be much more readily implemented by
3276-575: The Anderson shelter , and to provide steel props to create shelters in suitable basements. During World War II, many types of structures were used as air raid shelters, such as cellars, Hochbunker (in Germany), basements, and underpasses. Bombing raids during World War I led the UK to build 80 specially adapted London Underground stations as shelters. However, during World War II, the government initially ruled out using these as shelters. After Londoners flooded into underground stations during The Blitz ,
3393-590: The Cold War , NATO used the shelter for food storage. The cost of demolishing these edifices after the war would have been enormous, as the attempts at breaking up one of the six so-called Flak towers of Vienna proved. The attempted demolition caused no more than a crack in one of the walls of the tower, after which efforts were abandoned. Only the Zoo Tower in Berlin was successfully demolished. One particular variant of
3510-501: The Institution of Civil Engineers , the design was released for production. Anderson shelters were designed to accommodate up to six people. The main principle of protection was based on curved and straight galvanised corrugated steel panels . Six curved panels were bolted together at the top, so forming the main body of the shelter, three straight sheets on either side, and two more straight panels were fixed to each end, one containing
3627-444: The slate roof; they tore books, upturned desks, and smeared ink and poster paints about the property before escaping. The following day, staff discovered the break-in and vandalism and immediately notified the police, who also discovered four separate notes that claimed responsibility for Martin Brown's murder. One of these notes stated: "I murder SO That I may come back"; another read: "WE did murder martain brown fuckof you bastard";
Mary Bell - Misplaced Pages Continue
3744-422: The (concrete) blocks. Then May said to Brian, "Lift up your neck." Just when she said that there were some boys playing around and Lassie, Brian Howe's dog, was barking. She had followed us down. May then said, "Get away or I'll set the dog on you!" The boys went away. May said to Brian again, "Lift up your neck." Section of Norma Bell's confession to police. 4 August 1968. Mary Bell was visited at her home in
3861-548: The Howe household, and had been transferred to the child by his killer(s). The discovery of Brian Howe's body sparked a large-scale manhunt. Over one hundred detectives from across Northumberland were assigned to the investigation, and more than 1,200 children had been questioned with regard to their whereabouts by 2 August. Two children questioned by detectives on 1 August were Mary Bell and Norma Bell who, witnesses informed investigators, had been seen playing with Brian shortly before he
3978-597: The Newcastle Business Park, which is located on the banks of the River Tyne and houses offices of companies such as British Airways and the Automobile Association . The population of the ward is 13,759, which is 5.3% of the total population of Newcastle upon Tyne. Car ownership in the area is 45.1%, lower than the city average of 54.7%. The 2011 Census gave a population of 12,694. Scotswood grew during
4095-526: The Scotswood Road and William Armstrong Drive junction. Northbound, the boundary joins Buddle Road and continues along St Johns Road to Elswick Road. The boundary then heads west onto Adelaide Terrace to the Hodgkin Park Road junction and continues north to the rear of the allotment gardens and Lismore Place. The boundary moves to the west behind Denhill Park properties to Pendower Hall School and follows
4212-459: The Tubes for shelter, at some stations, they began to arrive as early as 4:00 pm, with bedding and bags of food to sustain them for the night. By the time the evening rush hour was in progress, they had already staked their "pitches" on the platforms. The Police did not intervene and some station managers, on their own initiative, provided additional toilet facilities. Transport Minister John Reith , and
4329-449: The UK for air raid protection during World War II . Railway arches were deep, curved structures of brick or concrete, set into the vertical sidewalls of railway lines, which had been intended originally for commercial depots, etc. The arches were covered usually with wooden or brick screen - or curtain walls , thus giving a considerable amount of protection against air raids – provided, of course, that railway lines were not
4446-456: The United Kingdom, it was being recognised early that public shelters in open spaces, especially near streets, were urgently needed for pedestrians, drivers and passengers in passing vehicles, etc. The programme of building street communal shelters commenced in March 1940, the government supplying the materials, and being the moving force behind the scheme, and private builders executing the work under
