1 00:00:15,356 --> 00:00:15,836 Speaker 1: Pushkin. 2 00:00:21,356 --> 00:00:24,716 Speaker 2: The jury have taken a certain view of your case. 3 00:00:25,276 --> 00:00:30,556 Speaker 1: The judge, mister Justice Charles, is astounded by the verdict 4 00:00:30,876 --> 00:00:31,956 Speaker 1: just delivered in his. 5 00:00:31,996 --> 00:00:35,116 Speaker 2: Court, and I want to make it perfectly clear that 6 00:00:35,196 --> 00:00:37,156 Speaker 2: it is the view of the jury. 7 00:00:36,996 --> 00:00:42,396 Speaker 1: And not mine, he tells the defendant, a serviceman standing 8 00:00:42,436 --> 00:00:46,556 Speaker 1: in the dock before him, Mister Justice Charles has sent 9 00:00:46,716 --> 00:00:49,876 Speaker 1: many a killer to the gallows, and he seems utterly 10 00:00:49,956 --> 00:00:53,796 Speaker 1: incensed that today he won't be pronouncing the death sentence 11 00:00:54,036 --> 00:00:58,796 Speaker 1: for this man. The jury has stunned the venerable judge 12 00:00:59,116 --> 00:01:04,116 Speaker 1: by finding the serviceman not guilty of murder. Mister Justice 13 00:01:04,196 --> 00:01:08,836 Speaker 1: Charles doesn't seem to delight in sending criminals for execution. Indeed, 14 00:01:09,156 --> 00:01:13,196 Speaker 1: it's been noted at previous sentencings that he's visibly affected 15 00:01:13,276 --> 00:01:16,516 Speaker 1: when telling convicts that the law offers him no other 16 00:01:16,676 --> 00:01:19,236 Speaker 1: choice than to send them to be hanged by the 17 00:01:19,356 --> 00:01:25,516 Speaker 1: neck until dead. But today the judge is wrathful, and 18 00:01:25,556 --> 00:01:30,436 Speaker 1: his angry indignation is aimed at the jury. The murder 19 00:01:30,476 --> 00:01:34,596 Speaker 1: case against the defendant is watertight. The serviceman was caught 20 00:01:34,756 --> 00:01:38,276 Speaker 1: red handed. He was drenched in the blood of his 21 00:01:38,356 --> 00:01:42,236 Speaker 1: female victim. He told witnesses what he'd just done to 22 00:01:42,316 --> 00:01:46,276 Speaker 1: Kathleen Patmore. And he didn't deny carrying a knife with 23 00:01:46,356 --> 00:01:50,036 Speaker 1: the express purpose of using it to hack and mutilate 24 00:01:50,076 --> 00:01:56,436 Speaker 1: the woman. And yet, and yet the jury had found 25 00:01:56,516 --> 00:02:01,196 Speaker 1: him not guilty. The judge is livid. This was not 26 00:02:01,516 --> 00:02:04,036 Speaker 1: the sort of justice he is used to presiding over 27 00:02:04,316 --> 00:02:09,796 Speaker 1: at London's Central Criminal Court. The famed Old Bailey wasn't 28 00:02:09,836 --> 00:02:12,916 Speaker 1: the law of the land as he knew it. It was, instead, 29 00:02:13,196 --> 00:02:15,236 Speaker 1: mister Justice Charles Bellowed. 30 00:02:15,156 --> 00:02:17,116 Speaker 2: The law of the jungle. 31 00:02:18,436 --> 00:02:21,996 Speaker 1: In wartime London, it seems there were some women you 32 00:02:22,036 --> 00:02:39,036 Speaker 1: could murder and no jury would willingly convict you. This 33 00:02:39,236 --> 00:02:42,116 Speaker 1: is the seldom told story of women in World War 34 00:02:42,116 --> 00:02:45,956 Speaker 1: Two who were killed not by the enemy but my husbands, 35 00:02:46,156 --> 00:02:50,436 Speaker 1: lovers and strangers wearing the uniform of their own side. 36 00:02:52,076 --> 00:02:55,036 Speaker 1: It's also the tale of a particular string of murder 37 00:02:55,116 --> 00:03:00,276 Speaker 1: victims that history has swept from view. I'm Halle Rivenhold. 