|
The English hangmen from 1850 to 1964 |
The post
of hangman became much sought after in the mid 19th century and
remained so until capital punishment ceased in 1964 with large numbers of
applicants (including women) for each vacancy. It would probably attract just
as many applicants today if capital punishment were to be reintroduced. Swaziland
had more than 50 applications for the post in 1998 from people from all over
the world.
When
William Calcraft retired it ceased to be a salaried position and in fact fees
barely increased at all from the 1870's to the 1960's. It is therefore
reasonable to suppose that most of those who held the post of executioner did
it not for financial gain but for other, more personal, reasons.
Period in
office - 1849 - 1873
Smith hanged the famous Rugeley poisoner Dr William Palmer at Stafford prison
on the 14th of June 1856 for the murder of John Parsons Cook. Dr.
Palmer was suspected of having committed other murders.
He is also credited by some as being Calcraft's assistant at the execution of
Mary Ann Cotton the Durham serial poisoner who was hanged at Durham Castle on
24th March 1873.
He assisted Calcraft at the first private hanging (of Thomas Wells see below)
in August of 1868.
Robert Evans (Anderson) - North Wales 1874/75
Acted as
executioner on several occasions, including the treble hanging at Gloucester on
12/01/1874 of 19 year old Mary Ann Barry and her common law husband Edwin
Bailey for the murder of their illegitimate child and Edward Butt who had
strangled his girlfriend.
George
Incher - Dudley 1875-1881
Acted as
executioner on several occasions.
Period in
office - 1829 - 1874.
Calcraft was the longest serving executioner of all and was noted for his
"short drops" causing most of his victims to strangle to death. It is
not known precisely how many executions he carried out but it is estimated at
between four hundred and four hundred and fifty, including those of at least 35
women, making him the most prolific British executioner. He officiated at the
last public hangings in Britain - those of Francis Kidder (the last woman) at
Maidstone on 2nd April 1868 for the drowning of a friend's daughter
and Michael Barrett - a Fenian (what we would now call an I R A terrorist) for
the Clerkenwell prison explosion which killed 12 people and injured over 100,
outside Newgate prison on 26th May 1868.
The Government then passed The Capital Punishment Within Prisons Act of 1868
which transferred all executions inside prison walls. The press and witnesses
were still permitted to attend although executions were no longer the great
public spectacles that they used to be.
The first hanging within prison was that of 18 year old Thomas Wells at
Maidstone on 13th August 1868. Wells was a railway worker who had
murdered his boss, the Station Master at Dover. Although the execution was in
"private" there were reporters and invited witnesses present and the
short drop was used so that they would have been treated to the sight of Wells
taking 3-4 minutes to die.
Calcraft was the official hangman at Newgate and also carried out floggings
inside that prison. He received 1 guinea г1.05) a week retainer and a further
guinea for each hanging at Newgate and half a crown (12.5p) for a flogging. His
earnings were greatly enhanced by executions at other prisons where he could
charge higher fees, typically г10 - г15.
He also held the same post at Horsemonger Lane Goal in the County of Surrey and
received a similar fee from there. In addition to these earnings he was also
allowed to keep the clothes and personal effects of the condemned which he
could sell afterwards to such as Madame Tussaud's for dressing the latest
waxwork in the Chamber of Horrors. The rope which had been used at a hanging
could also be cut into inch long sections and sold to the public at up to 5
shillings an inch if the criminal had been particularly notable.
He claims to have invented the leather waist belt with wrist straps for
pinioning the prisoners arms and one of the nooses he used is still on display
at Lancaster Castle. It is a very short piece of 3/4" rope with a loop
worked into one end with the free end of the rope passed through it and
terminating in a hook with which it was attached to the chain fixed to the
gallows beam. This particular noose was used for the execution of Richard
Pedder on 29th August 1857.
On the 20th April 1849 Calcraft hanged seventeen year old Sarah Thomas at
Bristol for the murder of her mistress who had maltreated her. This was one job
which greatly affected him on account of her youth and good looks.
Frederick George Manning and his wife Maria were hanged side by side on the 13
November 1849 on the roof of Horsemonger Lane Goal. The Mannings had murdered
Patrick O'Connor - Maria's erstwhile lover for money. A husband and wife executed
together was very unusual and drew a huge crowd. Marie wore a black satin dress
which caused this material to rapidly go out of fashion.
Dr Edward William Pritchard drew a crowd estimated at around one hundred
thousand when was hanged in Jail Square in Glasgow on the 28th of
July 1865 for the murders of his wife and mother-in-law.
