100 Facts About British Executions (2 page)

32
–
Walter Graham Rowland was sentenced to death twice.  In 1934 he was convicted of murdering his daughter.  Sentenced to death, he escaped the noose and served time in prison.  In 1946 he was found guilty of murdering Olive Balchin on a bomb site in Manchester, and was hanged for that crime on Thursday, February 27
^th
, 1947.

33 – The first five executions of the century all took place at Newgate prison.

34 – The last person executed at the Tower of London was Josef Jakobs, shot as a spy there on Thursday, August 14
^th
, 1941.

35 – A total of 263 people were executed in London at five different locations; Holloway, Newgate, Pentonville, Wandsworth and The Tower.  That is just over 30% of all those executed.

36 –
Seven
women were hanged in London;
five at Holloway and two at Newgate.

37 – The last two women executed; Ruth Ellis in 1955 and Styllou Christofi in 1954, killed within a few hundred yards of each other.

38 – On Saturday, May 8
^th
, 1909, William Joseph Foy walked to his execution at Swansea smoking a cigarette.

39 – On D-Day, in 1944, as his comrades were storming the beaches in Normandy, Ernest James Harman Kemp was being hanged at Wandsworth for the murder of Iris Miriam Deeley in Eltham, London.

40
–
Patrick Herbert Mahon, who was hanged at Wandsworth on Wednesday, September 3
^rd
, 1924, tried to avoid his fate by leaping backwards as the trap was sprung.  His back smashed into the back of the trap, breaking his spine.  He then dropped into the pit and the rope tightened, breaking his neck.  At the inquest afterwards, Mahon was described as being doubly hanged.

Patrick Mahon, the man who was

“doubly-hanged”

41 – Patrick Turnage would almost certainly have been found guilty of the manslaughter of Julia Beesley at Stockton-on-Tees but insisted on pleading guilty to murder as he could not face the prospect of years in jail.  He was hanged at Durham on Tuesday, November 14
^th
, 1950.

42 – There were 778 executions in England, 34 in Scotland, 35 in Wales, 16 in Northern Ireland and two in the Channel Islands.

43 – The last man hanged in Scotland was Henry John Burnett, hanged at Aberdeen on Thursday, August 15
^th
, 1963.

44 – The last man hanged in Northern Ireland was Robert Andrew McGladdery, at Belfast, on Wednesday, December 20
^th
, 1961.

McGladdery, the last man

hanged in Northern Ireland

45 – Executions in Wales were carried out at five different prisons; Cardiff, Caernarfon, Ruthin, Swansea and Usk.

46
–
Executions in Scotland were carried out at seven different prisons; Aberdeen, Edinburgh Calton, Edinburgh Saughton, Glasgow Duke Street, Glasgow Barlinnie, Inverness, and Perth

47 – Executions in Northern Ireland were carried out at three different prisons; Armagh, Belfast, and Londonderry.

48 – Bodmin prison is now a tourist attraction and the old execution shed can be viewed.  Two men died in that shed; Valeri Giovanni on July 9
^th
, 1901 and William Hampton on July 20
^th
, 1909.

49 – The last ever death sentence awarded in England was that handed down to David Chapman, at Leeds, on November 1
^st
, 1965, for the murder of Alfred Harland at Scarborough.

50 – The last ever executions were those of Peter Anthony Allen and Gwynne Owen Evans on Thursday, August 13
^th
, 1964, for the murder of John Alan West in Workington.  Allen was hanged at Liverpool whilst Evans was hanged at Manchester.

The last two men to be hanged

51 – The last year in which there were ten or more executions was 1955, when there were 12.

52 – A total of 59 different prisons were used for executions.

53 – The last year with 20 or more executions was 1952, when there were 25.

54 – The last words of Edgar Owen, hanged on Tuesday, March 3
^rd
, 1903 at Wandsworth were reportedly; “I’ve been looking forward to this.”

55
–
The last person executed on the Isle of Man was John Kewish, hanged at Castletown on August 1
^st
, 1872.

56 – The first person executed in private in prison was Thomas Wells who was hanged at Maidstone on August 13
^th
, 1868.

57 – The last woman executed in public was Frances Kidder, hanged at Maidstone on April 2
^nd
, 1868.

58 – Most people believe that the last man executed in public was Michael Barrett, hanged outside Newgate on May 26
^th
, 1868, but Joseph Philip Le Brun was hanged in public on Jersey on August 11
^th
, 1875.

59 – The last woman executed in London for any crime other than murder was that of Ann Mary Chapman, who was hanged in public outside Newgate prison on July 22
^nd
, 1829.  She had been found guilty of attempted murder.
  The last woman executed anywhere for a crime other than murder was that of Sarah Chesham, at Chelmsford, March 25
^th
, 1851.  That was also for attempted murder.

60 – The last London execution of a woman for any crime not involving any form of murder
was that of Amelia Roberts, hanged outside Newgate on January 2
^nd
, 1827, for robbery.

61 – In 1900 there were 14 executions.  In 1800, there were 133 definite and one probable executions.

62 – Prior to 1900, the last execution for any crime other than murder was that of Martin Doyle, hanged at Chester for attempted murder on August 27
^th
, 1861.

63 – The last execution for arson was that of Daniel Case, at Ilchester, on August 31
^st
, 1836.

64 – The last person hanged for Highway Robbery was Thomas Pryer.  He was hanged at Maidstone  on March 31
^st
, 1836.

65 – Prior to the six American servicemen hanged for rape during the second world war at Shepton Mallet, the last execution for rape was that of Richard Smith, at Nottingham, on March 30
^th
, 1836.

66 – Amongst other offences that ended in an execution in the early part of the nineteenth century were; cutting and maiming, sodomy, bestiality, procuring an abortion, shooting at, extortion, burglary, riot, sheep theft,
piracy, forgery, uttering, horse theft, and coining.

67 – The last woman hanged in the nineteenth century was Mary Ann Ansell, hanged at St Albans on July 19
^th
, 1899.

68 – The last person executed at Tyburn was John Austin who was hanged there on November 3
^rd
, 1783, for highway robbery.

69 – Oliver Cromwell died in 1658 but after the Restoration, his body was exhumed and hanged at Tyburn on January 30
^th
, 1661.