38 00:02:59,876 --> 00:03:01,556 Speaker 3: And I'm Alice Fines. 39 00:03:01,556 --> 00:03:40,156 Speaker 1: And you're listening to bad women the blackout River. 40 00:03:30,876 --> 00:03:31,996 Speaker 2: Slop me out time. 41 00:03:34,756 --> 00:03:37,756 Speaker 4: A letter had arrived for Prisoner one six four four 42 00:03:38,156 --> 00:03:43,436 Speaker 4: at his Majesty's prison. Once worth no blogging proper watch 43 00:03:43,476 --> 00:03:47,356 Speaker 4: youself a dun colored brick and stone Victorian jail in 44 00:03:47,476 --> 00:03:48,396 Speaker 4: Southwest London. 45 00:03:49,076 --> 00:03:53,356 Speaker 5: Gordon, my dearest love, it began. I want you to 46 00:03:53,436 --> 00:03:56,196 Speaker 5: know that nothing can alter my feelings for you. 47 00:03:56,836 --> 00:04:00,436 Speaker 4: Margery Cumins had heard the prosecution case against her husband 48 00:04:00,516 --> 00:04:02,796 Speaker 4: when he was tried for the murder of Evelyn Oatley 49 00:04:02,876 --> 00:04:06,276 Speaker 4: in her Soho flat. She'd heard that a cigarette case, 50 00:04:06,716 --> 00:04:10,316 Speaker 4: the one inscribed with the initials of Evelyn's showbi's alter ego, 51 00:04:10,436 --> 00:04:16,356 Speaker 4: Leita Ward, was found at cummins raf accommodation. Furthermore, she'd 52 00:04:16,396 --> 00:04:19,356 Speaker 4: heard how her husband's fingerprints were left on a kitchen 53 00:04:19,396 --> 00:04:22,636 Speaker 4: implement that had been used in a depraved and sickening 54 00:04:22,676 --> 00:04:27,556 Speaker 4: attack on Evelyn. As her life ebbed away. It was, 55 00:04:27,716 --> 00:04:28,716 Speaker 4: the judge said. 56 00:04:29,316 --> 00:04:34,636 Speaker 2: A sadistic sexual murder of the ghoulish type. 57 00:04:34,716 --> 00:04:38,796 Speaker 4: The police had amassed other equally damning evidence linking Gordon 58 00:04:38,836 --> 00:04:43,316 Speaker 4: Cummins to the grisly murders of Evelyn Hamilton, Margaret Lowe 59 00:04:43,596 --> 00:04:47,436 Speaker 4: and Doris Jouanne, and the airmen had all but admitted 60 00:04:47,436 --> 00:04:51,276 Speaker 4: to police that he'd strangled Greta Heyward in a Piccadilly doorway. 61 00:04:51,596 --> 00:04:55,116 Speaker 4: I am the man, he'd told his arresting officers, though 62 00:04:55,116 --> 00:04:58,116 Speaker 4: he added that he'd been too drunk to fully recall 63 00:04:58,196 --> 00:05:03,956 Speaker 4: the incident. No detail in this catalog of revolting violence 64 00:05:04,076 --> 00:05:08,316 Speaker 4: could turn Marjory Cummins against her husband, nor shake her 65 00:05:08,356 --> 00:05:13,796 Speaker 4: deep affection for him. Marjorie, you see, still didn't believe 66 00:05:13,996 --> 00:05:15,636 Speaker 4: he was the blackout ripper. 67 00:05:16,036 --> 00:05:19,916 Speaker 5: I shall always believe you innocent. I love you so much. 68 00:05:20,036 --> 00:05:22,396 Speaker 5: It breaks my heart to see you suffer. 69 00:05:22,476 --> 00:05:26,556 Speaker 6: So wait, you've got saut you are. 70 00:05:27,676 --> 00:05:30,916 Speaker 4: As Cummins sat in his narrow prison cell, with its 71 00:05:30,956 --> 00:05:35,476 Speaker 4: whitewashed brick walls, its bucket for a toilet, its small 72 00:05:35,516 --> 00:05:38,076 Speaker 4: barred window too high up to afford him a view, 73 00:05:38,676 --> 00:05:43,436 Speaker 4: awaiting his date with the hangman, Marjorie continued to think 74 00:05:43,516 --> 00:05:45,156 Speaker 4: of her husband as a hero. 75 00:05:45,836 --> 00:05:48,476 Speaker 5: I'm sure men have been awarded the Victoria Cross for 76 00:05:48,556 --> 00:05:50,396 Speaker 5: going through less than you have endured. 