1867 bought the triple hanging of three Fenians who had murdered a policeman in
Manchester. William O'Meara Allen, Michael Larkin and Michael O'Brien (alias
Gould) were hanged together on the 23rd of November 1867 outside
Salford Prison. Afterwards they became known as the Manchester Martyrs and a
monument was erected to them in Ireland which can still be seen today. Calcraft
received the princely sum of г30.00 for this job.
His last
hanging was that of John Godwin at Newgate on 25th May 1874 after
which he retired on a pension of 25 shillings - г1.25) per week provided by the
City of London in 1874. He died in December 1879.
Most of Calcraft's early work came from London and the South East as the
Midlands had Smith of Dudley and Thomas Askern operated in Yorkshire and the
North. With the advent of the railway system in the mid nineteenth century
Calcraft was soon able to operate all over Britain and apparently loved
travelling.
Period in
office 1853 -1877
Askern carried out the last public execution in Scotland when he hanged 19 year
old Robert Smith on the 12 May 1868 at Dumfries Prison for the murder of a
young girl. Askern mainly officiated at hangings
at Leeds and York. He also hanged Pricilla Biggadyke at Lincoln in 1868, the
first private female hanging. She was later found to have been innocent and was
pardoned. He is also credited with assisting Calcraft with Mary Ann Cotton.
Period in
office - 1874 - 1883
Marwood
was a cobbler by trade who had, over the years taken a great interest in the
"art" of hanging and felt that it could be improved. He had never hanged
anyone or even assisted at an execution but at the age of 54 persuaded the
authorities at Lincoln prison to let him carry out the hanging of William
Frederick Harry (or Horry) on 1st April 1872 which went off without
a hitch and impressed the governor of that prison.
He is
credited with inventing the "long drop" (which was, in fact probably
invented by surgeons in Ireland) and was certainly responsible for its
introduction in England. He realised that if the prisoner was to have a drop of
six to ten feet depending upon his weight and with the noose correctly
positioned death would be "nearly instantaneous" due to the neck
being broken. Actually this form of hanging leads to comatose asphyxia i.e. the
prisoner still dies by asphyxiation but is unconscious at the time. When done
properly there is no visible movement of the condemned after the drop.
The long drop removed all the gruesome struggling and convulsing from the
proceedings and was, undoubtedly far less cruel to the prisoner and far less
trying to the governor and staff of the prison who, since the abolition of
public hangings, had to witness the spectacle at close quarters.
He was duly appointed as official hangman by the Sheriffs of London and
Middlesex and received a retainer of г20.00 per annum plus г10.00 for each
execution but unlike Calcraft got no actual salary. He also was able to keep
the condemned persons clothes and received travelling expenses. The rail system
was so advanced by this time that he could travel anywhere in the Country with
ease thus making it possible for him to carry out most of the executions within
England and in Ireland.
There was a famous rime about Marwood at the time which went "If Pa killed
Ma who'd kill Pa - Marwood". Marwood was something of a celebrity and had
business cards printed - "William Marwood Public Executioner Horncastle
Lincolnshire" and the words "Marwood Crown Office" over the door
of his shop.
In his nine years of service he hanged 176 people, including 8 women, before
dying of "inflammation of the lungs" in 1883.
Four of Marwood's notable cases were :
Charles Peace was a burglar and murderer whom Marwood hanged on the 25th
of February 1879 at Armley Goal Leeds. Peace was the archetypal Victorian
criminal who struck fear into the hearts of everyone at the time.
Kate Webster. an Irish servant girl who murdered her mistress with an axe was
hanged on the 29th of July 1879 at Wandsworth Prison.
Percy Lefroy Mapleton murdered Isaac Fredrick Gold on a train on the Brighton
Line so that he could steal Gold's watch and some coins. He was arrested almost
immediately but managed to escape from custody before being arrested again,
convicted and finally hanged on the 29th of November 1881.
Marwood traveled to Ireland from time to time and had the job of executing Joe
Brady and four other members of The Invincibles gang for the murders in Phoenix
Park Dublin of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Harry Burke the Permanent
Under Secretary for Ireland. These hangings took place in 1883 at Kilmainham
jail in Dublin.
Period in
office - - 1883 - 1884, sacked as chief executioner but later assisted Tommy
Scott on several occasions in 1900/01.
Binns was perhaps one of the least successful British hangman only holding the
job as principal for a year although he had assisted Marwood at executions. After
complaints about his work and his character he was removed from the list of
hangmen.
