The Killers Trilogy

by Martin McGregor

  The Killers Trilogy

  Including for the first time together:

  The Town That God Forgot

  The Curse Of New Hampshire And The Salem Witch Trials

  Devils Walk Among Us

  Martin McGregor 2010

  Published by Martin McGregor at Smashwords

  Copyright 2010 Martin McGregor

  Discover other titles by Martin McGregor at Smashwords.com

  Discover other titles by Martin McGregor at Smashwords.com:

  The town the God forgot

  The curse of New Hampshire and the Salem witch trials

  2012 Doomsday. The Mayan prophecy

  The Collected Poems

  Also by Martin McGregor

  The Collected Poems

  Published by lulu.com 2010

  A collection of previously published poetry collected from over 50 different anthologies published worldwide.

  An Ordinary Man In An Ordinary World.

  The autobiography of Martin McGregor telling a heart wrenching tale of growing up with an alcoholic father, his doomed marriage and fatherhood and being in an abusive relationship.

  2012 Doomsday The Mayan Death Prophecy.

  Examining some of the very real threats that we face in 2012. Are the governments of the world aware of any threats, and why are they building a doomsday vault?

  Martin McGregor was born in Cambridge in 1969. He lives in Andover with his wife Sarah. He has four children. Martin is an inventory and compliance manager for one of the largest French cookware manufacturers in the world.

  Part 1

  My home Town Andover. Uncovering its dark history.

  Andover. To any visitor, this is a quiet unassuming town. A town that is delightfully picturesque, and lazy. It is surrounded by areas of fantastic natural beauty. A drive through the surrounding villages on any sunny day, is one of sheer joy and bliss.

  Andover was once described to me as

  ’an old market town’. This description came from a young policewoman, attending our house after my father had tried to done a really stupid thing, and had jumped from a railway bridge. As a pre-teenage boy, those words managed to stay with me all of my life. As I grew older, I married and had four children of my own here, and it’s been my home for over thirty three years.

  During these years I have seen a lot of good friends come and go. I have seen the beauty of the surrounding countryside, and the numerous areas of the local wildlife’s habitats. Danebury Ring, and Chilbolton common, both have a special place in my heart. The lakes at Charlton and King Arthur’s way, both hold special memories for me as I grew into an adult.

  But deep down in my subconscious, there has always been an underlying element which has played on my mind. For this town, although containing many areas of beauty, also contains a violent and blood stained history. This town will always be my home, but if you scratch deep enough below the surface, the stories you will find, are the things of nightmares.

  I started to research this book as I thought that there seemed to be quite a high rate of suicides in the area. In the last few years, I have seen stabbings in the area multiply. I even lost an old friend of mine to a violent death.

  Whilst researching, I found that this town and the surrounding villages had experienced a seemingly disproportionate amount of blood thirsty events. I found murder, child abuse, torture, defamation and pain. I found stories of murder aplenty.

  So join me dear reader as we experience this ride together. This is Andover. The town that God forgot.

  Thanks as ever, go to family and friends near and far. Mum, this one’s for you.

  Thank you for giving me the chance to breathe.

  Love you always.

  Martin.

  I would also like this book to be a lasting testament to those who were so cruelly and needlessly take before their time. I hope that the families can be at peace, and know that their loved ones will never be forgotten.

  One last thank you to: Nick, Chris, Jordan, Owen, Sarah, Mum, Wayne, Dawn, Kyle, Ryan, Dylan, Jake, Liana, Zac, Alex, Richard, Rose, Andy (thanks for the laughter and friendship) Gemma, Bailey, Willow, Grandad Bob, Jackie and Robin, Phil, Kelly, Reece, all those on fb who contributed or least tried to, Baggy, Emma (where’s the shoe horn?), Belinda, Paul, Fiona, Tony, Steve da Ginge, Mel, Julie, Liverpool F.C (I always wore my heart on my sleeve), Duran Duran (yes I like them, I always have, give it a rest already!) Mansun, Kaiser Chiefs, The Killers, Evanescence, Prince Tattoos by The Legacy, all at Le Creuset UK.

  Thanks to the following websites for helping me with my research.

  Google, Ask, Lycos, Alta Vista, Wikipedia, The Andover Advertiser, This is Hampshire, The Telegraph, BBC news, Facebook, Lulu.com, Hungerford virtual museum. Cover photograph by Evgeni Dinev.

  Let my eyes be the mirror, to the murdered souls of Hampshire.

  Martin McGregor. August 2010

  Contents

  Roger Panes

  Beatrice Emily Worsdell and Horace Frank Hyde

  Percy Topliss The monacled mutineer

  The murder of Claire Cordner

  Murder At Wherwell Abbey

  The death of Sally Sinclair

  The Kingsclere Murders

  Sweet Fanny Adams

  The Combe Gibbet

  The Andover Workhouse

  Michael Gifford-Hull

  John Bodey

  Roger Panes

  March 1974. Roger Panes was a local cattle dealer. He was 39 years old, and husband to Pamela, and father to three children, Graham aged 7, Angela aged 6 and Adrian aged 4. Roger was a member of the Exclusive Brethren.