77 00:05:51,036 --> 00:05:55,076 Speaker 4: The Victoria Cross is Britain's very highest award for bravery, 78 00:05:55,556 --> 00:05:59,076 Speaker 4: and even in the vast conflict then underway, it was 79 00:05:59,116 --> 00:06:03,516 Speaker 4: given out only rarely to men who single handedly stormed 80 00:06:03,596 --> 00:06:07,836 Speaker 4: Nazi bunkers or piloted burning aircraft through a hail of 81 00:06:07,956 --> 00:06:11,596 Speaker 4: enemy fire, all who paid no heed to their own 82 00:06:11,636 --> 00:06:17,476 Speaker 4: mortality to save the lives of wounded comrades. Marjorie felt 83 00:06:17,516 --> 00:06:20,836 Speaker 4: that her husband's resolved that he would clear his name 84 00:06:21,316 --> 00:06:24,316 Speaker 4: was an act of bravery to equal all of these. 85 00:06:25,076 --> 00:06:28,316 Speaker 5: You have been wonderful all through the difficult time, and 86 00:06:28,396 --> 00:06:31,356 Speaker 5: you have our admiration as well as our love. 87 00:06:31,956 --> 00:06:33,716 Speaker 3: This letter was signed off. 88 00:06:34,156 --> 00:06:38,116 Speaker 5: Every scrap of my love and a million kisses from 89 00:06:38,156 --> 00:06:40,076 Speaker 5: your adoring wife. 90 00:06:40,116 --> 00:06:43,516 Speaker 4: It was delivered to the prison just before Cummyn's final 91 00:06:43,636 --> 00:06:46,716 Speaker 4: roll of the dice, an appeal to have his murder 92 00:06:46,756 --> 00:06:52,356 Speaker 4: conviction quashed and his death sentence lifted. The following Tuesday morning, 93 00:06:52,956 --> 00:06:56,236 Speaker 4: Marjorie would sit in court as the airman's lawyers argued 94 00:06:56,276 --> 00:07:00,916 Speaker 4: that the pioneering fingerprint evidence was flawed, that Evelyn Oatley's 95 00:07:00,916 --> 00:07:03,876 Speaker 4: possessions had been planted in the RAF billet by the 96 00:07:03,916 --> 00:07:06,916 Speaker 4: police or by the real killer who was trying to 97 00:07:06,956 --> 00:07:11,076 Speaker 4: cover his tracks, and Cummins were really the perpetrator of 98 00:07:11,116 --> 00:07:15,156 Speaker 4: such frenzied crimes. How come no traces of blood were 99 00:07:15,156 --> 00:07:18,916 Speaker 4: found on his clothing. If Cummins could unpick the case 100 00:07:18,956 --> 00:07:23,876 Speaker 4: against him and introduce sufficient doubt, might the man Marjorie 101 00:07:23,916 --> 00:07:36,076 Speaker 4: loved so very much yet brought free. 102 00:07:31,516 --> 00:07:36,476 Speaker 1: The morning's persistent rain had grounded the attack aircraft, but 103 00:07:36,556 --> 00:07:41,116 Speaker 1: eventually it lifted. Bad luck for the men on the ground. 104 00:07:42,196 --> 00:07:46,276 Speaker 1: As their column of trucks trundled forward, two bombers dive 105 00:07:46,476 --> 00:07:50,476 Speaker 1: down on them, releasing canisters a deadly poisoned gas. 106 00:07:51,836 --> 00:07:54,196 Speaker 2: Men could be seen falling on all. 107 00:07:53,916 --> 00:07:58,716 Speaker 1: Sides, reported one newspaper, noting that the ambulance drivers coming 108 00:07:58,716 --> 00:08:01,916 Speaker 1: along to tend the survivors of the now burning convoy 109 00:08:02,476 --> 00:08:05,716 Speaker 1: had to wear gas masks to enter the lethal FuG 110 00:08:05,876 --> 00:08:15,996 Speaker 1: in fumes. The delighted crowd, no doubt cheered their arrival 111 00:08:16,316 --> 00:08:19,476 Speaker 1: and applaud. 