2nd Febuary 1967 Mr Brazendale examining some of the stones with Wayne Winstanley and Colin Simpson

Workmen excavating a trench in Litherland's Springfield Avenue took little notice of the pieces of stone slabs, some bearing obscure inscriptions, which their pneumatic drills had unearthed. Two schoolboys on their way to Litherland County Secondary School for Boys were more observant. They took one of the pieces to their history master, who confirmed their suspicion that it was part of an old gravestone. Since then, between 30 and 40 pieces of gravestones, some bearing the dates 1778, 1815, 1831 and 1845, have been collected by the two boys, 12-year-old Colin Simpson of 7 Gaskell Rake, Sefton, and 11-years-old Wayne Winstanley, of 9 Tarbock Court, Sefton, and their classmates. Attempts to fit the fragments together to produce any recognisable epitaph have been unsuccessful. The school's history master, Mr David Brazendale, believes that the stones were used as a foundation for Springfield Avenue in 1933—but their origin is a mystery. Inquiries to local churches and Litherland Council have been unfruitful, although on one of the stones the word “Litherland” is clearly visible.