First birthday parties are usually a source of happy memories, but 50 years ago today a catalogue of disasters hit the Tunnicliffe family as they gathered to celebrate one-year-old Leonard Tunnicliffe’s birthday party at the family home on Mayfield Road, Eccles.
The Eccles Journal from February 1965 told the story of how the day went catastrophically wrong – in more ways than one.
Kathleen Tunnicliffe, 33, had taken her eldest daughter (also called Kathleen), 11, to the local dentist to have three teeth removed, which sounds painful enough.
Back in the family home things started to go really wrong when Leonard’s six-year-old brother William went to shut the glass-panelled living room door and fell, spattering blood on the floor as he pushed his hand through the glass.
His mother rushed to his assistance but the front doorbell rang, and William’s three-year-old sister Beryl could not resist running to see who was at the door, cutting her foot on the broken glass.
Both children were taken to Hope Hospital for treatment to their injuries.
William (now known as Billy) had stitches put in his thumb and finger on his right hand, whilst Beryl escaped serious injuries and her foot was bandaged up.
The ironic thing is that this series of accidents would not have happened if Billy had been at school – Lewis Street Primary in Eccles – but he had a cold and his mother feared he was coming down with the flu.
Mrs Tunnicliffe told the Eccles Journal: “This was the first birthday of my youngest child, Leonard, and it’s certainly a birthday I will not forget”.
Intrigued by this story we followed it up with the Tunnicliffe family who still live locally.
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“This is the first that I have heard about this!” said Leonard – now known as Lenny.
“I know that Billy had stitches in his hand which was no surprise if you know our Billy, but I had no idea it was in the papers at the time”.
“Our Beryl lives in Saudi Arabia but came at the weekend to celebrate my 51st birthday party at Monton Sports Club, all of the family were there and we had a smashing time.
“Billy now works for Group Four and our Kathleen is a mental health nurse in Salford, our mum is still alive and lives in Eccles, sadly she is not in the best of health but this story will cheer her up no end!”
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We spoke to Kathleen who told us: “I remember going to the dentist that day with my mother, it was on Corporation Road, Eccles, I think it was the school dentist’s and was where the old Labour Exchange used to be.
“When we got home there was panic with all the broken glass and Billy with a cut hand.
“Our family are no strangers to mishaps,” she said.
“I remember my father walking up the garden path one day when he stood in a pile of dog muck, he slipped and his shoe came off and it went crashing through the front room window, it was hilarious.”
Billy’s memory is slightly different, he recalls running to answer the door and slipping on the lino, causing him to put his hand through the glass panel.
Lenny is now a successful businessman as the Director of Tunny Scaffolding which employs 10 people as and when required, and lives in Salford happily married with two children, who we’re happy to report have so far been accident-free – unlike his once accident-prone family.
Main image (L-R): Lenny, William and Nick Tunnicliffe