112 00:08:20,036 --> 00:08:21,076 Speaker 5: My whole Chad Wint. 113 00:08:25,076 --> 00:08:29,276 Speaker 1: This reenactment was of the only attraction that Saturday afternoon 114 00:08:29,316 --> 00:08:35,556 Speaker 1: at Ori f Hendo's Empire Air Day celebration. Like air 115 00:08:35,596 --> 00:08:38,676 Speaker 1: bases up and down the country, Hello had been thrown 116 00:08:38,716 --> 00:08:42,716 Speaker 1: open to the general public, partly to benefit charity, partly 117 00:08:42,836 --> 00:08:46,476 Speaker 1: as a pr exercise for the Royal Air Force. The 118 00:08:46,556 --> 00:08:50,556 Speaker 1: thousands of civilian visitors on May twenty third, nineteen thirty 119 00:08:50,596 --> 00:08:55,276 Speaker 1: six were treated to aerobatic displays and demonstrations of daring 120 00:08:55,356 --> 00:08:58,436 Speaker 1: parachute jumps. They were also free to run the base, 121 00:08:58,836 --> 00:09:05,156 Speaker 1: allowed to peer into the hangars, barracks and dining halls incredible. 122 00:09:06,316 --> 00:09:09,716 Speaker 1: Twenty one year old Marjorie Stevens was among the throng, 123 00:09:10,356 --> 00:09:12,996 Speaker 1: and it was on this day that she first met 124 00:09:13,116 --> 00:09:18,796 Speaker 1: Airman Gordon Cummins. Cummins was on the very lowest rung 125 00:09:18,916 --> 00:09:22,276 Speaker 1: of the RAF and his duties involved the maintenance and 126 00:09:22,396 --> 00:09:26,836 Speaker 1: upkeep of the aircraft. He was quite literally no high flyer, 127 00:09:27,436 --> 00:09:29,876 Speaker 1: but Marjorie seems to have been smitten with him all 128 00:09:29,956 --> 00:09:30,396 Speaker 1: the same. 129 00:09:30,916 --> 00:09:32,996 Speaker 5: He's very cultured and well spoken. 130 00:09:33,516 --> 00:09:36,636 Speaker 1: Within months of their first meeting, the couple had wed. 131 00:09:37,076 --> 00:09:40,796 Speaker 1: Other women might not have seen lowly aircraftman Cummins as 132 00:09:40,876 --> 00:09:43,476 Speaker 1: much of a catch. A life with such a man 133 00:09:43,516 --> 00:09:47,596 Speaker 1: would mean either long separations or trailing round after him 134 00:09:47,636 --> 00:09:51,476 Speaker 1: from air base to air base, but Marjorie was attuned 135 00:09:51,556 --> 00:09:56,636 Speaker 1: to the life of a surfaceman's wife. Marjorie's father, Ernest Stephens, 136 00:09:56,956 --> 00:10:00,236 Speaker 1: had been a career soldier, serving with the kilt wearing 137 00:10:00,356 --> 00:10:05,516 Speaker 1: Seaforth Highlanders stationed in India to defend Britain's occupation of 138 00:10:05,556 --> 00:10:09,356 Speaker 1: the colony. Ernest had risen up the ranks in till 139 00:10:09,396 --> 00:10:13,756 Speaker 1: he finally attained officer status. His elevation came as the 140 00:10:13,796 --> 00:10:19,156 Speaker 1: Highlanders swapped the balmy cricket matches, swimming galas and regimental concerts, 141 00:10:19,196 --> 00:10:23,116 Speaker 1: at which Ernest excelled for the mud and blood of 142 00:10:23,196 --> 00:10:27,556 Speaker 1: the trenches. At the start of the First World War, 143 00:10:27,956 --> 00:10:30,956 Speaker 1: the British Army had little choice but to push its 144 00:10:31,036 --> 00:10:35,356 Speaker 1: most experienced soldiers into