Deeper into the cemetery, our guide took us to the grave of George Clarke who was one of only eight plain clothes police officers at Scotland Yard in 1842. Clarke was an experienced officer and would go to the ends of the earth (quite literally in one case) to arrest a suspect. In a career spanning over 40 years, Clarke was involved in the first railway murder, the Plaistow Marshes Murder and investigations into the Fenians
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Blood, guts and gore-tex – Our trip to Hastings’ premier True Crime Museum
In the first room, there was a history of forensics and crime. From the Ripper to the forensic officer’s repertoire, we were treated to a timeline of events which helped shape our society, and its criminal custodians. Next to it, an interactive room where prospective investigators could test their skills.
Rediscovering the ineffable – Our visit to Brookwood Cemetery
The Victorians had a fondness for death or, rather, a reverence for and the commemoration of, the deceased. A fact that is hardly surprising given the mortality rates. In 1850, 1 in every 200 births resulted in the death of the mother and even infant mortality was 165 deaths per 1,000.
The Mad, Bad, & Bizarre – A Review of Woking Prison Part 2
Join Daniel and Gemma as they revisit Woking Convict Invalid Prison and take a brief dive into the lives of more prisoners, including a rather dense incendiarist, a trigamist, and a member of the swell mob!
The melancholy life of the Winchester Pickpocket
William Privett, was born into an average, working class family in 1835[1]. His father, another William, was an agricultural labourer[2] and his mother had no listed profession, but it’s likely, as so many other women did, that she took in laundry for her neighbours.
The Mad, Bad, & Bizarre – A Brief Review of Woking Prison
Join Daniel and Gemma as they introduce Woking Convict Invalid Prison and take a brief dive into the lives of several of the first 94 prisoners, including a vicious collier, a desperate deserter, and a hopeful higgler!
Finding Snow in the footprints…
When I started researching William Strahan, prisoner number 1 at Woking Convict Invalid Prison, I hadn’t quite anticipated the wild romp through history such a course would take me: a journey which would range from crimes in London, deaths in Italy and archaeological digs in Ashtead. What started as an impersonal quest to render correctly…