Garrick Theatre fire

In 1916, at the Garrick Theatre in Hereford, England, eight child performers were killed by a fire during a fund-raising concert.

[3] One of the turns was provided by more than forty local school-children,[2] wearing snow maiden and Eskimo costumes made in part from cotton wool,[3][4] even though its use was prohibited in theatres, due to the risk of fire.

[2][4] The public stood "ten deep" in parts of nearby Broad Street as the funeral corteges passed.

At a meeting held in Hereford Town Hall in September 1916, it was decided to raise £500 with which to endow a memorial cot on the Children's Ward of Herefordshire General Hospital (since demolished).

[3][6] This campaign inspired Hereford Cathedral and architect Robert Kilgour to commission a memorial plaque, cast in lead.