frontline duties to hold back the 145 00:10:35,436 --> 00:10:39,636 Speaker 1: Germans until sufficient civilian volunteers could be trained up to 146 00:10:39,716 --> 00:10:44,356 Speaker 1: join them. Ernest unit was thus plucked from India and 147 00:10:44,596 --> 00:10:49,876 Speaker 1: sent to the front. On February first, nineteen fifteen, just 148 00:10:50,116 --> 00:10:53,956 Speaker 1: weeks after becoming a second lieutenant, Ernest was out at 149 00:10:54,076 --> 00:10:57,516 Speaker 1: night supervising a party of soldiers digging trenches. 150 00:10:57,996 --> 00:10:59,956 Speaker 2: Tried to keep the noise down boys. 151 00:10:59,796 --> 00:11:04,716 Speaker 1: When he was struck by a German bullet a head wound. 152 00:11:05,676 --> 00:11:11,516 Speaker 1: He lingered for a day before dying. His wife, Ethel, 153 00:11:11,756 --> 00:11:18,156 Speaker 1: was pregnant with Marjorie. Ethel had followed her husband to Europe, 154 00:11:18,516 --> 00:11:21,876 Speaker 1: but her roots were firmly in Britain's imperial possession in 155 00:11:21,916 --> 00:11:25,356 Speaker 1: South Asia, so as soon as the war was over, 156 00:11:25,836 --> 00:11:29,036 Speaker 1: she boarded the SS city of Karachi to take her 157 00:11:29,076 --> 00:11:34,396 Speaker 1: three young daughters home to India. The liner was packed 158 00:11:34,476 --> 00:11:40,316 Speaker 1: with the colonial ruling elite Christian missionaries, engineers, bankers, but 159 00:11:40,356 --> 00:11:44,596 Speaker 1: there were also army officers sailing east. They would perhaps 160 00:11:44,876 --> 00:11:48,116 Speaker 1: have been a stinging reminder that she was returning to 161 00:11:48,196 --> 00:11:49,676 Speaker 1: India as a war widow. 162 00:11:55,596 --> 00:11:59,796 Speaker 4: Despite their strong ties to India, all three Stephens girls 163 00:11:59,916 --> 00:12:03,556 Speaker 4: drifted back to Britain, and when Marjorie wed come Ins 164 00:12:03,556 --> 00:12:07,556 Speaker 4: in London just after Christmas nineteen thirty six, she said 165 00:12:07,636 --> 00:12:11,676 Speaker 4: she opted to rent apartments with her eldest sister, Frieda. 166 00:12:11,156 --> 00:12:13,236 Speaker 5: In order that my husband would have a flat to 167 00:12:13,276 --> 00:12:14,716 Speaker 5: come to for spending his leave. 168 00:12:15,916 --> 00:12:18,876 Speaker 4: The Air Force sent Cumins to bases right across the 169 00:12:18,876 --> 00:12:23,796 Speaker 4: British isles north, south, east and west in Scotland for 170 00:12:23,876 --> 00:12:29,196 Speaker 4: one posting, then distant Cornwall for another. It's not clear 171 00:12:29,276 --> 00:12:33,316 Speaker 4: if Marjorie closely shadowed these moves or exactly when she 172 00:12:33,396 --> 00:12:37,996 Speaker 4: moved in with Frida. At the outbreak of war, Marjorie 173 00:12:38,036 --> 00:12:41,236 Speaker 4: was living slap bang in the middle of England, perhaps 174 00:12:41,236 --> 00:12:45,916 Speaker 4: the best compromise given her husband's geographically erratic postings. She 175 00:12:45,956 --> 00:12:48,596 Speaker 4: lodged with the middle aged couple the Hipwoods, and was 176 00:12:48,636 --> 00:12:52,916 Speaker 4: listed as being incapacitated, though her normal occupation was as 177 00:12:52,916 --> 00:12:57,436 Speaker 4: a theatrical secretary. The limitations of her long distance marriage 178 00:12:57,796 --> 00:13:00,396 Speaker 4: seem not to have saddened or worried Marjorie. 