Boy buried without a headstone, probe told

THE sister of a boy who died at an orphanage has told an inquiry he was buried without a headstone – despite promises from staff they would pay for one.

Anne Marie Carr, who has waived her right to anonymity, attended Smyllum Park in Lanark between 1960 and 1964 with her brother Sammy.

In December, the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry heard the boy died of a brain haemorrhage at the age of six following an E.oli infection, which he could have caught by touching a dead rat.

Ms Carr told how her grandfather and uncle attended his funeral and were to pay for a headstone, but were told not to because the Catholic-run home would foot the bill.

She said: “We were told that they would get a headstone for him as a worker was fond of him, but there was never a headstone.”

Before a forensic expert gave evidence last year about the boy’s cause of death, claims had been made that Sammy died in 1964 days after being beaten by a nun at the institution, which closed in 1981.

Ms Carr, now in her 60s, added that nuns would hit children with rosary beads and crucifixes, while residents could be forced to sit at a kitchen table through the night until morning if they did not eat their food.

Meanwhile, another former resident broke down as he told of witnessing the death of his friend Francis McCall after being hit on the head with a golf club.

William Wicher stayed at the orphanage, which was run by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, from 1957to 1963.

The inquiry continues.