  The Brethren were used to following what some would describe as a strict code of conduct. This would be instrumental in the deaths of the entire family.

  It began in November of 1973. The Brethren deemed that Roger Panes had made what they would term, ‘an error’. His crime was simply that he had acted on his own, without seeking permission from the Brethren leaders. He had ‘shut up’ or shunned another member.

  The Brethren insist on having complete control, and react instinctively towards those who act for themselves without seeking permission. The leaders of the Brethren turned the tables on Roger Panes, and he himself was ‘shut up’ and shunned from the group.

  It was recorded that:

  “Roger Panes was shut up during November 1973, because of the way he treated another member of the brethren over a minor technical offence, and shut up that person wilfully.”

  “He shut up that person wrongly. That was not right. It was contrary to the accepted code and violations of the Divine Principles involved in the Brethren.”

  “This ’shutting up’ was carried out by Mr. Panes without the consent of other members of the Brethren.Between November and February, members of the Brethren had called on Mr. Panes five or six times but the matter had not been resolved.”

  The punishment of being ‘shut up’ was far more severe than it sounds. The punishment meant that no other member of the Brethren, were allowed to associate with Roger Panes, or indeed any of his family. It also was agreed that if it was mutually agreed between him and his wife, he would be shut up from his family, that is to say he would be cut off from the rest of his family within his own household. This meant he did not sleep with his wife or eat with the rest of his family.

  In February of 1974 Roger Panes was admitted to Winchester Hospital after taking an overdose. The doctor had asked his wife the reason her husband had taken the overdose, she was told

  ‘It was a matter between him and God’.

  She would offer no further explanation.

  On March 2, 1974, a meeting was held by the Brethren but no decision was taken to:

  “Withdra
w from him or excommunicate him.”

  Three days later, a Post office engineer called at the Panes home, in order to fix a faulty telephone. He entered the premises in Salisbury Road. The body of Roger panes was hanging from a banister. A length of electric cable was around his neck. Immediately he called the police. But there were far worse secrets to be uncovered that day.

  When the police arrived, they entered the house. In the front bedroom, they found the body of Mrs Pamela Panes. She had severe head injuries and had been hacked to death by an axe. The bodies of the three young children were found in other rooms, all had similar injuries, and all of them had been killed by axe wounds.

  In another bedroom, the murder weapon a blood stained axe, with a seven and a half inch blade, was found. In Roger Panes bedroom a pair of trousers had been neatly placed. In these trousers was a note which read

  “There’s never been such a wicked man. This house will have to be left empty or bulldozed. You go to the Brethren. I trust they will take you in. “Cry to God for mercy for you all and the dear children. The Lord is coming very soon.”

  At the subsequent inquest, more than 150 members of the Brethren were in attendance in the public benches. Detective Chief Inspector Stanley Atkinson explained to the court, that when the 41 year old was cast out from the group, it was simply more anguish than he could bear.

  The jury returned the verdict, that Roger Panes had murdered his wife and three children, and then he had committed suicide while the balance of his mind was disturbed.

  When summing up to the jury, the coroner Mr Ronald Bowker recorded:

  “It is up to anyone in this country to follow such religious beliefs as he pleases, without question. The only qualification I suppose one would make is if such beliefs are thought to be injurious to the community as a whole or individuals in particular.These might be matters for inquiry, but matters for inquiry elsewhere and not here.”

  As a footnote, a press commentary at the time had noted: The Exclusive Brethren is notorious for the severity of its discipline and was ruled with an iron hand by its world leader, Big Jim Taylor, until his death in 1970.

  Beatrice Emily Worsdell and Horace Frank Hyde

  The tiny village of Kimpton, lies just outside of Andover. In this tiny village a murder was committed so severe in its ferocity, that it remains one of the most gruesome murders ever to have happened in this country. It is simply a tale of unrequited love.

  Miss Worsdell aged 25 had been in service in Cobham, where she was employed as a cook. It was here that she met Horace Frank Hyde aged 36. As lovers do, they spent time together, fell in love, and quickly became engaged to marry.For some reason unknown, the engagement was broken off.

  Emily came home and she began working at Kimpton Manor, where she again found employment as a cook. Hyde was still desperately fond of Emily, and continued to write her numerous letters. The last of the letters asked that Emily would afford him, one final good-bye.

  The day before he visited, Hyde had been having tea with his brother at around five in the evening. His brother recalled that he seemed very much affected by the breaking off of the engagement, to the point where he had turned to alcohol to try and drown his feelings.

  His brother was later to mention “He had been strange since the engagement was broken off. The bottom of the matter is, I believe, he was jealous, and I think he had made up his mind that if he could not have Miss. Worsdell, no one else should."

  He was asked:

  "Had he served in the army at all?"