His first "solo" execution was that of Henry Powell on the 6 November
1883 at Wandsworth Prison.
He also dealt with Patrick O'Donnell an Irish Republican who murdered the chief
witness in the Phoenix Park murder case (see above).
Period in
office - 1884 - 1892
Berry carried out 134 hangings in his eight years in office, including those of
5 women and was the first British executioner to write his memoirs "My
experiences as an executioner" which is still available in libraries. He
was, like Marwood, proud of his calling and both had their own waxworks in
Madame Tussaud's. Berry had previously been a policeman in Bradford and had met
Marwood and become acquainted with his methods.
Berry worked out a proper table of drops based upon the prisoner's weight and
these were steadily refined over the succeeding years.
His eight years were not without event.
One of his most famous (non) jobs was the strange case of John Lee ("The
man they could not hang") on the 23rd February 1885 at Exeter
prison. 19 year old John Lee was convicted of the murder of his elderly,
wealthy employer Ellen Keyse for whom he worked as footman.
All the normal preparations were made on the gallows in the coach house at
Exeter prison but when Berry pulled the lever nothing happened. Berry stamped
on the trap but to no avail and Lee was then taken back to his cell whilst the
gallows was tested. It worked perfectly.
The process was now repeated but with the same result and yet again the trap
worked perfectly after Lee was removed. After the third unsuccessful attempt
the governor stayed the hanging whilst he obtained directions from the Home
Office. Lee was later reprieved.
Various theories abound as to why the trap would not open with Lee on it,
ranging from divine intervention through the wood swelling in the damp weather
to the more believable one of one of the prisoners who had helped to erect it
placing a wedge between the leaves of the trap which he removed again as soon
as Lee was taken off and reinserted at each new attempt.
Another unfortunate experience concerned the execution of Robert Goodale at
Norwich Castle on 30th November 1885. Goodale who weighed 15 stone
(95 Kg.) but was in poor physical condition was decapitated by the force of the
drop. (The only recorded instance of this in Britain although two other of
Berry's victims, Moses Shrimpton at Worcester and John Conway at Kirkdale were
nearly decapitated by the drop) The last case led to Berry's resignation as he
blamed the prison doctor Dr. Barr for interfering with his calculations.
The opposite problem occurred in at least three of Berry's other hangings when
the condemned clearly strangled to death due to the length of drop being
insufficient. These were David Roberts hanged at Cardiff on the 2nd
of March 1886, Henry Devlin, executed September 23 1890 in Glasgow for
murdering his wife, and Edward Hewitt who was executed at Gloucester in June of
1886.
By a strange coincidence Mr. Berry was called upon to hang Mrs. Berry who had
poisoned her 11 year old daughter for г10 life insurance. The execution taking
place on the 14th March 1887at Kirkdale prison Liverpool.
Not only did the executioner and the prisoner have the same surname but
although not related, they actually knew each other having danced together at a
police ball in Manchester some years previously.
Thomas
Henry Scott - Huddersfield.
Period of
office 1892 - 1901
Acted as executioner on several occasions.
Period in
office - 1884 - 1901
James Billington had a life long fascination with hanging and had
unsuccessfully applied for Marwood's post but managed to secure the Yorkshire
hangman's position. He succeeded Berry as the executioner for London and the
Home Counties in 1892.
Billington hanged Henry Fowler and Albert Milsom on the 9 June 1896 at Newgate
Prison for beating to death of 79-year-old widower Henry Smith.
Thirty three year old Louise Masset went to the gallows at Newgate on the 9th
January 1900 for the murder of her illegitimate son, the first person to
be executed in the new century.
Billington also hanged Amelia Dyer at Newgate for the murder of 4 month old
Doris Marmon a baby who had been entrusted to her care, having received г10 to
look after her.
This particular form of murder was known at the time as "Baby Farming"
and it is thought that Dyer had murdered at least six other babies for money. Each
baby had been strangled with white tape. As Mrs. Dyer said, that was how you
could tell it was one of hers. At 57 she was the oldest woman to hang since
1843.
Perhaps his most interesting execution was that of the poisoner Dr. Thomas Neil
Cream on the 15th November 1892 at Newgate. Cream waited till the
very last moment as he felt the mechanism under the trap begin to move to utter
the words "I am Jack the...." It is highly unlikely that Cream could
have been Jack the Ripper but it certainly caused a stir at the time.
