AN innocent Tottenham boy killed after getting caught in the midst of a money heist more than 100 years ago has been commemorated with a plaque at the scene where he was shot.
Ralph Joscelyne, 10, caught a stray bullet fired by two Latvian immigrants on January 23, 1909, outside Schnurrman's rubber factory at the corner of Chesnut Road and High Road, Tottenham, where they had pilfered the week's wages of £80.
Policeman PC William Tyler was also killed and 21 others injured in the day that has come to be known as the Tottenham Outrage.
The memorial event took place on Sunday, January 23, and was organised by Bruce Grove resident Janet Harris who has written a book on the tragic slice of Tottenham's history.
More than 60 people attended the remembrance service led by Father Simon Morris at the Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd, in Mitchley Road, where the plaque was unveiled by Ralph's great nephew Shaun Nettleship.
Ms Harris said: "A lot of sympathy and column inches were paid to PCTyler, whereas Ralph was pretty much ignored. One newspaper even referred to him as 'the boy'.
"We thought it was right to commemorate Ralph by putting up a blue plaque in his memory. The service was beautiful and the turn-out was very pleasing. Tottenham people have shown that we never forget when young lives are cruelly taken from us, even 102 years on."
Armed with pistols, Ralph's killers, Paul Hefeld and Jacob Lepidus, fired a shot at the driver of the wage clerk's car which had pulled up to the factory carrying large sums of cash.
Hearing the shots, reserve officer PC Tyler raced to the scene and began to chase the thieves alongside other officers on bicycles.
It was the start of the long pursuit on foot in which the robbers fired more than 400 rounds of ammunition at those giving chase.
During the fracas, the boy was shot as he tried to seek shelter behind a car. He was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.
As the chase continued over the footbridge to Tottenham Marshes, PC Tyler was shot in the face at point-blank range. He bled to death in the scullery of a nearby cottage.
Both Hefield and and Lepidus used their weapons to kill themselves once they realised there was no escape.
The funerals of PC Tyler and Ralph were held together on Friday, January 29 with 3,000 policemen in procession and around 500,000 people lining the route to Abney Park Cemetery.
Click here to watch a video of the plaque unveiling.
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