Victoria Hall Disaster

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Victoria Hall Disaster, in which 183 children died, occurred in Sunderland, England on 16 June 1883 at the Victoria Hall, which was a large concert hall on Toward Road facing onto Mowbray Park. On 16 June 1883 a children's variety show was presented by travelling entertainers Mr and Mrs Fay. At the end of the show an announcement was made that children with certain numbered tickets would be presented with a prize upon exit. At the same time entertainers began distributing gifts from the stage to the children in the stalls. Worried about missing out on the treats, many of the estimated 1,100 children in the gallery stampeded toward the staircase leading downstairs.