Margaret (Peggy), Elizabeth, and Mary Campbell rest in Camelon Cemetery outside Falkirk. All succumbed to complications caused by Spanish influenza within the space of a fortnight, aged twenty-six, sixteen, and twenty-one consecutively. Their father William was employed as the keeper of ‘Lock 6’ (likely of the Forth and Clyde Canal). As holder of this position, the Campbell family were provided a house beside the lock. Peggy died here on the 3rd of November, Elizabeth three days later. Mary died a week later, not a home but in the Infectious Diseases Hospital at Camelon.
The grief at losing three children in such close succession must have been agony for William and his wife Margaret (Sr). Even more tragic is that they had lost other children before, including two sons that died in infancy, and two other daughters Christina and Jane. Both Margaret (Sr) and William were laid to rest with their lost children in Camelon Cemetery. The headstone is generally good condition, and was marked with floral tributes at the time of my visit. It was erected by surviving son and brother Robert who had emigrated to Australia. It is located in Section B of the cemetery.
This is one of the most tragic stories I have encountered so far.
Broken Columns 