Description:This newscutting from the G.H. Osborne Collection gives details of the case of eleven year old Edith Johnson. She lived with her father and stepmother in Franchise Street, Perry Barr and was a pupil at the National School. Her teacher had noticed that she always seemed particularly hungry and when food belonging to other children began to go missing it was discovered that Eileen was taking it.
One day she seemed particularly distressed and asked to go and sharpen a pencil. She left the school and went to the river where she threw herself into the water. She was rescued by a passer-by, arrested and charged with attempted suicide.