A poignant tragedy has come to light, the result of a young woman's infatuation for her soldier lover.

The victim of the love tragedy, as it may be described, was Miss Elsie Ritchie, aged 18, who lived with her step-brother Mr F. J. Ritchie, an upholsterer and blind maker, at his premises, 46 High Town Road, and was engaged as under-forelady at the factory of Messrs Cherry, straw hat manufacturers in Guildford Street. A bright, cheery young woman, she was popular with her fellow employees, and was attached to to her brother and his home.

For the past two years she had been "keeping company" with Mr Jack Coppley [Copley*], who previously resided in Old Bedford Road and was engaged in the straw trade at the factory of Messrs Wing, Arnold and Wing, Guildford Street, until the outbreak of the war, when he enlisted in the new Army and became attached to the 7th Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment, which is now on service in France.

Miss Ritchie was deeply attached to her soldier lover, and since his enlistment the couple had regularly corresponded, but the young lady had been noticed to have become more or less disconsolate as the result of her sweetheart's departure. At times she seemed light-hearted and happy, but in turns she would lapse into fits of brooding which were all too observant to those with whom she came into close contact.

Miss Ritchie was at business as usual until Thursday afternoon, and when she went home to tea she appeared as usual. She left home about 5.30 ostensibly to go back to her work, but this was the last that was seen of her alive by her relatives.

As she had not arrived home at a late hour on Thursday night her brother became anxious, and enquiries were at once instituted without result beyond ascertaining that she had not been back to business that evening. In consequence her brother gave information to the police next morning that she was missing.

The mystery as to the unfortunate young woman's sudden disappearance was solved shortly after midday on Friday [October 22nd, 1915]. Mr Sidney Burr, one of the park keepers at Wardown, was walking round the park near the lake and when near the basin of the same his attention was attracted to a woman's hat which had been placed behind some bushes. This naturally excited his suspicions and upon looking into the lake he saw the body of a young woman floating in the water face downwards.

He at once called Mr W. Ward, a gardener who lives at one of the lodges at Wardown, and they together got the body to the bank. Mr Burr immediately informed the police, and Dr Cox, the acting medical officer of health, was summoned, and upon the latter's arrival he pronounced life extinct. The body was conveyed to the mortuary, where it was identified by Mr Ritchie as that of his missing sister.

When the clothing was removed from the body at the mortuary a photograph of a soldier was found sewn to a portion of her underclothing, near to her heart.

Seen by a Luton Reporter representative, Mr Ritchie, who was naturally much distressed, said his sister appeared to brood over the fact that her soldier lover had been sent abroad, and we understand that letters have since been found which indicate that her state of mind has been somewhat unsettled for several weeks past.

[The Luton Reporter: Monday, October 25th, 1915]

[*Pte John (Jack) Copley, 15563, 7th Battalion Beds Regt, was born in Sowerby Bridge, Yorkshire, in early 1891. He was subsequently killed in action in France on February 17th, 1917. After coming to Luton, he had been living with his father Walter at 98 Old Bedford Road.]