4563-639: The West End, some taken by Jimmy Forsyth . Benwell Nature Park and Denton Dene South are located within the ward. Scotswood Leisure Centre hosts various sports clubs and fitness classes. The ward contains three pieces of Play Provision, provided by Newcastle Play Service. These are the Lillia Play Sessions, held at the Lillia Youth Centre and two playcentres: Scotswood Playcentre and Benwell Playcentre. These provide free open access sessions five days
4680-520: The afternoon of 31 July, and that she had also seen him hitting the child. Furthermore, she stated she also remembered that the boy had been covered in grass and weeds as if he had been rolling in a field, and that he had in his possession a small pair of scissors. Mary then expounded: "I saw him trying to cut a cat's tail off with the scissors, but there was something wrong with them—one leg was broken or bent." This self-incriminating statement convinced Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) James Dobson that Mary
4797-461: The air raid shelter incident, claiming they had simply discovered the boy, bleeding heavily from a head wound, after he had fallen. Further questioned about the attempted strangulation of the three young girls, Mary denied any knowledge of the incident. However, Norma admitted Mary had tried to " throttle " each of the girls, stating: Mary went to one of the girls and said, 'What happens if you choke someone; do they die?' Then Mary put both hands 'round
Mary Bell - Misplaced Pages Continue
4914-481: The amenities in existing shelters", he promised. "We're setting about providing better lighting and better accommodation for sleeping and better sanitary arrangements." The Ministries of Home Security and Transport jointly issued an "urgent appeal", telling the public "to refrain from using Tube stations as air-raid shelters except in the case of urgent necessity". Over the night of 19/20 September, thousands of Londoners took matters in their own hands. They had flocked to
5031-444: The arrival of inhabitants from other buildings rendered unsafe in earlier attacks. Some occupants perished from heat stroke or carbon monoxide poisoning. Hochbunker ( lit. ' high-rise bunkers ' or blockhouses ), were a type of construction designed to relieve the pressure Nazi German authorities were facing to accommodate additional numbers of the population in high-density housing areas, as well as pedestrians on
5148-586: The attack. Mary further stated she could determine the level of force Norma had exhibited because "her fingertips and nails were going white", and again conceded she had failed to inform authorities of her knowledge of Norma's actions out of both fear and a misguided sense of loyalty. Norma's mother, Catherine, then testified that, several months prior to the killing of Brian Howe, she and her husband had discovered Mary attempting to strangle Norma's younger sister, Susan, and that she had only released her grip on their daughter's throat after her husband had punched Mary in
5265-424: The authorities than was possible in the UK. All that was necessary was to ascertain that cellars were being prepared to accommodate all the residents of a building; that all the cellar hatch and window protections were in place; that access to the cellars was safe in the event of an air raid; that once inside, the occupants were secure for any incidents other than direct hits during the air raid and that means of escape
5382-493: The body, which was covered in clumps of grass and weeds. Cyanosis was evident upon the child's lips, and several bruises and scratches were evident upon his neck. A pair of broken scissors lay close to his feet. The coroner would conclude that Brian had died of strangulation, and that he had been deceased for up to seven-and-a-half hours before the discovery of his body. The killer had evidently squeezed Brian's nostrils closed with one hand as he or she had gripped his throat with
5499-418: The care of their father—if he was present in the household. Mary was her second child, born when Betty was 17 years old. The identity of Mary's biological father is unknown. For most of her life, Mary believed her father to be William "Billy" Bell, a violent alcoholic and habitual criminal with an arrest record for crimes including armed robbery. However, she was a baby when William Bell married her mother, and it
5616-418: The centre of the court, behind their legal representatives, and within arm's reach of their families throughout the duration of the trial. Rudolph Lyons QC opened the case on behalf of the prosecution at 11:30 a.m. In an opening statement lasting six hours, Lyons informed the jury they faced an "unhappy and distressing" task due to the nature of the murders and the ages of the defendants. He then outlined
5733-493: The chairman of London Transport, Lord Ashfield , inspected Holborn tube station to see for themselves. The government realised that it could not contain this popular revolt. On 21 September, it abruptly changed policy, removing its objections to the use of tube stations. In what it called part of its "deep shelter extension policy", it decided to close the short section of Piccadilly line from Holborn to Aldwych , and convert different sections for specific wartime use, including
