JANUARY’S cold, wet weather has always been unpredictable and sometimes dangerous. Over a hundred years ago when communication and transport systems were not as sophisticated as they are today, the possibility of loss of life was much greater.

The tragedy of two sisters who lost their lives in dense fog on the River Stour on the northern boundary of Bournemouth was reported extensively in the Echo in 1908 and is still remembered today.

Elsie Mabel Louise Green, 22, and her sister Sybil, 16, assistant teachers at St Barnabas Church School in East Parley where their mother was headmistress, were returning to the family home in East Parley after shopping in Bournemouth.

“They walked a couple of miles across fields to reach the ferry at Redhill, known as Marshall’s Ferry,” said Ray Cozins, whose late wife Joan was related to the sisters.

It was early evening when they crossed the river with the ferryman Charles Corbin, carrying a couple of parcels and ‘appeared to be in the best of spirits’.

“The fog had become so dense it was impossible to see ahead,” said Ray.

When the ferryboat reached the other side the girls politely rejected any help from the keeper John Griffiths to navigate the path by the river as ‘they knew the way well enough’.

Unfortunately, confused in the thick fog, the girls slipped into the River Stour. Pascoe Marshall, son of Charles Marshall of the ferry, heard the splash and tried to rescue them but the fast flowing current and darkness prevented him from succeeding and they drowned.

The sad affair cast a gloom over the neighbourhood for years. A memorial dedicated to the girls was erected in the church grounds, and is still there today.