FDSD Islington

by John Eddleston

  Thomas Neal, a small, grey-haired man with large features, did pay the ultimate penalty for his crime, being hanged at Newgate prison, on 26 March 1890, by James Berry.

  Chapter 22

  Walter Alfred Hargan

  1890

  For some time, there had been trouble, at the Wagon and Horses public house on Hertford Road. The house had always had a reputation as a lower-class establishment, with a coarse clientele, but now, at last, things were beginning to change.

  In the early part of 1890, a new landlord, Thomas Peck, had been appointed, and he determined, that the place should be improved. He would not stand for any misbehaviour, or trouble and, slowly, he began to persuade many of the regular troublemakers to find somewhere else to drink. This approach, however, had consequences, in that some of the more rowdy customers, objected to Peck’s methods and tried to make things as difficult as possible for him.

  Early on the afternoon of Wednesday 30 July 1890, Thomas Peck went up to his bedroom. He was exhausted from his efforts of the previous evening, and decided to have a lie down on his bed. Moments later, Thomas was asleep, meaning that his wife, Jane Harriett, was left on her own in the bar.

  At 2.00pm, four men entered the Wagon and Horses. They were William Lambert, Charles George Jones, John Wheeler and a man named Gray, and all four were known troublemakers. For more than two hours, the four men were rowdy and abusive. Though differing stories would later be told in court, the upshot was that at one stage, a customer in one of the other bars, a man named Walter Alfred Hargan, walked behind the bar, and brandished a revolver at the men, telling them to be quiet.

  As Jane Harriett Peck gently pushed Hargan back into the other bar, three of the four men became even more obnoxious. Jones, Wheeler and Lambert all began singing lustily, and dancing. They used the foulest language towards Jane, and tried to get behind the bar themselves. Finally, at one particularly difficult time, Jane screamed out for help. That scream woke her husband Thomas, who immediately ran downstairs to see what the problem was.

  With some difficulty, Thomas Peck managed to eject all three troublemakers, and then bolted the front door against them. They then stood outside, shouting further abuse. In all the confusion, no-one saw Hargan leave, by the back door.

  A number of witnesses saw what happened next. Hargan began walking slowly down Hertford Road, towards Downham Road. Then, suddenly, the three men who had been thrown out of the pub saw the man who had brandished a gun at them, and decided that they would deal with him. They began to follow him down Hertford Road, and one of them shouted for him to turn around.

  Hargan stopped, and turned around slowly. He saw the three men, still walking quickly towards him, but said nothing. He simply turned back, and continued walking away. Once again, the three shouted for him to stop. It was obvious that they were intent of causing further trouble, but Hargan had had enough.

  Once again, Hargan turned but this time he took the revolver out of his pocket. He pointed the weapon towards the three men, but it did not stop them coming towards him. A shot was fired into the air but still Lambert, Wheeler and Jones continued to advance on Hargan. Then, very quickly, two more shots were fired. First, William Lambert fell, to be followed seconds later by John Wheeler. Charles Jones also fell but, whereas the other two men had been hit, Jones was merely trying to persuade Hargan that he had been wounded so that he would not fire again. Hargan, seeing all three men on the ground, took a step forward and said: ‘Lie down there dead you bastards’, before putting the gun back into his pocket, and walking away.

  There were a number of people in and around Hertford Road who had either heard, or seen, the shooting, and they now began to follow Hargan. At first they didn’t get too close. This man had, after all, just shot two men, and still had the weapon in his pocket. Some of the people threw stones at him. Others told him to come back, and wait for the police. Occasionally, Hargan drew the gun out again, and threatened to shoot anyone who came too close but, eventually, as the people drew ever closer, a couple of men managed to grab Hargan and take the gun from him. Now the mob grew more confidant, and some began to assault Hargan. One even brought a rope, and placed it around his neck. It was, possibly, only the arrival of the police, that saved Hargan’s life.

