A five-year-old boy caused an almighty commotion in April 1966 when he went missing from home in Eccles.
Over on Lane End, where the Metrolink rolls into Eccles, and City West Housing Trust’s offices are now, there was a derelict house with a ground floor shop that was awaiting demolition.
It was particularly popular with young children who would sneak inside and play.
A five-year-old girl by the name of Ann Greenwood, who lived in Lawrence Street, was one these children.
She had been messing around inside the property with her young pal, Barry McCloy, 5, who lived on Lane End.
Disaster struck when an unnamed child found the water stopcock in the cellar of the empty shop and turned it on.
Most likely they didn’t know what they had done, or how, but the premises rapidly flooded with water.
It quickly rose to 6 feet deep in the cellar and, it is reported, lapped at the cellar door.
The children wrenched up a trapdoor in the shop to look into the water, which was getting higher by the minute, much to their delight.
Suddenly Ann Greenwood ran out of the empty shop and told a female passerby, Mrs Fitton, that she thought somebody had pushed Barry into the water.
Word spread to Mrs Joan Salthouse, who lived at nearby Somerville Street.
Mrs Salthouse ran to Eccles bus station for help and saw PC Kershaw directing traffic on Regent Street.
He radioed for the emergency services to come to the shop and help find the young boy. It was assumed young Barry McCloy was trapped in the water-filled cellar.
The angelic face of Barry McCloy
Watch: Teen lifesaver reunited 50 years on with boy he saved in Eccles
Arriving at the scene he was met by anxious neighbours who had joined in the search for the boy, the trapdoor was opened and boxes could be seen floating on top of the water but no sign of Barry.
The fire brigade arrived and pumped the water out of the cellar and isolated the water supply to the premises – but they feared the worst, that the missing boy had succumbed to a watery grave.
A police search was made of the surrounding area and amazingly young Barry was found several streets away, still in his wellington boots, happily splashing about in puddles, unaware that he had been reported missing.
Later the lucky lad told the police that he had been paddling about in the cellar but when the water began to rise, he thought it safer to leave the shop and look for somewhere safer to play.
The young girl, Ann Greenwood, hadn’t noticed Barry leave the shop and feared the worse hence the reason for her raising the alarm – on reflection was the correct thing to do.
A reporter from the Eccles and Patricroft Journal interviewed Barry’s mother, Mrs Enid McCloy who told him, “I have three other young children, all girls and they are not a bit of trouble, Barry has the wanderlust.
“To think that this should happen on the very first day of the school holidays, I am wondering how I shall get through the Easter break without something else happening.”
Tragedy was narrowly averted.
You may recall that on SalfordOnline.com we’ve reunited local people involved in amazing and incredible stories in the last 50 years.
We would like to find either Barry McCloy, who would be 55 now, also Ann Greenwood who would be the same age, to find out their recollections of that fateful day 50 years ago in Eccles.
If you do know them please contact tonyflynn@salfordonline.com and we will gladly do a follow up story on these two youngsters.
Main image: Roger Hill/Manchester Metropolitan University
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