  His Brother replied:

  "Yes. He was a soldier. For seven years prior to the war he had served in India and he served all through the war with the Royal Field Artillery. He had not been injured or gassed, but his transport had been torpedoed twice."

  The witness again mentioned the tea party on Saturday evening, when his father and his two brothers were together. Then the deceased told the family that he was going to Kingston, about five miles away from Cobham. He said that he was off to the Empire, and that was the last he knew of him till his brother was notified on Sunday night of what had occurred.

  Hyde made his way to Kimpton on the Sunday. He made enquiries in the district on Sunday morning before he got to Kimpton, and he tried his best to find out where she was. He went to two wrong houses in his quest to find her.

  Sidney Bews, who was a servant to Captain Leaf in Kimpton Manor, had known Emily, and knew she was a cook in the house. He knew she had been there for around a month. He saw Hyde talking to Emily in the New Inn, around midday. The only words he heard Hyde say were “this afternoon.” He saw them again in the same Inn they were still talking at around 1.30pm. He later saw them again near Manor Farm House.

  A witness saw the couple walking, he testified:

  "There was no conversation passing between them. They were walking side by side and it struck me that he was walking hard against her, on her right hand, as if he were trying to get her to go up the other road which leads on to the downs. She more or less walked in front of him to take the other turning, so as to go to her home. They went along the road that leads to the bottom of the track, which goes to New Buildings. We lost sight of them in the bend of the road.”

  From this point on, we can understand the full nature of this horrific crime by examining the reports from the coroner and eye witnesses to the event that unfolded

  "I heard a scream just afterwards," said the Witness "and I looked round and saw Miss. Worsdell running down the road. She ran straight across to Mr. Rose's cottage. Mr. Rose opened the door and as he did so, she collapsed and fell straight into his arms. I could not see any injury at the time, but I ran into the house and discovered that the girl had been very badly injured. I could see by her throat that it was nearly all up with her. We put towels round her neck, placed her on a chair and did everything we possibly could for her. She was dead in about a quarter of an hour. As soon as we had done all we could for the girl, I looked about for the man and found his body lying at the bottom of the track”.

  The Coroner asked,

  "How far away did you find him from where you were standing when they passed you?”

  He replied,

  "About 70 yards."

  "Did you hear them say anything?" he asked

  "There was no conversation passing between them. They were walking side by side and it struck me that he was walking hard against her, on her right hand, as if he were trying to get her to go up the other road which leads on to the downs. She more or less walked in front of him to take the other turning, so as to go to her home."

  The coroner then asked "Did the girl speak at all before she died?" to which he replied

  "Mr. Rose and I were talking together and saying that we did not think that she could live, when she looked up and remarked

  “I can hear all you are saying, I can hear all you are talking about.”

  She told us the name of the man, she said

  'Horace Hyde is the man.'

  And called for her poor mother."

  Henry Rose, Job master of Kimpton, told how his house was situated right at the junction of Cow Lane and Shoddesden Road and the bottom of the track that leads up to New Buildings.

  The Coroner asked,

  "What time was it yesterday afternoon that you heard the screaming?"

  Mr. Rose replied

  "It was about 3.30. I was indoors sitting down at the time. I jumped up, looking out of the window, saw Miss. Worsdell come across the grass plot towards my door. I knew her. She shouted.

  'Mr. Rose, Mr. Rose.'

  I rushed to the door and saw what was the matter? Just as I got to the door and opened it she fell into my arms. I said

  'Oh dear whatever have you done, have you had an accident?'

  She did not answer for a minute, so I called my wife. We tried to make her comfortable.

  We sat her on a chair outside in the air. I could see blood all over her, but thought that it was only coming from her hand. As I lift
ed her down I saw her head hang back and discerned that her throat had been cut.

  'Oh dear,' I said 'whoever has done this?'

  She answered

  'That horrible man.'

  'Where is he? ‘I asked.

  ‘He is over the road under the hedge.'

  She said and I asked her what his name was, and she replied

  'Horace Hyde.' quite distinctly.

  She asked me for some water. I gave her some, but she only just sipped it. - As soon as we saw what had happened, we got towels and bound round her neck. In fact we did everything that we possibly could for the poor girl. We sent for the Doctor and the Police.

  Three times Miss. Worsdell called for her mother. I asked her if she could hear what we were talking about. And she said that she could.

  'My dear girl; I think you are dying.' I exclaimed. She looked up and said

  'Yes.'

  She died within twenty minutes of the tragedy. I then went back to look for the man who I had previously seen, but knew nothing about.”

  Medical evidence was given by Dr. J.E. Jones of Ludgershall, who stated that he arrived about 4 p.m. He saw the deceased lying on the piece of grass in front of the house.He announced,

  "She was dead."

  He said that he,“Found that her throat had been cut. The cut was six inches long, on the left side of her neck, extending about one inch to the right of the wind pipe. Muscles, Arteries and Veins had been cut, but the wind pipe had not been severed, which accounted for the girl being able to speak. The wound was from the left to the right, but was too far back to be self inflicted.