Yorkshire Hangmen

Author : Stephen Wade
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
Page : 191 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2008-03-20
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 9781844688548

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Yorkshire Hangmen by Stephen Wade Pdf

From the eighteenth century, York was one of the places employing its own hangmen, copying London and Newgate, even to the use of the word Tyburn to define it's Knavesmire gallows, also known as the 'three-legged mare'. That was where highwayman Dick Turpin met his fate; but later, in the Victorian period, Armley Gaol in Leeds also became a hanging prison, the site of the death of the notorious killer Charlie Peace. The tales of the villains and the victims are well documented, but Stephen Wade also provides us with the stories of both Yorkshire-born hangmen and others who worked in Leeds, Hull or Wakefield. For the first time, Yorkshire's Hangmen brings together the tales of the lives and professional careers of these men, some famous, others long forgotten, who held a morbid fascination for the public. Their trade was mysterious, revolting and yet justified by many famous figures in history. The book includes accounts of killers, spies and traitors meeting their doom, but also tells something of the personalities of the hangmen, and of their moral dilemmas as they had to hang women and young people as well as hardened villains. Many of the executioners suffered terrible depression; some took their own lives, and others, such as the famous Albert Pierrepoint, even questioned their work in later life.

Author : Stephen Wade
Publisher : Wharncliffe
Page : 212 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2009-07-16
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 9781844688401

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Britain's Most Notorious Hangmen by Stephen Wade Pdf

A breathtaking history of Britain’s executioners—from the seventeenth court of King Charles II to the UK’s last official hangman of the twentieth century. In 1663, Jack Ketch delighted in his profession and gained notoriety not only because of those he executed—dukes and lords—but for how often he botched the job. Centuries later, in 1965, after nearly six hundred trips to the gallows, Albert Pierrepoint retired as Britain’s longest-running executioner. Between them are three hundred years in a fascinating history of crime, and the “turn-off men” who handled the penalties—many of them criminals themselves, doing the grim work to save their own necks. Britain’s Most Notorious Hangmen tells the stories of the men who plied their deadly trade at Tyburn tree or at the scaffolds in the prison yards across the country, including such notable “neck-stretchers” as Throttler Smith and the celebrated James Billington. But true-crime historian Stephen Wade explores the lives and crimes of many of the infamous killers that were hanged, as well. He also sheds light on the changing social norms of the country, and the moral dilemmas that arose for hangmen tasked with performing what was once considered the most crowd-pleasing free “entertainment” ever offered to the public.

Author : Scott Lomax
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 119 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2013-05-02
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 9781473822436

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Unsolved Murders in South Yorkshire by Scott Lomax Pdf

Whilst the passage of time can and has uncovered many secrets, killers could get away with their crimes in 1596 when Shakespeare penned these words and this is certainly the case in more recent times as Unsolved Murders in South Yorkshire clearly demonstrate.The early chapters include cases of historic interest where killers certainly went to the grave in the knowledge they had got away with murder. Cases include suspicious deaths which left detectives in South Yorkshire baffled, but which were, it would seem, acts of callous murder which were not recognised as such due to dubious police opinions and practices. There are also cases of clear murder such as a man shot in the head during the Victorian period, whose killer was never identified.The later chapters, however, feature more recent cold cases where there is still the possibility that the wicked men or women who were responsible for such acts of inhumanity may remain within our society.Cases include a man murdered for less than 70 in a city centre multi storey car park, a teenage girl abducted, sexually assaulted and left dead on a dung hill, a young mother who entered prostitution and died at the hands of a man with more than sex on his mind, a pregnant woman who left home one day to go shopping but was found days later dead in a ditch with her throat cut and a disabled woman who was strangled in her home which was then set ablaze.For some of these cases there is the chance that someone has information which, despite the passage of decades, could lead to one or more individuals standing trial for murder. Justice can still prevail.

Author : Geoffrey Howse
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
Page : 170 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2010-01-01
Category : Crime
ISBN : 9781845631031

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Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in South Yorkshire by Geoffrey Howse Pdf

Geoffrey Howse explores the darker and sinister side of South Yorkshire's past in this diverse collection of crimes and foul deeds, taken from Victorian to modern times. Read about a shooting and 'mob rule' in Doncaster, sensational murder in Darfield, Mexborough, and Attercliffe; trade outrages in Sheffield and Rotherham, highway robbery at Wentworth, embezzlement in Barnsley and arson at Thorne. Unusual cases include a Doncaster elopement and robbery, burglaries by girls in Rotherham, the shocking killing of a police constable at Swinton and 'coal' riots and lawlessness in Wath-upon-Dearne and Hoyland. A dramatic event in Thurnscoe, a Wombwell stabbing affray and a variety of long forgotten tragedies and crimes are also explored in some detail.

