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A fresh police investigation has been launched into Berrow Wood School, a former reform institution on the Worcestershire – Gloucestershire border where generations of children were subjected to serious physical and sexual abuse. Scott-Moncrieff consultant solicitor Peter Garsden is representing survivors named in recent reporting as they seek answers and accountability.
Berrow Wood operated from the 1960s until its closure in 1991. Hundreds of boys – many with troubled backgrounds and sent by local authorities from across England – were placed there in the hope of receiving education and stability. Instead, many were beaten and sexually abused by staff, and children were referred to by laundry numbers rather than names. Nine former teachers and workers have already been convicted for offences committed between 1968 and 1991.
In 2023, two former staff members, Keith Figes and Maurice Lambell, were jailed for what a judge described as a “campaign of rape against children”. West Mercia Police have now confirmed they are examining a new report understood to concern at least 14 additional former members of staff.
For survivors, the scars are lifelong. Former pupil Chris Brosnan recalls Berrow Wood as “the island of lost boys”, describing how witnessing the treatment of other children instilled fear and lasting trauma. Another former pupil, Wayne Rudge, known as No. 25 at the school, has spoken of brutal beatings and of a head teacher throttling him – experiences he says left him angry and wary of authority in adult life.
Many survivors have waited decades to be heard. Mr Brosnan is among those now working with Peter Garsden, who gave evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). IICSA recommended a national redress scheme, but the government has said it is “not currently taking forward any further steps” because of fiscal pressures and the complexity of scope. Garsden has described that position as an “insult” to those who endured institutional abuse.
Sentences previously imposed on Berrow Wood figures include jail terms for Ron Morris, Alan Gorton and Philip Gray for assault and cruelty in the early 1990s, with three others receiving community sentences. Survivors continue to call for answers – including why the school was not closed sooner and why there was no aftercare when they left.
With over four decades in practice – nearly 30 years of which have been dedicated to child abuse claims – Peter Garsden is a leading and pioneering solicitor. He founded the Association of Child Abuse Lawyers, helped secure the creation of the Disclosure and Barring Service, and has long campaigned to shift national policy and public perception. Now, as a consultant solicitor with Scott-Moncrieff, he brings hard-won insight to each case, offering survivors not only legal redress, but belief, truth and dignity.
Scott-Moncrieff is committed to supporting survivors with clear, trauma-aware legal representation and to holding institutions to account. As the Berrow Wood investigation progresses, our role is to ensure that those who come forward – often after years of silence – are listened to, protected, and guided through the process with care and rigour.