  It soon became clear that whilst Charles Jones was uninjured, both of the other men were dead. Taken into custody, Walter Hargan found himself charged with two murders. He appeared at the Old Bailey on 8 September 1890, when only evidence relating to the charge of killing William Lambert was heard. The case for the prosecution was detailed by Mr Horace Avory and Mr Muir. Hargan was defended by Mr Geoghegan and Mr Lever.

  The first witness was the sole survivor of the shooting, Charles George Jones. He, quite naturally, told a story that painted him, and his companions, as largely innocent of any troublemaking. It was true that they were all singing and dancing, but they were not doing anyone any harm. Jane Peck, the wife of the landlord, had objected to their merrymaking, and tried to throw them out of the pub. At one stage she had said: ‘I have got somebody in the other bar to protect me.’ Mrs Peck had then brought Hargan behind the bar, and he had threatened them with his revolver.

  Soon after this, since the men had still refused to leave the pub, Mrs Peck had struck Jones in the face. This had caused such an argument, that Mr Peck had come downstairs and thrown Lambert and Wheeler out into the street. Jones had not been ejected, but had simply left when his friends were put out. Later, in the street, they saw Hargan, and as they walked off in the same direction, towards Downham Road, he turned and without warning fired three shots.

  Jane Peck told a rather different story. She had suffered almost two hours of abuse at the hands of Jones and his friends. Their language had been the most foul and abusive she could imagine, and at one stage, it had been Lambert who had lashed out and hit her in the face. Her scream had brought her husband downstairs, and he had put the men outside. As for asking Hargan to protect her, she had done no such thing.

  Thomas Peck knew nothing of the problems in the bar downstairs, until he heard his wife scream. Going down he found Lambert trying to force his way into the private part of the house. Thomas told him that he wasn’t allowed in there, and pointed out that the dog was loose, and would certainly bite him if he came through. Thomas then managed to force Lambert out into the street, and then immediately did the same with Wheeler. Jones did not leave of his own accord, but also had to be put out and tried to strike Thomas, as he left.

  Having locked the door against the three troublemakers, Thomas then saw them run past the window, heading towards Downham Road. He then went outside to see what they were up to, and saw them confront Hargan as he stood outside a baker’s shop at the end of the street. Three shots were then fired in rapid succession. The first had no effect, the second caused Lambert to fall and the third hit Wheeler.

  Dennis Cockerell was in the Wagon and Horses, with a friend of his, Alfred Ongar. They testified that Mrs Peck had not, at any stage, asked Hargan for help. At one stage during the trouble, Hargan had walked behind the bar, without permission, and showed the three men that he had a revolver. He did not threaten the men and, once she had seen him, Mrs Peck gently pushed him back behind the counter.

  George Brown had been in Hertford Road, and saw Hargan walking towards him. He then saw three men come out of the Wagon and Horses, and follow Hargan down the street. Brown saw the subsequent shooting, and was one of the men who then followed Hargan along Downham Road, and finally seized hold of him.

  Another witness to the shooting was Frederick Ramsay who had a bootmaker’s shop at 34 Hertford Road. This was almost directly opposite to the baker’s shop, where the shooting took place, so Ramsay had a perfect view of the events, through his shop window. He also testified that it had been the three men who challenged Hargan, and were intent on causing him harm.

  George Turner was a fishmonger, his shop being a few doors down from the Wagon and Horses. At the time of the shooting,
George had been standing at his front door. After Hargan had fired the three shots, he placed his hands in his pocket and walked calmly away.

  Constable John Cochrane was on duty close to Hertford Road, and heard the sound of shooting. Rushing to the scene he found two men lying dead on the pavement, close to the baker’s shop. Cochrane, was one of the officers who rescued Hargan from the mob. He was also able to confirm that the two dead men, and Jones, were all well known to the police, and had a number of convictions for violence, drunkenness, fighting and assault.

  Constable William Oakley was another officer, who ran to Hertford Road when he heard the sound of shooting. He found Hargan being held by a large group of people, and could see that he had already been badly assaulted. If anything, Hargan seemed relieved to be taken into custody.