5850-468: The child to her mother's home on Whitehouse Road. Despite her negligence and abuse of her child, Betty refused repeated offers from her family to take custody of Mary, whom she—as a dominatrix —is alleged to have begun allowing and/or encouraging several of her clients to sexually abuse in sadomasochistic sessions by the mid-1960s. Mary's mother actively participated in several of these sessions, including several in which she blindfolded her daughter with
5967-411: The child's body, and thus was unable to determine the child's cause of death, although he was able to discount the investigators' theory the child had died of poisoning through ingesting tablets. An inquest on 7 June returned an open verdict . On Mary's 11th birthday, 26 May, she and Norma broke into and vandalised a nursery in nearby Woodland Crescent. The two entered the premises by peeling tiles off
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#17328560824046084-490: The child's coffin was brought from the home at the beginning of the funeral procession. Dobson later stated: "She stood there, laughing. Laughing and rubbing her hands. I thought, 'My God, I've got to bring her in. She'll do another one.'" Both girls were formally charged with the murder of Brian Howe at 8 p.m. that evening. In response to this charge, Mary replied: "That's all right by me." Norma burst into tears, simply proclaiming: "I never. I'll pay you back for this." In
6201-480: The circular towers contained helical floors that gradually curved their way upward within the circular walls. Many of these structures may still be seen. They have been converted into offices, storage space; some have even been adapted for hotels, hospitals and schools, as well as many other peacetime purposes. In Schöneberg , a block of flats was built over the Pallasstrasse air-raid shelter after World War II. During
6318-556: The city average of 5.3%. Owner-occupied properties stand at 46.9%, also lower than the city average of 53.3%. The properties are as follows: Air raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but many have been used as defensive structures in such situations). Prior to World War II , in 1924, an Air Raid Precautions Committee
6435-631: The collieries to the river Tyne, had been closed in 1860 and remained so until 1939. In places the tunnels were 12 metres (39 ft) deep, the tunnels, stretching in parts beneath the city of Newcastle, were converted to air raid shelters with a capacity for 9,000 people. Tunnels linked to landing stages built on the River Irwell in Manchester at the end of the nineteenth century were also used as air-raid shelters. The medieval labyrinth of tunnels beneath Dover Castle had been built originally as part of
6552-472: The death of Brian Howe, Mary claimed that Norma had been the individual who had strangled the child as she herself "was just standing and looking. I couldn't move. It was as if some glue was pulling us down." Mary then alleged Norma had encouraged Brian to lie down if he wanted some sweets, telling him: "You've got to lie down for the lady to come with the sweets" before proceeding to strangle him with her bare hands as she herself unsuccessfully attempted to prevent
6669-482: The death of Brian Howe. DCI Dobson arrived at their home, formally cautioned Norma, then asked what she knew. Norma then informed Dobson; Mary had taken her to a "spot on the 'Tin Lizzie ' ", at which point she had been shown Brian's body. Mary had then demonstrated to her how she had strangled the child. According to Norma, Mary had confessed to her she had enjoyed strangling the child, before describing how she had inflicted
6786-481: The defensive system of the approaches to England, extended over the centuries and further excavated and reinforced during the world wars, until it was capable of accommodating large parts of the secret defence systems protecting the British Isles. On 26 May 1940, it became the headquarters under Vice Admiral Bertram Ramsay of Operation Dynamo , from which the rescue and evacuation of up to 338,000 troops from France
6903-446: The derelict houses and upon the rubble-strewn expanses of land razed and partially cleared by contractors. One of these locations was a large expanse of waste ground located close to a railway line known to local children as "Tin Lizzie". The street which ran parallel to this expanse of waste ground was St. Margaret's Road. On 25 May 1968, the day before her 11th birthday, Bell strangled four-year-old Martin Brown in an upstairs bedroom of
7020-593: The development of bomb design and strategy. This proposal was eventually implemented in January 1939. During the Munich crisis , local authorities dug trenches to provide shelter. After the crisis, the British Government decided to make these a permanent feature, with a standard design of precast concrete trench lining. Unfortunately these turned out to perform very poorly. They also decided to issue free to poorer households
7137-429: The different sections. Sections were normally furnished with six bunks. The construction work then went on rapidly, until the resources of concrete and bricks began to be depleted due to the excessive demand placed on them so suddenly. Also, the performance of the early street shelters was a serious blow to public confidence. Their walls were shaken down either by earth shock or blast, and the concrete roofs then fell onto
