Arland Edward Birch

Arland Edward Birch was a 12-year-old victim of the Hartford Circus Fire, which broke out on July 6, 1944 and killed at least 167 people.

The son of Lawrence E. and Marguerite R. (Palmer) Birch, Arland lived with his parents and younger sister Shirley Ann at 132 Orange Street in Meriden, Connecticut. Per Circus Fire 1944, "[h]e had been earning excellent grades at the Samuel Huntington School in Meriden, and was ready to enter the seventh grade at Lincoln Junior High." He was a member of Boy Scouts Troop 7 at Meriden's First Congregational Church.

On July 29, 1932, a photo of infant Arland had been featured in the junior pages of the Meriden Daily Journal with the following caption:

Arland Edward Birch is ten months old. He is the son of Mr and Mrs L. E. Birch of 5 Alcove street. Arland has blue eyes, blonde hair, and weighs twenty pounds. He likes to play on the floor with his two kittens, and much enjoys automobile rides. He is now spending a vacation with his mother in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, where he is visiting his grandparents. Arland also is very fond of visiting his grandparents here. His grandfather is proprietor of Birch's Laundry.

Arland was found deceased on the circus grounds on July 6, were his mother and sister. The three had a joint funeral at First Congregational on July 9.

Sources

• "Arland Edward Birch, age 12." Circus Fire 1944. < http://www.circusfire1944.com/birch-arland.html > Accessed 19 June 2019.
• "Circus Victims' Rites Here Today And Tomorrow." Meriden Record, published 8 July 1944, pp. 1-2. < link > Accessed 18 June 2019.
• "Funerals Of Five Meriden Circus Victims Are Held." Meriden Record, published 10 July 1944, pp. 1-2. < link > Accessed 18 June 2019.
• Franco, Jan. "Arland Edward Birch." FindAGrave, published 13 September 2010. < https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/58583238/arland-edward-birch > Accessed 19 June 2019.
• "Looking For The Birdie." Meriden Daily Journal, published 29 July 1932, p. 1. < link > Accessed 19 June 2019.