In 1946, after her hero husband had fought for five years in World War II in Italy and Africa, Marjorie Rigby gave birth to her first daughter.
In her 20s, Marjorie was happy to finally have her husband back and carry their first child.
Charlie, who had been away from her for five years, simply adored her and, when they found out they would soon be having a baby, he decided to have her admitted to a private clinic as a gift.
In early September 1946, Marjorie was finally in active labor, and she was admitted to the private specialist clinic.
After three days, she knew that something was not right. At some point, she overheard her consultant doctor say that the baby was actually dead and that the mother had to be rushed to the hospital.
Indeed, Marjorie was taken to hospital to deliver her stillborn daughter, whom the couple had decided to name Laura.
After a traumatic delivery, the baby was taken from her, and she was simply left behind.
“I was just taken back to my room and left,” the 102-year-old woman said in an interview with BBC NEWS 619. “No one came to talk to me and tell me how to get on with life.”
After two weeks in the hospital, which was obviously common practice back in the day, Rigby was released from the hospital and returned home.
She tried not to think about her daughter because it hurt and, not knowing what had become of her body was hard to come to terms with.
She rather thought that, if she had been taken to an incinerator, “she was gone”.
Still, after more than 70 years, and after two more daughters, Marjorie has never forgotten her firstborn child. And, to this day, September 3 is still a meaningful date for her.
Although after all these years the now great-grandmother had compromised with the fact that she’d never find out what happened to her first baby after she was taken from her, life had other plans.
Recently, her daughters were watching a TV show, when they realized it was actually illegal for babies to be treated this way.
Also, the show seemed to have tracked down the graves of stillborn babies from decades ago, close to where the family resides.
The two women contacted the charity involved and explained the details of their story. Soon, the grave of their eldest sister was discovered in an unmarked plot. Laura had her own tiny coffin and she was buried with five more babies and an adult.
For Marjorie, knowing that her child was resting in peace and being able to bring flowers to her grave was a major relief.
Also, they were able to apply for and get a stillbirth certificate. Until then, it was as if nobody acknowledged the existence of that baby. Having that in their hands meant so much to the whole family.
Watch Marjorie narrating her heartbreaking story in the video below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
