March 1931 – February 20, 1934
Mary Spencer was born in March 1931 to parents Alfred and Margaret (Welsche); she was their second child, following her older brother Alf, who was born in October 1929. After Mary came James (Jim) in 1933, Doreen in 1936 and William (Bill) in 1938, completing the Spencer family.
In a poignant twist, it seems likely that Alfred and Margaret named their daughter Mary in memory of Alfred’s sister Mary, who had passed away at just 16 years old on 24 October 1918; she, too, had lived at 9 Coleridge Street when she died. (you can read Mary’s story in Morbus Cordis)
Alfred and Margaret married on Wednesday, 26 December 1928 in All Saints Church, Newton Heath. At the time, they were both living on Coleridge Street, in an area they would call home for much of their lives. It was at 9 Coleridge Street that the Spencer’s lived in February 1934 when tragedy struck, cutting Mary’s young life cruelly short.
There are no known pictures of Mary, only the memories passed down through the family – fragments of a life that, though brief, left a lasting impact on her older brother Alf. We can imagine that Mary’s early days were filled with the simple joys of childhood, playing with her older brother Alfred, perhaps helping to cradle baby Jim, and exploring the world with the boundless curiosity of a toddler.
However, in an era when medical advancements were still developing, childhood illnesses like measles and bronchopneumonia were serious and often fatal. When Mary fell ill, her tiny body was unable to withstand the onslaught of both measles and bronchopneumonia. She passed away on 20 February 1934, just shy of her third birthday.
Her elder brother, Alf, remembered her funeral. He recalled the sight of her small coffin resting on a flatbed cart, drawn by a horse and covered in flowers. One particular memory stayed with him: a wreath slipping from the coffin and a policeman gently picking it up and placing it back. A simple gesture but one not forgotten by a young boy.
Mary’s final journey took her from her home in Coleridge Street, along Briscoe Lane to Philips Park Cemetery, where she was laid to rest in a communal (pauper) grave on 24 February 1934. This was not uncommon at the time, as many working-class families struggled to afford private burials during the harsh economic realities of the 1930’s.
Mary’s life, though brief, was a reminder of the fragility of life and the strength of familial bonds. She remains a beloved figure in the history of her family, a symbol of innocence, love, and the fleeting beauty of childhood.
Family 