Author : Brian J. Bailey
Publisher : Virgin Books Limited
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 1989
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : UVA:X001740530

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Hangmen of England by Brian J. Bailey Pdf

Author : Scott Lomax
Publisher : Grub Street Publishers
Page : 139 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2012-09-20
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 9781844687008

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Deadly Derbyshire by Scott Lomax Pdf

A collection of historical British true crime stories, with illustrations included. From the murder of Hannah Hewitt in 1732 to John Cotton’s killing in 1898, Deadly Derbyshire gathers dramatic, atmospheric true tales of murder and manslaughter in this county in England’s East Midlands. Read about the “fiery” circumstances of the death of John McMorrow; a farm tragedy at Stoney Houghton; and killings for pittances such as three eggs and a sixpence. You’ll also discover stories of unprovoked and wicked deeds and numerous suspicious deaths. Based on extensive research of newspaper archives, uncovering a large number of cases never previously explored, this compendium examines the darker side of this historical port city.

Author : Mark Isaacs
Publisher : Grub Street Publishers
Page : 238 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2009-06-18
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 9781783037445

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Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in Cardiff by Mark Isaacs Pdf

Discover the Welsh city’s history of crime with these true stories and photos. This book will introduce to you villains of all sorts—casual or calculating killers, murderous husbands and lovers, gangsters, robbers, poisoners, and suicides. There is no shortage of harrowing episodes in Cardiff’s past, and this fascinating book recalls many grisly events and sad or unsavory individuals whose conduct throws a harsh light on the history of the city. Among the many shocking cases the author describes are: The murder of a Welsh Protestant by an Irish Catholic that provoked rioting The double life of a respectable widow poisoned with arsenic The exploits of a “Jack the Ripper” killer in Cardiff’s back streets The throat-slashing revenge of the Cardiff Race Track Gang The still-mysterious wartime murder of Alice Pittman The case of the Somalian sailor arrested for the brutal slaying of an elderly shopkeeper The demise of Granville Jenkins, who was cut to ribbons by a machete The accidental—or deliberate?—electrocution of Mrs. Darling This chronicle of Cardiff’s hidden past and the history the city would prefer to forget is compelling reading for anyone interested in the dark side of human nature.

Author : Bernard Lewis
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2009-09-17
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 9781783037650

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Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths Around Swansea by Bernard Lewis Pdf

The criminal cases vividly described by Bernard Lewis in this gripping book take the reader on a journey into the dark secret side of Swanseas long history. The city has been the setting for a series of horrific, bloody, sometimes bizarre incidents over the centuries. From crimes of brutal premeditation to those born of rage or despair, the whole range of human weakness and wickedness is represented here. There are tales of secret passion and betrayal, robbery, murder and suicide, deadly fever and mutiny, executions, and instances of extraordinary domestic cruelty and malice that ended in death. The human dramas the author describes are often played out in the most commonplace of circumstances, but others are so odd as to be stranger than fiction. This grisly chronicle of the hidden history of Swansea will be compelling reading for anyone who is interested in the dark side of human nature.

Author : Stephen Wade
Publisher : Wharncliffe
Page : 210 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2011-12-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9781844685189

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Britain's Most Notorious Prisoners by Stephen Wade Pdf

From Oscar Wilde to the Kray brothers—a unique history of the lives and crimes of the United Kingdom’s most famous, and infamous, inmates. Their names can chill the blood of true-crime aficionados: Peter Sutcliffe, aka The Yorkshire Ripper; child-torturer Ian Brady; cannibal Dennis Nilsen; serial killer Beverley Allitt. Some are tinged in glamour: beautiful nightclub hostess Ruth Ellis, hanged for a crime of passion. While others hold a bizarre fascination, like bare-knuckle boxer Michael Gordon Peterson. Called “the most violent prisoner in Britain” he changed his name to Charles Bronson in honor of the Death Wish star. Only to change it yet again to Charles Salvador, in honor of his favorite artist, Dali. By any name, the “one-man riot” was a prison superstar. Britain’s Most Notorious Prisoners tells the stories of these lives and many more inside the Big House where prison culture breeds a strange, unreal community. It’s also where the system learns to cope with those who refuse to live by the law of the land: killers and rapists, spies, gangster, hit-men, political prisoners, and serial offenders—as well as some who were egregiously wronged. From headline-makers to long-forgotten villains, these stories make for a thrilling and harrowing look at life, death, and survival behind bars.

Author : John J. Eddleston
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
Page : 286 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2010-08-11
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 9781783469529

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Foul Deeds in Islington by John J. Eddleston Pdf

Foul Deeds in Islington takes the reader on a sinister journey through a selection of the most shocking and revealing murders committed in this part of north London during the last two centuries. Killers of all kinds are recorded here, from the coolest and most calculating of criminals to ill-starred individuals who struck out in passion or despair or anger. John Eddleston recounts their notorious stories in forensic detail. Police-killers Thomas Cooper and Ronald Marwood feature in his book, along with the child-killer Celestika Somner, the poisoner George Chapman, the witchcraft-murderer Kayode Orishagbemi and, of course, most famous of all, Kenneth Halliwell who killed playwright Joe Orton in their flat in Noel Road. In addition to these celebrated cases, several less well-known but equally compelling murders are reconstructed. They give a shocking insight into the dark side of Islington s recent, sometimes gruesome, history.

