Today is the anniversary of Agatha Christie's birth on 15 September 1890. That has made me think about her play The Mousetrap and its roots in the notorious killing of a child, Dennis O'Neill, in Shropshire in 1945.
And that has led me to the news that Dennis's brother Terry died on Sunday at the age of 88. (I hope I have got his birth year and age right.) May he rest in peace.
If you are interested in The Mousetrap and its connection with the death of Dennis O'Neill, I recommend The Mousetrap and Me, an award-winning radio documentary that Terry O'Neill took part in - I had better add a content warning for child abuse here.
Terry served his brother Dennis wonderfully well. It wasn't just that this documentary and Terry's book Someone to Love Us help write Dennis's case back into the history of childcare in Britain. As a 10-year old Terry gave evidence in court against the couple who had abused the brothers and secured their conviction and imprisonment.
Further reading
Wikipedia: Dennis O'Neill case
Liberal England: Malcolm Saville and the death of Dennis O'Neill
No comments:
Post a Comment