Growing up on the River Mersey's hidden island in a lost world of picnics and adventure Dorothy Eyre lived on Stanlow Island with her family Updated The houses on Stanlow Island off Ellesmere Port (Image: Mirrorpix) The idea of growing up on an island in the Mersey during the Second World War sounds like something from the pages of a children’s book. But for Dorothy Eyre and her family, this was their reality when they moved to Stanlow Island in the early 1930s. Stanlow Island is located just off Ellesmere Port and is cut off from the mainland by the Manchester Ship Canal.