News | Friday, 22nd May 2020

Historian helps family of UK’s oldest Coronavirus victim find baby sister’s grave

Michala Hulme featured in ITV Granada Reports investigation into two pandemic deaths a century apart

Michala Hulme helped to track down baby Beryl May's grave
Michala Hulme helped to track down baby Beryl May's grave

A University historian and genealogist has tracked down the grave of a baby who died of the 1918 Spanish flu – the sister of a 108-year-old great great grandmother who is believed to be Britain’s oldest Coronavirus victim.

Michala Hulme worked with ITV Granada Reports to locate Hilda Churchill’s 11-month-old sister Beryl May, taking Hilda’s son and grandson to lay flowers at her grave.

Hilda, from Salford, passed away with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in March, having never been able to find her sister’s burial site.

Over an emotional two-part report, Hilda’s grandson Anthony explained that the family could not afford a funeral for Beryl May when she died, so it was believed she had been buried with another local person.

Discovery

But now, over a century later, Hulme from the University’s Manchester Centre for Public History and Heritage was able to find her final resting place after searching through local parish records.

Hulme, Lecturer in Public History at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “This has been one of the most emotionally challenging pieces of research I have ever undertaken. This was because I knew the back story of how much finding Beryl May’s final resting place meant to her sister Hilda, who was sadly not able to locate it during her lifetime. Meeting Hilda’s family and showing them where Beryl May was buried was a privilege, and I would just like to thank them and Teresa McMahon at ITV Granada Reports for letting me play a small part in this story.”

The report detailed how Manchester and the North West was one of the worst affected parts of the country by the 1918 Spanish flu, the deadly global pandemic which claimed 50 million lives.

Prime Minister David Lloyd George was even forced to convalesce in Manchester Town Hall after falling ill with the virus on a visit to the city.

This has been one of the most emotionally challenging pieces of research I have ever undertaken. This was because I knew the back story of how much finding Beryl May’s final resting place meant to her sister Hilda, who was sadly not able to locate it during her lifetime.

Hulme said: “The Spanish Flu came to the North West in 1918 in two waves. The first was in the June, and second more deadly second wave of the disease came in the autumn. It affected every area in the region, disrupting people’s lives and tragically causing many deaths.

“Like in the current pandemic, measures were put in place to try and halt the spread, pioneered by Dr James Niven, Medical Officer for Health in Manchester. Anyone displaying symptoms had to be separated from the healthy, given rest, warmth and medical attention. His preventative approach no doubt saved lives and some of his recommendations are still being used during the COVID-19 outbreak.”

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