James Billington died of pneumonia contracted after the hanging of Pat McKenna
at Manchester in December 1901. Henry Pierrepoint assisted at this execution
which was the 147th carried out by Billington. He was succeeded by
his two sons William and John who had assisted him at various hangings.
Period in
office 1897 - 1901
(possibly assisted his father from 1894 under the name of Thompson)
Thomas Billington was James Billington's eldest son.
Thomas assisted his father and brother William at some hangings but died of
pneumonia aged 29 in 1902.
Period in
office - 1902 - 1905
The second of James Billington's three sons, William took over from his father
and was assisted by his younger brother John.
He executed Mrs. Emily Swan and her boyfriend John Gallagher who died together
at Armley prison Leeds on the 29 December 1901. Hooded and noosed on the gallows
Emily said "Good morning John" to which he replied "Good morning
love". Emily replied "Goodbye, God bless you" before the drop
fell ending any more conversation.
William carried out the last execution at Newgate hanging George Woolfe on the
2nd of May 1902. After which the gallows was transferred to
Pentonville.
He also dealt with Annie Walters and Amelia Sach who were hanged at Holloway
prison on the 3 February 1903 for baby farming. (the first executions at
Holloway).
Assisted by Henry Pierrepoint he also carried out the first hanging at
Pentonville on 30th September 1902 when they executed James
MacDonald and another man who had stabbed one Mr. Henry Greaves to death.
Period in
office - 1902 - 1905
John was also on the Home Office's approved list of executioners and assisted
his brother William. He also carried out 16 executions as principal, including
those of Henry Starr for the murder of his wife at Walton prison Liverpool on
the 29th December 1901 and Samuel Holden at Winson Green prison in
Birmingham on the 17th August 1904 while his brother was dealing
with John Thomas Kay on the same day at Armley prison in Leeds.
Period in
office - 1901 - 1910
Henry Pierrepoint carried out 107 executions in his nine year term of office. He
took great care in his work and calculated the drops most carefully - he is
said never to have had a single bungled hanging.
His first job was at Newgate assisting James Billington with the execution of
Marcel Fougeron on the 19th November 1901. Between January 1902 and
March 1903 he assisted at a further fifteen hangings and is thought to have
carried out some of them as principal.
Henry, assisted by his brother Tom, hanged Rhoda Willis at Cardiff on the 14th
of August 1907. Willis, (also known as Leslie James) was executed on her 44th
birthday for the murder of a day old baby whom she had agreed to look after for
г6.00 paid to her by its unmarried mother.
She was thus, in effect, another baby farmer although her good looks and golden
hair made a big impression on Henry.
Like James Billington, Henry Pierrepoint was the founder of a family dynasty
persuading his older brother Tom and son Albert to follow in his foot steps.
Period in
office - 1901 - 1923
John Ellis was a notably mild mannered man who ultimately committed suicide
possibly through the stresses incurred by his job as hangman and possibly through
the effects of the slump on his business as a barber. He had a particular
dislike of hanging women for reasons that will become apparent.
He
executed several famous criminals notably:
Herbert Rowse Armstrong who he hanged on the 31st May 1922 at Gloucester
prison for the murder by arsenic poisoning of his wife. There is some doubt now
over Armstrong's guilt and new evidence has been unearthed by another, present
day solicitor, who acquired Armstrong's practice in Hay on Wye and works in his
old office and bought his house.
Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen is perhaps the most famous criminal to come Ellis's
way. He was hanged on the 23rd November 1910 at Pentonville prison
for the murder of his wife Cora Crippen. Crippen was the first person to be
caught by the use of the new wireless telegraph system allowing him to be
arrested aboard the S. S. Montrose on which he had sailed to Quebec in Canada
with his lover Ethel Le Neve. At the time it was seen as the "Crime of the
Century" and has held a fascination for many ever since.
George Smith was the famous "Brides in the Bath" murderer whom Ellis
hanged on the 13th August 1915 at Maidstone prison. He had drowned
Alice Burnham, Beatrice Constance Annie Mundy and Margaret Elizabeth Lofty for
financial gain.
Sir Roger Casement was unusual in that he had been convicted of treason, having
tried to get the Germans to send arms and equipment to Ireland to start a
rebellion. He was hanged at Pentonville on the 3rd of August 1916.
In 1923 Ellis had the worst job of his career when he and Robert Baxter hanged Edith
Jessie Thompson aged 28 on the 9th January at Holloway for her part
in the murder of her husband Percy who was stabbed to death by Frederick
Bywaters. (see below). She had to be carried to the gallows and it was reported
that her underwear was covered in blood after the hanging. After this all other
women were made to wear canvas underpants.