  At the police station, the gun Hargan had used, was examined by Sergeant Richard Mercer. He found that it was a six-shot revolver. Three chambers were now empty, but the other three were still loaded with live bullets.

  The final witness was Dr John Herd Gordon, who had been brought to Hertford Road by the police. He confirmed that both Lambert and Wheeler were dead. Lambert had a bullet wound on the right side of his head whilst Wheeler had a wound to the left side of his right ear. Both had been physically very large, strong men in life.

  There could be no doubt that Walter Hargan had shot two men dead, but the jury also took into account that he had left the Wagon and Horses, and was on his way home to his lodgings at 5 Southgate Road, when he was stopped by three men intent on doing him injury. Those same men had already been ejected from a public house, for causing trouble, and all had criminal records for violence and other offences. It was those facts which caused the jury to return a verdict that Hargan was not guilty of the murder of William Lambert, but was guilty of his manslaughter.

  There was still the case of the shooting of John Wheeler to answer. Asked how he wished to plead, Hargan said that he was not guilty of murder, but again guilty of manslaughter. The prosecution accepted that plea and offered no evidence on the murder charge.

  For those two offences of manslaughter, Walter Hargan was sentenced to twenty years’ imprisonment, both sentences to run concurrently.

  Chapter 23

  Alfred Gamble

  1895

  George Henry Dowling and his wife, Ellen, had been happily married for a number of years and now had a family of nine children, the youngest of whom was Sidney Victor Dowling, who, in October 1895, was two years and three months old. The Dowlings lived at 42 Parkfield Street, off Liverpool Road, in Islington and were well liked by all of their neighbours.

  On Thursday 8 October, George Dowling left for work as usual, and all the children went off to school, leaving just Ellen and Sidney alone in the house. Ellen had things to do about the house, and needed a way to keep Sidney amused for an hour or so. It was a pleasant enough day, so Ellen took her son across the road to the shop run by Jessie Murphy. A small bag of dates was purchased, and Ellen then returned to her own house. Sidney liked to sit on the front step of the house, and watch the world go by, so Ellen left him there, with his dates, being careful to leave the front door open so she could keep an eye on him. It was then just after 9.45am.

  After a couple of minutes, Sidney went back into the house, and kindly offered one of the juicy dates to his mother. She thanked him, and accepted the gift, whereupon a happy Sidney skipped back down the hallway, and resumed his position on the step.

  A few minutes later, Sidney was back, and now he held a very large pear, that he said someone had given to him. Ellen noticed that there was a small blemish on one part of the fruit, so took a sharp kitchen knife and cut it off. She then handed the pear back to Sidney who, happy with his prize, went back to the front step. At about this time, Jessie Murphy looked out of her shop window, and saw Sidney, his legs dangling over the step, eating the pear.

  At around 10.20am, Harriett Willoughby, a seventeen-year-old servant girl, who lived next door to one to the Dowlings, at number 40, went to the water closet in the yard of her house. It was whilst she was in there that she heard a loud clattering sound and, going out to investigate, saw that someone had thrown a sack on top of the dustbin at the back of the house. Taking a closer look, Harriett saw that there was something in the sack; something which appeared to be some sort of mannequin.

  Harriett immediately went back into number 40, and told her master, Mr Ebenezer Kurn, that someone had dumped a wax dummy, or something similar, on top of their dustbin. A curious Mr Kurn went to see for himself, but discovered, to his horror, that what had actually been dumped, was the body of a child. Kurn felt the body and found it was still warm. As he gently carried the bundle into his house, he told Harriett to run as fast as she could to find a policeman and a doctor.

  As a tearful Harriett Willoughby ran out into the street, she almost bumped in to Ellen Dowling. Ellen asked her why she was crying and Harriett sobbed: ‘The master has sent me for a policeman, for there is a baby found in our dust-hole.’ A few minutes before this, Harriett had gone to her own front door, to check up on her son, and discovered that he was no longer on the step. At first, she had thought that he had simply wandered off, but now she exclaimed: ‘Good God, it can”t be mine!’