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#17328560824047254-427: The doorway to the bedroom. Both were quickly shooed out of the house; the two knocked on the door of Martin's aunt, Rita Finlay, and informed her: "One of your sisters' bairns has just had an accident. We think it's Martin, but we can't tell because there's blood all over him." The following day, Bernard Knight conducted a post-mortem upon the body of Martin Brown. Knight was unable to find any signs of violence on
7371-420: The door—a total of fourteen panels. A small drainage sump was often incorporated in the floor to collect rainwater seeping into the shelter. The shelters were 1.8 metres (6 ft) high, 1.4 metres (4.5 ft) wide, and 2.0 metres (6.5 ft) long. When installed underground, they were buried 1.2 metres (4 ft) deep in the soil and then covered with a minimum of 38 centimetres (15 in) of soil above
7488-436: The early hours of 5 August. On this occasion, she was notably defensive when confronted with the discrepancies in her previous statement, informing detectives: "You're trying to brainwash me. I will get a solicitor to get me out of this." Later the same day, Norma was questioned again. On this occasion, she made a full statement in which she admitted being present when Mary had actually strangled Brian. According to Norma, when
7605-402: The family dog, and Mary Bell and Norma Bell. When he did not return home later that afternoon, concerned relatives and neighbours searched the streets without success. At 11:10 p.m., a search party discovered Brian's body between two large concrete blocks upon the "Tin Lizzie". The first policeman to arrive at the scene observed that a "deliberate but feeble" attempt had been made to conceal
7722-414: The family to sleep under the shelter at night or during raids, and to use it as a dining table in the daytime, making it a practical item in the house. Half a million Morrison shelters had been distributed by the end of 1941, with a further 100,000 being added in 1943 to prepare the population for the expected German V-1 flying bomb (doodlebug) attacks. In one examination of 44 severely damaged houses it
7839-434: The first place. She had stopped hurting him for a bit when the boys were near the [concrete blocks]". Questioned as to her own role in the murder, Norma stated she had "never touched" the child. Following the conclusion of Norma's testimony on 12 December, Mary testified in her own defence. Her testimony lasted for almost four hours, concluding on 13 December, and was briefly adjourned on one occasion when she began crying in
7956-427: The girl's throat and squeezed. The girl started to go purple. I told Mary to stop, but she wouldn't. Then she put her hands around Pauline's throat and she started going purple as well ... another girl, Susan Cornish, came up and Mary did the same thing to her. Police notified the local authority of the incidents and of Mary's violent nature, but due to their age, both girls were simply given a warning. No further action
8073-802: The government reversed its policy. The UK began building street communal shelters as air raid shelters in 1940. Anderson shelters, designed in 1938 and built to hold up to six people, were in common use in the UK. Indoor shelters known as Morrison shelters were introduced as well. Air raid shelters are still in use to some extent in various nations such as Spain, Switzerland, Israel, Singapore and Taiwan. Air raid shelters were built to serve as protection against enemy air raids . Existing edifices designed for other functions, such as underground stations (tube or subway stations ), tunnels , cellars in houses or basements in larger establishments and railway arches, above ground, were suitable for safeguarding people during air raids. A commonly used home shelter known as
8190-486: The government. The Anderson shelter was designed in 1938 by William Paterson and Oscar Carl (Karl) Kerrison in response to a request from the Home Office. It was named after Sir John Anderson , then Lord Privy Seal with special responsibility for preparing air-raid precautions immediately prior to the outbreak of World War II, and it was he who then initiated the development of the shelter. After evaluation by David Anderson, Bertram Lawrence Hurst, and Sir Henry Jupp, of
8307-509: The height between 20 and 25 metres (66 and 82 ft). The walls of the towers had a minimum thickness for reinforced concrete of 0.8 metres (2 ft 7 in) and 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) for ordinary concrete. The towers were able to shelter between 164 and 500 people, depending on the type. The intent with the Winkeltürme and the other Hochbunker was to protect workers in rail yards and industrial areas. Because of their shape,