They also hanged Susan Newell at Duke Street prison Glasgow on the 10th
October 1923. 30 year old Newell had strangled newspaper boy John Johnston who
would not give her an evening paper without the money. She was the first woman
to hang in Scotland for over fifty years and on the gallows refused the
traditional white hood.
He resigned due to poor health in March 1924 having executed 203 people. Before
his suicide Ellis wrote his memoirs "Diary of a Hangman" which have
been reprinted recently.
Period in
office 1906 - 1926
Willis had assisted at more than 100 executions, helping Ellis and Henry and
Tom Pierrepoint and Robert Baxter.
While Ellis was hanging Edith Thompson, Willis was doing the same to Frederick
Edward Bywaters at Pentonville Prison.
He carried out 13 executions before resigning in 1926 due to ill health.
Period in
office - 1906 - 1946
Tom was six years older than his brother Henry and worked as a hangman for 37
years before retiring in 1946 in his mid seventies. He is credited with having
carried out around 300 hangings although no exact figure has been verified.
Some of his famous cases were :
Ethel Lillie Major hanged on the 19th of December 1934 at Hull
Prison for the murder of her husband.
Nurse Dorothea Waddingham who was hanged for poisoning one of her elderly
patients on the 16th of April 1936 at Winson Green prison in
Birmingham.
On the 10th of March 1930 Pierrepoint executed Alfred Arthur Rouse
at Bedford prison for the murder of an unknown man. Rowse had killed the man
and then put him in his (Rowse's) car and set it ablaze in an attempt to fake
his own death for the insurance money.
Charlotte Bryant went to the gallows at Exeter on the 15th of July
1936 for the murder of her husband by arsenic poisoning.
Period in
office - 1920 - 1936.
William Henry Kennedy was hanged on the 31st of May 1928 at
Wandsworth for his part in the shooting of police constable George William
Gutteridge.
Period in
office - 1915 - 1935
Baxter (assisted by Willis and Phillips) hanged Jean-Pierre Vaquier at
Wandsworth prison on the 12th of August 1924 for the poisoning,
using strychnine of his lover's husband.
At the same moment that Robert Wilson was executing Kennedy (see above) Baxter
hanged Frederick Guy Browne for his part in P C Gutteridge's murder at
Pentonville, double hangings having become very unusual by this time.
Alfred
Allen - Wolverhampton
Period in
office 1928 - 37
Acted as chief executioner on several occasions.
Thomas
Mather Phillips
Period in
office 1918 - 1941
Acted as chief executioner on several occasions.
Stanley
William Cross
Period in
office 1932 - 1941 (referred to by AP as SID COLLINS)
Acted as chief executioner on several occasions.
Period in
office - 1932 - 1956
Pierrepoint was by far the most prolific hangman of the twentieth century
having executed an estimated 433 men and 17 women in his twenty four years of service
in this country and abroad. He learnt his trade assisting his uncle Tom and is
credited with the quickest hanging on record when he, assisted by Sid Dernley,
executed James Inglis in only 7 seconds on the 8th of May 1951 at
Strangeways in Manchester. He became Chief executioner in May 1940 at the age
of thirty three.
Some of
his notable executions were :
Neville George Heath who was hanged on the 16th of October 1946 at
Pentonville Prison for the sexual/sadistic murder of Margery Gardner who was
found dead in a hotel bedroom. When discovered she was lying on her back, in
one of the single beds nearest to the door. She was naked and had her ankles
bound with a handkerchief. She had a lot of bruising to her face and her
nipples had been almost bitten off. Something had been inserted into her vagina
and sharply rotated. On her back were seventeen criss-cross lash marks. Cause
of death had been suffocation but only after the horrific injuries had been
inflicted.
During World War 2 Pierrepoint was called upon to hang 7 of the 16 American
soldiers executed for murder and rape at Shepton Mallet military prison in
Somerset.
After the war Albert went to Germany and on the 13th of December
1945 hanged 13 German war criminals at Hamelyn jail including Irma Greese,
Elizabeth Volkenrath and Juana Boreman and ten men including the "Beast of
Belsen" Josef Kramer. He continued to visit Germany periodically and is
thought to have hanged around 200 Nazis in all.
Another famous case was that of "Lord Haw-Haw" - William Joyce whom
Pierrepoint hanged at Wandsworth for treason on the 3rd of January
1946.
