Soldier who murdered

[ralphjd]

One of my interests is capital punishments, I have many books on hangings etc, just read a story of a Hyman Perdovitch who murdered his work colleague and was hung 6th Jan 1920 at Strangeways. Within the tale the author states that Hyman first enlisted in the Border Regiment in 1916 at the end of that year he was transferred to the Royal Irish Regt being severely wounded in 1917 at Ypres. Just thought I would see if I could find a medal card for him and he has but oddly it does not give his number nor his medal entitlement, it is one of the few cards with correspondence on the reverse, his brother applying for his medals on the 27th July 1920. He also has an entry in the National Probate Calender stating he died at HMP Strangeways on the 6th January 1920 and leaving the sum of £151 10s to his brother Abraham Perdovitch. Such is fate that he survived the horrors of the war and finished up in the big house and to be legally killed. Sad tale I think. Thought pals might be interested in this. Ralph.

[Neil Mackenzie]

Ralph - I agree a sad tale.

I don't know the facts of this case so his war experience may not have played any part in what happened.

I also appreciate that the 'past is a different country' so a straight extrapolation is not necessarily relevant. But, given the numbers of requests for support that Combat Stress are getting from Falklands and Iraq/Afghanistan veterans, there must have been tens of thousands of veterans from the Great War who needed support.

I was wondering if there was an increase in execution post war. The capital punishment website seems to show quite a number of executions in 1920 but that is the only post war year where there was an obvious blip.

http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/hanged1.html

Neil

[John_Hartley]

Ralph

Dunno if you know this, but my understanding is that Strangeways is one of two prisons in England which still have a gallows set-up. Or, at least, did as of about 20 years back. I went on a tour of the nick, for work, and we were told that - wouldnt let us go and see though. Presumably "just in case" there was a change in the law.

John

[centurion]

One of my interests is capital punishments, I have many books on hangings etc, just read a story of a Hyman Perdovitch who murdered his work colleague and was hung 6th Jan 1920 at Strangeways. Within the tale the author states that Hyman first enlisted in the Border Regiment in 1916 at the end of that year he was transferred to the Royal Irish Regt being severely wounded in 1917 at Ypres. Just thought I would see if I could find a medal card for him and he has but oddly it does not give his number nor his medal entitlement, it is one of the few cards with correspondence on the reverse, his brother applying for his medals on the 27th July 1920. He also has an entry in the National Probate Calender stating he died at HMP Strangeways on the 6th January 1920 and leaving the sum of £151 10s to his brother Abraham Perdovitch. Such is fate that he survived the horrors of the war and finished up in the big house and to be legally killed. Sad tale I think. Thought pals might be interested in this. Ralph.

What about his work mate who presumably also survived the war only to be murdered afterwards

[ss002d6252]

A snippet from the British Newspaper Archive - "Perdovitch (39), Russian Jew, who murdered Solomon Franks, a Salford works fireman"

[James]

Article about this:

http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/51665/the-waiting-over-tragic-family

[ralphjd]

John. No the prison doesn't have a hanging shed anymore, my wife just after the riot (1990) as the prison was being rebuilt was in charge of the contractors who demolished said place of execution. Ralph.

[ralphjd]

James. Thank you for you post, very interesting to me. Regards. Ralph.

[ralphjd]

Centurian. Could be S Franks 16977 Essex Regt served in the Balkans, but the story in my book "Murderous Manchester" doesn't mention any army service for Soloman Franks. Ralph.

[ralphjd]

Neil. Just had a look through my books on executions and came up with the following (and these are only the ones to which the authors make reference to Army/Navy service) Hanged at Leeds Edwin Sowerby 30-12-1920; Thomas Hargreaves Wilson 6-5-1920; Percy George Barrett 8-1-1919; George Wm Cardwell 8-1-1919; Benjamin Hindle Benson 7-1-1919; Hanged at Winchester Leo George O'Donnell 29-3-1917; Thomas H Alloway 19-8-1922; Abraham Goldenberg 30-7-1924; Hanged at Lincoln William Wright 10-3-1920; Hanged at Durham James Williamson 21-3-1922 wounded Salonika; Henry Graham 15-4-1925; Hanged at Pentonville Harry Beckett 320903 10-7-1919; Frederick Alexander Keeling 11-4-1922; Captain Arthur Goslett 21-7-1920; Eugene De Vere 24-3-1926; Roland Duck 4-7-1923 badly wounded; Hanged at Liverpool John Crossland 22-7-1917; Herbert Salisbury 11-5-1920; William Waddington 11-5-1920; James Ellor KSLI/Lab Corps 11-8-1920; Frederick George Wood North Fus 10-4-1923; William Maynall Robertson 6-12-1927; Hanged at Manchester (Strangeways) Thomas Clinton 21-3-1917; Fredeick Rothwell Holt Officer 13-4-1920;Hanged at Gloucester Herbert Burrows 17-2-1926 RN; Major Herbert R Gaskin 31-5-1922 (interesting medal card- war medals forfeited); Hanged at Birmingham Henry Thomas Gaskin 8-8-1919. There will be many others I would imagine. Ralph.

[healdav]

As my old English master used to say, "If the judge puts on a black cap, and intones that you are sentenced to be hung, you are quite within your rights to request firmly that you would prefer to be hanged".

[ralphjd]

Noted.

[hen190782]

There was a sad case in the Belfast newspapers about a discharged soldier who attacked and killed his brother (who had not seen service in the war). From memory, he did not receive capital sentence.

Nigel

[BereniceUK]

Hanged at Manchester (Strangeways) Thomas Clinton 21-3-1917

Thomas Clinton was found guilty of murder, at Manchester Assizes on 15th February 1917. He murdered C.S.M. Henry Lynch, both men being in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, on 30th January 1917, at Barrow-in-Furness. Clinton was aged 28, and lived at Barlow Street, Bradford, Manchester.