8424-560: The helpless occupants, and this was there for all to see. At around the same time rumours of accidents started to circulate, such as on one occasion people being drowned due to a burst main filling up the shelter with water. Although much improved designs were being introduced whose performance had been demonstrated in explosion trials, communal shelters became highly unpopular, and shortly afterwards householders were being encouraged to build or have built private shelters on their properties, or within their houses, with materials being supplied by
8541-529: The industrial revolution and provided labour for the huge Vickers Armstrong military engineering group formerly Armstrong Whitworth . Scotswood Road, which Vickers Armstrong used to dominate, is a main route along the Tyne and is mentioned in the song "Blaydon Races". The Scotswood Bridge, which was known as the Chain Bridge, was the first bridge to be built over the Tyne in the industrial era. It opened in 1831 and
8658-502: The intensive bombing of London on 7 September 1940 and the overnight raids of 7/8 September, there was considerable pressure to change the policy but, even following a review on 17 September, the government stood firm. On 19 September, William Mabane , parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Home Security, urged the public not to leave their Anderson shelters for public shelters, saying it deprived others of shelter. "We're going to improve
8775-590: The largest 3,850 (subsequently expanded to take up to 6,500 people.) The largest of the Stockport Air Raid Shelters are open to the public as part of the town's museum service. In southeast London, residents made use of the Chislehurst Caves beneath Chislehurst , a 35-kilometre-long (22 mi) network of caves which have existed since the Middle Ages for the mining of chalk and flint . In
8892-402: The maroon fibres upon the child's shoes were a precise match to a skirt owned by Norma. Furthermore, the same grey fibres had also been found upon the body of Martin Brown. Brian Howe was buried in a local cemetery on 7 August 1968 in a ceremony attended by over 200 people. According to DCI Dobson (who had planned to arrest both girls later that day), Mary Bell stood outside the Howe household as
9009-576: The notes both girls had left in a nursery after the killing of Martin Brown, Robson stated the notes proved the crimes were a "childish fantasy" and, in Mary's case, were written to attract attention to herself. Benwell and Scotswood Benwell and Scotswood is an electoral ward of Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England . The ward encompasses the Benwell and Scotswood housing areas, as well as
9126-437: The only evidence against Norma was Mary's accusations against her. Smith implored the jurors to "suppress" feelings of outrage and malice, and dispel any idea that "both little girls" pay for the actions of one of them. Harvey Robson then delivered his closing argument on behalf of Mary. Robson illustrated her broken background and dysfunctional family , and the blur between fantasy and reality in her mind. Robson also referenced
9243-515: The other. Numerous puncture wounds had been inflicted to the child's legs before death, sections of his hair had been cut from his head, his genitals had been partially mutilated, and a crude attempt had been made to carve the initial "M" into his stomach. The relatively small amount of force used to murder the child led the coroner to conclude the killer was another child. Numerous grey and maroon fibres were discovered upon Brian's clothing and shoes. These fibres did not source from any clothing within
9360-495: The pattern of all-night alerts became established, it was realised that in winter Anderson shelters installed outside were cold damp holes in the ground and often flooded in wet weather, and so their occupancy factor would be poor. This led to the development of the indoor Morrison shelter . At the end of the war in Europe, households who had received an Anderson shelter were expected to remove their shelters and local authorities began
9477-505: The period of World War I , after which detached and semi-detached properties were constructed without cellars, usually to avoid the higher building costs entailed. Since house building had increased vastly between the wars, the lack of cellars in more recent housing became a major problem in the Air Raid Precautions (ARP) programmes in the UK during World War II. Alternatives had to be found speedily once it became clear that Germany
9594-576: The presence of an independent witness, Mary prepared a written statement in which she admitted to being present when Brian Howe was murdered, but insisting the murder had been committed by Norma. She also admitted she and Norma had broken into the Woodland Crescent nursery the day after the killing of Martin Brown, defacing the property before the two had written the four handwritten notes. Shortly after their arrest, both girls underwent psychological evaluations . The results of these tests revealed Norma
9711-416: The prime target of the attack at the particular time and so being more likely to suffer from direct hits. Each arch could accommodate anything from around 60 to 150 people. However, fewer people could find shelter at night as sleeping areas for the occupants took up more of the space available – a limitation applying to any other type of shelter as well. Subways were actual thoroughfares also in