Author : Glenda Goulden
Publisher : Wharncliffe
Page : 292 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2008-10-16
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 9781783408672

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Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths In & Around The Fens by Glenda Goulden Pdf

Discover this coastal plain in England—and the crimes that have taken place there over the centuries. The Fens of England, thinly populated with isolated farmsteads, has been the setting for a number of popular crime novels—but it has also been the actual site of many horrific, bloody, and bizarre incidents. This book takes a gripping look at the darker side of the area’s history—from crimes of callous premeditation to those born of passion or despair. Included are tales of conspiracy, robbery, violence, cruelty, and murder that reveal a previously neglected side of Fenland society. Unforgettable cases are featured—a mother who murdered her son, a police officer who hid the body of his mother, a farmer brutally slain for his money, a dustman who killed a local girl, and the headless body of a woman who has never been identified. Covering a wide range of human weakness and wickedness, this chronicle of the hidden side of the Fens will be compelling reading for anyone who is interested in the sinister side of human nature and the social conditions that nurture it.

Author : Geoffrey Howse
Publisher : Wharncliffe
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2010-05-19
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 9781844687404

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Murder & Mayhem in North London by Geoffrey Howse Pdf

A riveting history of true crimes in the area over the centuries, with photos and illustrations. From Islington to Finsbury Park to Hackney Wick, the North London area has been the setting of countless crimes from the notorious to the obscure. In this book, Geoffrey Howse delves into the files covering hundreds of years of the area’s darkest past. Events covered include long forgotten cases that made the headlines in their day as well as others more famous: the seventeenth-century murder of a magistrate for which three innocent men were hanged Britain’s first railway murder the first criminal to be caught via wireless telegraphy the anarchists who left a trail of murder and mayhem following a raid on a Tottenham factory and many more that will fascinate those with an interest in the local and social history of London

Author : John J. Eddleston
Publisher : Grub Street Publishers
Page : 266 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2010-05-12
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 9781783037506

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Foul Deeds in Kensington & Chelsea by John J. Eddleston Pdf

London’s most exclusive neighborhoods sit on sites of the some of the most sinister and scandalous crimes in British history. Stories of violent death will always hold us in a grim but thrilling grip. The dreadful crimes related in Foul Deeds in Kensington & Chelsea are shocking examples of murder cases that readers will never forget. Crimes of passion, opportunistic killings, political assassinations—the full spectrum of extreme criminality is recounted here. John J. Eddleston has selected a series of notorious episodes that give a fascinating insight into criminal acts and the criminal mind. The human dramas he depicts are often played out in the most commonplace of circumstances, but others are so odd as to be stranger than fiction. Cases involving the killing of wives, lovers, and children are among those he describes, but he also reconstructs in forensic detail several more unusual crimes—two men shot dead at a lecture, the field marshal who was assassinated on his doorstep, the acid bath killings, and the murders of two ill-fated countesses. These lethal episodes give a fascinating insight into the dark side of the history of Kensington and Chelsea.

Author : John J. Eddleston
Publisher : Grub Street Publishers
Page : 184 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2009-11-19
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 9781783037537

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Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in Reading by John J. Eddleston Pdf

True-life tales of bloody killings and brutal crimes wind through the dark past of this historic town on the Thames. John J. Eddleston’s latest selection of notorious criminal cases takes the reader through a sequence of sensational episodes that have marred the history of Reading. His book, based on original research, recalls many grisly events and sad or unsavory individuals whose fate has hitherto been forgotten. Among the shocking crimes he reconstructs are those of the baby-farmer Amelia Dyer, the unsolved murder of Alfred Oliver, the suffocation of Beatrice Cox, the red Mini murder of June Cook, and the attempted murder of a family of five. This chronicle of the dark side of Reading’s long history will be fascinating reading for anyone who is interested in the town’s rich—and sometimes gruesome—past.

Author : John Woodhouse
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 149 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2013-02-21
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 9781473822450

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A Copper at the Yard by John Woodhouse Pdf

Being a copper at the yard was definitely an exciting time for the author, John Woodhouse, but it did take it's toll on social and family life. From east end detective, to the Bomb Squad in London's fight back during the IRA bombings of the 1970s, to the Flying Squad in the fight against organised crime. But amongst all this there was a lighter side, from Morris Dancing, to a cross dressingdbutante at Ascot's ladies day, to undercover copis all in a days work, until out of the blue he was told he had terminal cancer and to go home and die.This book is an insight into the life of an ordinary guy who has led an extraordinary life, who has opened deaths door and closed it again, but still had time to smile at life as he endured the battle with cancer. Fighting his way back to return to duty at the yard with one lung and continuing his career, thisis the story of guts and determination. To take on the Chinese triads in their own back yard and and come out the other side is astonishing in itself, but along with all the ups and downs in his life this ordinary guy's approach to life is one of optimism and fun. This book will certainly make you laugh at times and cry at others, you can live his lifealong side him on every page.