  At that moment, Elenezer Kurn appeared at his front door and, hearing what Ellen had just said, confirmed that they had found the body of a young child. He then invited her to come and inspect the tragic bundle for herself, to see if it was her missing son. A nervous Ellen stepped into Kurn’s house, and saw that her worst fears were confirmed. There, on a sack, lay the naked body of her son Sidney.

  By 10.45am, Dr Bertram Goddard was in attendance at number 40. By this time, attempts had been made to revive Sidney, by warming him, giving him drops of brandy, and applying gentle pressure to his chest, but no signs of life had been found. Dr Goddard examined the boy, and confirmed that life was extinct. He was also able to determine a probable cause of death. Though confirmation would have to wait until after the post-mortem had been carried out, Dr Goddard found that about an ounce of paper had been forced deep into Sidney’s mouth and throat, thus cutting off his air supply. When the pieces were removed, they were seen to be portions of the Daily Telegraph, for 12 September.

  The police already had a number of clues to go on. First, the fact that the body had been dumped onto the dustbin of number 40, indicated that it may well have been thrown over a wall of one of the adjacent houses. Secondly, the pieces of newspaper removed from Sidney’s throat had been ripped into small squares, indicating that they might well have been prepared for use as toilet paper in one of the outside lavatories. Officers decided to search all the adjacent houses and dustbins.

  The Dowlings lived at number 42, the Kurns lived at 40, and so the initial search concentrated on the house between them, number 41. Quite a number of people lived at that address. The owner was Mrs Burgess, a lady who ran a number of fruit stalls in the vicinity. Amongst the other people living there was Joseph Hampston, Mrs Burgess brother, who worked for her. Also living in the house was George Irons, Henry William Hurdle, George Hallicar and twelve-year-old George Miles, who was Mrs Burgess’ grandson. Unfortunately for the police, though, every single one of those people had been out of the house that morning, and all had witnesses as to their whereabouts at the time of the murder. Nevertheless, the police felt that a search of that house was called for.

  The search of number 41 was carried out by Constable Mason and Sergeant Thomas. They were accompanied by Joseph Hampston, who acted as a guide around the premises. The search was immediately fruitful. In the outside water-closet, Mason found a small, fur-lined cape which was instantly identified by Ellen Dowling, as one which Sidney had been wearing. Then, in the dustbin of the same house, Sergeant Thomas found a child’s pinafore, a shirt, a pair of drawers and a frock, all of which belonged to Sidney, and which he had been wearing that day. Finally, as if further proof that someone at number 41 might well have been respons
ible for the crime, portions of the Daily Telegraph, of the same date as those found in Sidney’s throat, were found inside the water closet. The inference was clear: Sidney Dowling had been murdered in the water closet of number 41.

  A shocked Joseph Hampston exclaimed: ‘Good God, I am innocent.’ The officers who heard that felt that it was a most curious thing to say, as he had not been accused of any involvement in the crime. Hampston was taken into custody but, once his alibi had been checked, he was released, later that same day.

  That evening, though, a new suspect’s name came to the attention of the police. Mrs Burgess had explained that whilst her house had been empty all day, there had been two visitors at about the time that Sidney had been taken. She had been to the fruit market very early that day and, having made her purchases, she told her brother, Joseph Hampston, to take a cart and store some of the items at number 41. Joseph had indeed driven the cart, to the address, but he had had a young assistant with him, and it had been that assistant who was left alone at the house, and had unloaded the cart, whilst Joseph returned to the fruit stall in Chapel Street. The name of that assistant was Alfred Gamble.

  Alfred Gamble was not an imposing figure. Sixteen years of age, tall and thin, he was usually dressed quite scruffily. He suffered from severe deafness and was also rather slow-witted. He had also been the only person who had stepped foot inside number 41 that morning, had been the only one with the keys at the crucial time and, when interviewed, admitted giving Sidney the pear, though he denied any involvement in his murder. Nevertheless, at 9.00pm on the day of the crime, Gamble was taken into custody, on suspicion of being involved in the murder of Sidney Dowling.