9828-450: The principles of design of the shelter as an introduction to his theory of plastic design of structures, which can be summarised as follows: It was impractical to produce a design for mass production that could withstand a direct hit, and so it was a matter of selecting a suitable design target that would save lives in many cases of blast damage to bombed houses. Examination of bombed buildings indicated that in many instances, one end wall of
9945-400: The prosecution's intention to illustrate the similarities between both murders, which indicated both boys had been murdered by the same perpetrator or perpetrators. Lyons outlined the circumstances surrounding both deaths and the evidence indicating the defendants' guilt. Although Lyons conceded in his opening statement that, despite the defendants' age difference, Mary was the more dominant of
10062-466: The roof. When they were buried outside, the earth banks could be planted with vegetables and flowers, that at times could be quite an appealing sight and in this way would become the subject of competitions of the best-planted shelter among householders in the neighbourhood. The internal fitting out of the shelter was left to the owner and so there were wide variations in comfort. Anderson shelters were issued free to all householders who earned less than £5
10179-663: The school's eastern perimeter north to the West Road to the A1. The ward has two nursery schools , six primary schools, one comprehensive secondary school and a school for children with specific needs. The ward has both the West End Library and Denton Burn Library, which have computers with free internet access. The West End library holds the West Newcastle Picture History Collection of around 17,000 images of
10296-401: The scour marks to his stomach with a razor blade—which had been hidden at the crime scene—and "the broken scissors". Norma then led police to the crime scene and revealed the location where the razor blade was hidden. A drawing Norma made of the wounds inflicted to the boy's abdomen precisely matched those described by the coroner. May then said, "The blocks Norma, howay ," and we went along to
10413-405: The shape of arches, normally allowing passage underneath railway lines. Prior to the beginning of the war, shelter policy had been determined by John Anderson , then Lord Privy Seal and, on the declaration of war, Home Secretary and Minister of Home Security. Anderson announced the policy to Parliament on 20 April 1939, based on a report from a committee chaired by Lord Hailey. This reaffirmed
10530-630: The shelter, and insufficient support structures threatened to cause the collapse of basements. When the Wilkinson's Lemonade factory in North Shields received a direct hit on Saturday, 3 May 1941 during a German attack on the north-east coast of England, 107 occupants lost their lives when heavy machinery fell through the ceiling of the basement in which they were sheltering. British cities, prepared for use of railway arches and underpasses in 1935. And railway arches and subways were operationalized in
10647-506: The shoulder. A child psychiatrist named Ian Frazer then testified that Norma's mental age was eight years and ten months and that, although her capacity of knowing right from wrong was limited, she was capable of appreciating the criminality of the acts she was accused of committing. On 13 December, Norma's defence counsel, R. P. Smith, delivered his closing argument to the jury. Smith emphasized that although both girls were on trial together, no real evidence existed against his client, and
10764-400: The station. The crowd suddenly surged forward upon hearing the unfamiliar sound of a new type of anti-aircraft rocket being launched nearby. Someone stumbled on the stairs, and the crowd pushing on, were falling on top of one another, and 173 people were crushed to death in the disaster. The London Underground system was considered one of the safest means of protecting relatively many people in
10881-543: The stations. None of these concerns had been borne out by experience during the bombing raids of the First World War, when eighty specially adapted tube stations had been pressed into use, but in a highly controversial decision in January 1924, Anderson, then chairman of the Air Raid Precautions Committee of Imperial Defence, had ruled out the tube station shelter option in any future conflict. Following
10998-437: The streets during air raids. In contrast to other shelters, these buildings were considered completely bomb-proof. They had the advantage of being built upward, which was much cheaper than downward excavation. Hochbunker usually consisted of large concrete blocks above ground with walls between 1 and 1.5 metres (3 ft 3 in and 4 ft 11 in) thick and with huge lintels above doorways and openings. They often had
11115-509: The sudden and marked changes in Mary's behaviour, and when she began exhibiting distressful mannerisms—including shaking her head and forming a steely gaze—her peers instinctively knew she was to become violent, with the focus of her stare being the individual she would attack. On Saturday 11 May 1968, a three-year-old boy was discovered wandering dazed and bleeding in the vicinity of St. Margaret's Road, Scotswood. The child later informed police he had been playing with Mary Bell and Norma Bell atop
