Fitting burial service held for school's skeleton following discovery that it was real

Teachers and pupils paid tribute to their school's skeleton Arthur on Thursday. The skeleton, which is missing both arms and a leg, had been at Haydock High School in Haydock, Merseyside, for almost half a century before stunned staff realised his bones were real. Arthur began his career in the science laboratory before getting moved to the art department. He was put into storage after being replaced by a new plastic skeleton but was found in a cupboard earlier this year.



He was discovered by Sandra Dixon, the art technician, who said he looked “rather worse for wear” with “yellowing honeycomb bones”. The school laid on a funeral for Arthur after discovering that they could not dispose of the skeleton legally without a proper burial. Pupils and teachers followed the hearse to Greenacre Woodland Burials for the ceremony. Four year nine pupils lowered the wicker coffin into the ground while roses were tossed in and tributes paid. Tests determined that the remains belonged to an small Asian man aged between 25 and 30 with a curvature of the spine.





It is thought that Arthur was brought over in the skeleton trade from India to England decades ago. Pupils Alex Robinson, 14, Christopher Cooper, 13, James Melia, 13, and Jack Davies, 14, were pall bearers. They said: “Arthur meant a lot to us in an educational way, even though he was in the corner, he still helped me learn.” Sandra Morris, a youth pastor at Christ Church United Reformed Church, said: “We wanted to respect his life. We wanted to try to bring an element of Christianity to it but we realise he was probably Hindu and gave note to that. We wanted to recognise that, in both religions, the soul moves on and the body is an empty vessel although his spirit will have left a long time ago.”



The service, hearse and coffin was given free of charge by the funeral company, organised by Bill Craddock, senior funeral director of Haydock Funeral Services. Mrs Dixon said: “We learnt a lot from the skeleton, drawing his anatomy, then when I found him looking a state, we needed to do something about him. The children are just elated to have the service because he has been part of us for so long. It gives him the send off he deserves for all his years of service.” Headteacher Ian Murphy said: “We were delighted that the skeleton which had resided within the school for so many years was finally being laid to rest in such a respectful manner. Our thanks must go to funeral director Bill Craddock and Greenacres Woodland Burials who donated their services in order to give the skeleton a dignified burial. It is wonderful to see the community working together with the school to bring the remarkable story to a fitting end.”

There's a short video here.