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Remembered Today:

Murder Most 'Orrid. Looking for soldier's details


Guest Pete Wood

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Guest Pete Wood

I would be most interested to hear of any soldiers who are linked to the 'worst' crime.

If anyone has any details, no matter how sketchy, about British and commonwelath soldiers/officers who were:

accused, or convicted, linked with, or were themselves, murdered.

I realise this is a subject that some may not want to reply to in public, so please feel free to contact me off-forum if this is the case.

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I have a book entitled 'Murderous Birmingham - The executed of the twentieth Century' written by John J Eddleston.

In it he writes about gruesome murders that took place in and around Birmingham from 1901 until 1962 when the death penalty was abolished.

One particular story he tells concerns former soldier Henry Thomas Gaskin who was hung at Winson Green prison, B'ham in 1919. He was known as the "Hednesford Ripper" He enlisted in 1916.

If you want any scans let me know.

Regards

Terry

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Dr. Archibald Henderson (Highland Brigade in the Great War; RAMC in the Second War) murdered by John George Haig, the acid bath murderer, 1948

Major Herbert Armstrong (Territorials then a short spell in France), hanged 1921 for the murder of his wife.

Marina

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There was a Famous case of the 1920s::"The Case Of The Green Bicycle" when a Former Soldier was tried for the Murder of a Housemaid whose body was found in a ditch with a bullet wound in the head.

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Guest Ian Bowbrick
until 1962 when the death penalty was abolished.

The death penalty for murder in Britain was suspended in 1965 for an experimental 5 years and then abolished in 1969.

106733 Pte J R H Christie 2/5th Bn Notts & Derby Regt.

Reg Christie killed 6 women and possibly Beryl Evans between 1944 & 1953 before being hanged.

However the worst crime IMHO was committed by an ex member of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, who threatened to sing in the Prince of Wales pub just outside Cobham earlier this year ;)

post-1-1092948545.jpg

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Pte. (acting Cpl) H Williams, 10th (Prince Of Wales's Own Royal) Hussars was charged with murder at a Field General Courts Martial on November 29th 1920. He was subsequently convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to one year detention of which he ultimately served 52 days.

Source: PRO WO92/4

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Guest Ian Bowbrick

John Robinson who killed a prostitute Minnie Bonati in 1927, dismenbered her body and put it in a trunk and then left it at Charing Cross Station.

Robinson as a soldier and Minnie Bonati:

post-1-1092948355.jpg

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Pte Richard Morgan and L/Cpl William Price both 2nd Welsh, shot CSM Hughie Hayes 20/01/15, all three buried in Bethune Town.

22 other SADs (for murder) buried in CWGC Cems along with 9 victims

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Guest Ian Bowbrick

Norman Thorne served with the RNAS & RAF in France during 1918, where he was wounded. In 1924 he was hanged for killing and them dismembering his fiance Elsie Cameron at Crowborough in Sussex.

Norman & Elsie:

post-1-1092948983.jpg

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Guest Ian Bowbrick
Major Herbert Armstrong (Territorials then a short spell in France), hanged 1921 for the murder of his wife.

Major Armstrong:

post-1-1092949212.jpg

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Guest Ian Bowbrick

The Black Panther, Donald Neilson, who killed Lesley Whittle in 1975, did his National Service with the KOYLI in 1955, serving in Kenya, Aden & Cyprus.

The Panther resisted arrest...................

post-1-1092950033.jpg

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Guest Ian Bowbrick

Finally Scotsman Peter Manuel was executed in 1958 for killing 9 people during a spate of robberies. His last victim, a woman, he raped first then shot her in the face through the right eye. During WW2 he served with the Highland Light Infantry, where he learn't how to use firearms.

post-1-1092950800.jpg

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Do you have anymore details on Pc Gutteridge?

This Murder happened I believe on the Ongar to Romford Road in Essex,on 27th September 1927,Kennedy 36;& Browne 47'were on the Run after a Crime ,involving the theft of a Car & were I think stopped by PC Gutteridge,Browne,a Motor dealer, shot him & then in the mistaken belief that the eyes recorded the last image seen before death blasted PC Gutteridge in the Eyes,Both Men were captured some months after PC Gutteride's Murder,This Case was one of the earliest where Balllistic's Evidence was used with success,in Matching up,Bullet Markings from Browne's Obsolete Webley Revovler ,to those used in the Murder;helping to estabilish forensic ballistics as a proven science,tried & hanged for their Crime in 1928.

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Dennis Nielsen, ex Army Catering Corp. Convicted in October 1983 of murdering at least 15 people.

Andy

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The recently published history of the 5th Bn AIF listed one of their soldiers who committed a murder after the war. I'll have a look when I get home for further details.

On the receiving end however was Captain Tulloch of the 11th Battalion. On the first day at Gallipoli he was one of the few people who reached the third ridge before having to go back to the forming line on the second ridge. He survived the war, again taking a prominent part in the last months of the war with the 11th Bn.

In about 1923 at his home in Melbourne he was murdered by a burglar. Unfortunately they never caught the culprit.

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Ian,

However the worst crime IMHO was committed by an ex member of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, who threatened to sing in the Prince of Wales pub just outside Cobham earlier this year 

He couldn't have been ex 3rd Bn because we were all good singers

George

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Guest Ian Bowbrick
PC Gutteridge (Machine Gun Corps 1918) murdered by Kennedy and Browne

(1927?)

Marina

I have a photogrpah of Gutteridge at home.

This was particularly gruesome as He was shot in the face through both eyes and all for a stolen car.

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