11232-438: The supervision of surveyors. These shelters consisted of 360-millimetre (14 in) brick walls and 300-millimetre-thick (1 ft) reinforced concrete roofs, similarly to, but much larger than, the private shelters in backyards and gardens being introduced slightly later. The communal shelters were usually intended to accommodate about fifty persons, and were divided into various sections by interior walls with openings connecting
11349-440: The task of reclaiming the corrugated iron. Householders who wished to keep their Anderson shelter (or more likely the valuable metal) could pay a nominal fee. Because of the large number made and their robustness, many Anderson shelters still survive. Many were dug up after the war and converted into storage sheds for use in gardens and allotments . The Morrison shelter , officially termed Table (Morrison) Indoor Shelter , had
11466-475: The testimony of David Westbury, who had testified on behalf of the defence he had interviewed Mary on several occasions prior to the trial and had formed a "definite view" the child suffered from a serious personality disorder which he classified as a "retarded development of (her) mind", and that this had been caused by both genetic and environmental factors. This abnormality, Westbury had contended, had impaired Mary's actual responsibility for her acts. Referencing
11583-583: The towers became known colloquially as "cigar stubs" or "sugar beets". The theory behind the Winkeltürme was that the curved walls would deflect any bomb hitting the tower, directing it down towards the base. The towers had a small footprint, which was probably a greater protection. A US bomb did hit one tower in Bremen in October 1944; the bomb exploded through the roof, killing five people inside. Miklat ( Hebrew : מקלט , lit. ' protected place ' ) Is
11700-429: The trio were alone on the "Tin Lizzie", Mary "seemed to go all funny", pushing the child into the grass and attempting to strangle him before stating to her, "My hands are getting thick. Take over." She had then run from the scene, leaving Mary alone with Brian. A forensic examination of clothing owned by both girls revealed the grey fibres discovered upon Brian's body were a precise match to a woollen dress owned by Mary;
11817-411: The two had discussed attacking and killing small children of both genders. Questioned by Rudolph Lyons as to whether Mary had demonstrated to her how children could be killed, Norma nodded. She then conceded that, as Mary had begun to attack and strangle Brian Howe, she had failed to alert a group of boys playing in the vicinity, stating she had failed to do so as "I did not know what was going to happen in
11934-510: The two, he contended both girls had acted in unison and were equally culpable ; killing both children "solely for the pleasure and excitement of murder", adding: "Both girls well knew that what they did was wrong and what the results would be." On the fifth day of the trial, Norma testified in her own defence. She denied any culpability in the actual murder of either child, but admitted under cross-examination to having known Mary's penchant for violence and her history of attacking children, and that
12051-463: The war. Many other types of tunnels were adapted for shelters to protect the civil population, and the military and administrative establishment in the UK during the war. Some had been built many years before, some had been part of an ancient defence system, and some had belonged to commercial enterprises, such as coal mining. The Victoria tunnels at Newcastle upon Tyne , for example, completed as long ago as 1842, and used for transporting coal from
12168-444: Was available. The inadequacies of cellars and basements became apparent in the firestorms during the incendiary attacks on the larger German inner cities, especially Hamburg and Dresden . When burning buildings and apartment blocks above them collapsed in the raging winds (which could reach well over 800 °C or 1,470 °F), the occupants often became trapped in these basement shelters, which had also become overcrowded after
12285-454: Was believed to have died. In her initial interview, Norma seemed excitable, whereas Mary was markedly more observant and taciturn. Although both girls were evasive and contradictory in their initial statements, they freely admitted to having played with Brian on the date of his death, but denied having seen him after lunchtime. Questioned further the following day, Mary stated she remembered seeing an eight-year-old local boy playing with Brian on
12402-631: Was contemplating air raids as a means of demoralising the population and disrupting supply lines in the UK. Initial recommendations were that householders should shelter under the stairs. Later, authorities supplied materials to households to construct communal street shelters and Morrison and Anderson shelters . Basements also became available for the use of air raid shelters. Basements under factory premises, schools, hospitals, department stores and other businesses were utilised. However, these ad hoc shelters could bring additional dangers, as heavy machinery and materials or water storage facilities above
