William Percy Radford

See article by Stan Gorton in The Islander  25 Feb 2019, headed "Someone has gone to the Emu Bay cemetery and placed flowers on the grave of William Percy Radford, who died 1887 at the tender age of 15. Emu Bay Progress Association members recently visited the cemetery to locate a spot for new signage and were delighted to find William’s grave be-decked with colour.They wonder if relatives or friends of the long-lost teenager were Kangaroo Island residents or visitors and could shed light on his tragic and untimely death."

Also in the FaceBook page for The Islander, headed "Emu Bay Progress Association would love to know who put flowers on the grave of William Percy Radford, who died just aged 15 in 1887. The cemetery is looking great - thanks to the work of volunteers, which caused some interest,"

David Wilson posted the following accompanying comment:

"This a very sad death of a 15 year who died from violent injuries consistent with a beating. The inquest was made more difficult due to the decomposition of the body, and the coroner was not able to incriminate any person. See http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article160756791 

There is no record found of his family. His burial place has not been ascertained. It is puzzling why the memorial has been placed at Emu Bay. The boy lived, worked and died at Wisanger, and his autopsy was most probably carried out in Kingscote."

See follow up article in The Islander  11/03/2019

Pat Thalborne laid the flowers. William Percy Radford was her great uncle, or her grandmother’s oldest brother.  "Mrs Thalborne has since told The Islander that despite living on the Island from 1945 to 1997, she never knew her relative was buried at Emu Bay."