Sheffield Daily Telegraph, Wednesday, May 9, 1928

Woman’s Sympathy. Mistaken Identity.

Gave Last Threepence to Girl Who Was Found Drowned.

An inquest was hold at Wombwell yesterday on Lily Eyre (27), single, of Knoll Beck Lane, Brampton, Wombwell, whose body was recovered from the canal near Wombwell on Sunday.

The body was discovered shortly after midnight through articles of olotlhing being found on the towing path by Benjamin Harvey, a miner. It transpired that the girl had been carrying the clothing about in a parcel. The girl had no parents and had been living with various people.

A touching story was told Mrs. Depledge, wife of Arthur Depledge, miner, 128, Wombwell Junction. She said that Friday of last week she met the girl in Wath. “She cried and I was sorry for her,” said witness. “She said she felt like drowning herself because nobody wanted her. She also said that she had been out all night, had slept in the park, and was hungry. I took her into a shop and bought her some biscuits. I also gave her threepence. It was all I had, said she would go somewhere eat the biscuits. We arranged to meet in half-an-hour later, but she did not turn up.”

It was stated in evidence that the towing path was rough and uneven that the girl walked badly.

After remarking that Mrs Depledge did what she could for the girl, the Coroner returned a verdict of “Found drowned.”