12519-481: Was deliberately negligent, or intentionally attempting to harm or kill her daughter. On one occasion in about 1960, Betty dropped her daughter from a first-floor window; on another occasion, she plied her daughter with sleeping pills . She is also known to have once sold Mary to a mentally unstable woman who was unable to have children of her own, resulting in her older sister, Catherine, having to travel alone across Newcastle to reclaim Mary from this individual and return
12636-480: Was directed. In Stockport , 6 mi (9.7 km) south of Manchester, four sets of underground air raid shelter tunnels for civilian use were dug into the red sandstone on which the town centre stands. Preparation started in September 1938 and the first set of shelters was opened on 28 October 1939. (Stockport was not bombed until 11 October 1940.) The smallest of the tunnel shelters could accommodate 2,000 people and
12753-420: Was found that 3 people had been killed, 13 seriously injured, and 16 slightly injured out of a total of 136 people who had occupied Morrison shelters; thus 120 out of 136 escaped from severely bomb-damaged houses without serious injury. Furthermore, it was discovered that the fatalities had occurred in a house which had suffered a direct hit, and some of the severely injured were in shelters sited incorrectly within
12870-649: Was in use until 1967 when it had been superseded by a more modern structure, and was hence demolished. Benwell and Scotswood were both sites of a number of coalmines. On 30 March 1925 the Montague Main Colliery Disaster occurred, caused by an inrush of water from the nearby disused Paradise Pit and resulting in the loss of 38 lives. Scotswood railway station was served by the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway between 1839 and 1967. The Fenham and Benwell district formed an independent urban district, which
12987-611: Was incorporated into the City of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1904. The site came to attention in the summer of 1968 for being the scene where two male toddlers Martin Brown, aged 4, and Brian Howe, aged 3, were found dead, after being strangled to death by Mary Bell . The boundary of the Benwell and Scotswood ward starts at the West Road/A1 roundabout southbound along the A1 to the River Tyne , then east to
13104-402: Was intellectually delayed and a submissive character who easily displayed emotion, whereas Mary was a bright yet cunning character, prone to sudden mood swings. Occasionally, Mary was willing to talk, although she rapidly became sullen, introspective and defensive in nature. The four psychiatrists who examined Mary concluded that, although not suffering from a mental disorder , she suffered from
13221-464: Was released from custody in 1980, at the age of 23. A lifelong court order granted her anonymity , which has since been extended to protect the identity of her daughter and granddaughter. She has since lived under a series of pseudonyms . Mary Bell's mother, Elizabeth "Betty" Bell (née McCrickett), was a well-known local prostitute who was often absent from the family home, frequently travelling to Glasgow to work, and simply leaving her children in
13338-461: Was set up in the United Kingdom. For years, little progress was made with shelters because of the apparently irreconcilable conflict between the need to send the public underground for shelter and the need to keep them above ground for protection against gas attacks . In 1935, every city in the country was given a document to prepare air raid shelters. In February 1936 the Home Secretary appointed
13455-399: Was taken. In the 1960s, Newcastle upon Tyne experienced a significant urban renewal project. Many inner boroughs of the city saw Victorian-era terraced slums demolished in order that modern houses and flats could be constructed, although several families resided in buildings earmarked for demolition as they awaited rehousing by the council. Local children frequently played in or close to
13572-458: Was the actual killer, as only the police knew about the broken scissors found at the crime scene. In addition, the local boy she named was quickly questioned, and was discovered to have been at Newcastle International Airport on the afternoon of 31 July, with numerous witnesses able to corroborate his parents' claims. On the afternoon of 4 August, the parents of Norma Bell contacted police, stating their daughter wished to confess what she knew of
13689-454: Was to keep order, give first aid and assist in case of the flooding of the tunnels. Businesses (for example Plessey Ltd ) were allowed to use the Underground stations and unopened tunnels; government offices were installed in others and the anti-aircraft centre for London used a station as its headquarters. Tube stations and tunnels were still vulnerable to a direct hit and on 14 October 1940,
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