John George Haigh the famous "Acid bath murderer" came Pierepoint's
way on the 10th of August 1949 at Wandsworth prison for the murder
of Mrs. Durand-Deacon. Her gall stone and dentures were not dissolved by the
acid in which he had dissolved the rest of her body and remained to convict
Haigh.
Derek Bentley was hanged on the 28th of January 1953 at Wandsworth
Prison for his part in the murder of PC Miles. Even though Bentley was actually
in custody at the time the fatal shot was fired they were both seen as equally
guilty under the law. Craig was, at 16, too young to hang but Bentley, at 19,
was not. The case has been the subject of books and the film "Let him have
it" and efforts for a pardon for Bentley continue to this day. (He was
finally found to have been innocent in1998)
Another
controversial case was that of Timothy John Evans whom Albert hanged on the 9th
of March 1950 at Pentonville for the murder of his wife at 10 Rillington Place
the home of John Reginald Christie. Christie was later convicted of murder and
admitted killing seven women. He was hanged on the 15 July 1953 at Pentonville
Prison. In 1966 Evans was granted a posthumous pardon.
On the 13th of July 1955 at Holloway Prison Ruth Ellis became the
last woman to be hanged.
He resigned over a disagreement about fees in 1956. He had gone to Strangeways
on a cold day in January 1956 to hang Thomas Bancroft. He arrived at the prison
only to find that Bancroft was reprieved. He claimed the full fee of г15, (more
than г200 at today's prices), but was offered г1 in out-of-pocket expenses by
the under-sheriff of Lancashire.
Pierrepoint appealed to his employers, the Prison Commission, who refused to
get involved. The under-sheriff sent him a cheque for г4 in final settlement. But
to the Chief Executioner this was the end of the road.
He also wrote his autobiography "Executioner - Pierrepoint" which is
still available
Period in
office - 1941 - 1950
Harry Kirk had worked as an assistant to Stan Cross and both Tom & Albert
Pierrepoint and had a very short career as a hangman. When he executed Norman
Goldenthorpe at Norwich on the 22nd of November 1950 for the murder
of 66 year old Emma Howe at Yarmouth snorting sounds were heard coming from the
trap. This was apparently due to the hood becoming stuck in the eyelet of the
noose. This was thus Kirk's first and last hanging as principal.
Period in
office - 1941 - 1955
Steve Wade worked as an assistant to Tom & Albert Pierrepoint on 31 occasions
and carried out 28 executions in his own right.
His last job was that of Alec Wilkinson whom he and Robert Stewart hanged at
Armley jail on the 12th of August 1955.
Period in
office - 1941 - 1964
After Pierrepoint's resignation Steve Wade and Harry Allen took over the job as
joint Chief Executioners. However business was slowing down with a general
reduction in hangings partially due to the Homicide Act of 1957. Allen
performed 29 executions and assisted at around 40 others. He also worked in
Cyprus on a number of occasions.
John
Vickers became the first man to die for a murder committed under the provisions
of the Homicide Act of 1957 when he was hanged at Durham on the 23rd
July 1957.
Allen hanged George Riley on the 9th of February 1961 at Shrewsbury
Prison for the murder of his neighbour, Adeline Mary Smith.
Perhaps his most controversial case was that of James Hanratty who was
convicted of the A6 murder and hanged at Bedford prison on the 4th
of April 1962. There have been serious doubts raised over Hanratty's guilt and
attempts to win him a pardon continue to this day.
Allen's last job was the hanging of Gwynne Owen Evans at Strangeways Prison at
8.00 a.m. on the 13th of August 1964, whilst his accomplice, Peter
Anthony Allen, was suffering the same fate at Walton. (See below) Allen and
Evans were the last men to be hanged in Britain.
Period in
office - 1950 - 1964
Stewart shared the distinction of carrying out one of the two last hangings in
Britain when he executed Peter Anthony Allen at Walton prison Liverpool at 8.00
a.m. on the 13th of August 1964 for his part in the murder of John
Alan West a 53 year old laundryman who was killed during the course of a
robbery carried out by Allen and Evans.
There
were many more names on the Home Office list of approved executioners over the
period covered but they only acted as assistants and are, thus, not always
recorded. Amongst the better known of these was Sid Dernley who assisted at 25
executions between 1949 and 1954 and also wrote a book called "The
Hangman's Tale" detailing his experiences. Sid Dernley died in 1996.
With
thanks to Steve Fielding, the of the author of The Hangmen's Record 1868-1964
(published by Chancery House Press) for his assistance with this page.