179 00:13:00,916 --> 00:13:03,836 Speaker 5: We have been very, very happy, and he has never 180 00:13:03,876 --> 00:13:07,516 Speaker 5: been anything but kind and tolerant in every respect. It 181 00:13:07,556 --> 00:13:09,716 Speaker 5: was not his habit to consort with other women. 182 00:13:12,756 --> 00:13:16,636 Speaker 4: Cummins, however, seems to have made the very most of 183 00:13:16,676 --> 00:13:17,276 Speaker 4: the separation. 184 00:13:18,316 --> 00:13:20,916 Speaker 6: Cummins gave me and everyone else the idea that he'd 185 00:13:20,996 --> 00:13:22,956 Speaker 6: more or less cut away from his wife. 186 00:13:23,236 --> 00:13:27,116 Speaker 4: Flight Lieutenant William Pete, an officer at one of Cummins' postings, 187 00:13:27,556 --> 00:13:30,436 Speaker 4: thought the airmen behaved far more like a bachelor than 188 00:13:30,476 --> 00:13:31,276 Speaker 4: a married man. 189 00:13:31,676 --> 00:13:34,756 Speaker 6: Cummins used to boast of his conquests of women, and 190 00:13:34,756 --> 00:13:37,076 Speaker 6: when he had a few days leave, he boast of 191 00:13:37,156 --> 00:13:39,596 Speaker 6: his being with his West End friends and used to 192 00:13:39,596 --> 00:13:43,076 Speaker 6: say he didn't go home to his wife. Beyond this, 193 00:13:43,396 --> 00:13:46,756 Speaker 6: he never made any reference to his wife in my presence. 194 00:13:47,636 --> 00:13:51,436 Speaker 4: It also seems Cummins wasn't sending much money home either. 195 00:13:52,156 --> 00:13:55,876 Speaker 4: According to Pete, the airman was the very image of profligacy. 196 00:13:56,676 --> 00:13:58,156 Speaker 3: Every so often he would. 197 00:13:57,996 --> 00:14:01,316 Speaker 4: Be flush with cash and appear in the local pub, 198 00:14:01,716 --> 00:14:02,156 Speaker 4: and there he. 199 00:14:02,156 --> 00:14:06,116 Speaker 6: Would treat all and sundry, what are you having, bill? 200 00:14:06,516 --> 00:14:09,236 Speaker 6: Very kind of you, Gordon, just a kind of sludge. 201 00:14:09,476 --> 00:14:12,796 Speaker 2: I'll take my usual Canadian rye a double. 202 00:14:13,036 --> 00:14:16,676 Speaker 6: Naturally, I have simple tastes, not your yearning for the 203 00:14:16,716 --> 00:14:17,436 Speaker 6: finer things. 204 00:14:18,156 --> 00:14:22,396 Speaker 4: Such ostentatious displays of generosity would cost come Ins the 205 00:14:22,476 --> 00:14:26,796 Speaker 4: equivalent of several hundred dollars, and usually within a couple 206 00:14:26,876 --> 00:14:29,516 Speaker 4: of nights he'd be broke and would not be seen 207 00:14:29,556 --> 00:14:32,196 Speaker 4: again at the bar until he was once again flashing 208 00:14:32,276 --> 00:14:39,916 Speaker 4: a bulging billfold. Was he carefully husbanding his military salary 209 00:14:40,396 --> 00:14:44,996 Speaker 4: so that he could indulge in such grandstanding, or tapping 210 00:14:45,076 --> 00:14:47,196 Speaker 4: up Marjorie for cash? 211 00:14:47,636 --> 00:14:49,956 Speaker 2: Look here, I'm on the rocks. 212 00:14:50,836 --> 00:14:53,356 Speaker 4: Perhaps he was getting money from the women he boasted 213 00:14:53,396 --> 00:14:57,196 Speaker 4: of conquering flight. Lieutenant Pete claimed to have seen him 214 00:14:57,196 --> 00:15:00,196 Speaker 4: in the company of wealthy women at fine hotels in 215 00:15:00,236 --> 00:15:03,236 Speaker 4: the nearby city of Bath. Were these women giving the 216 00:15:03,276 --> 00:15:07,036 Speaker 4: air and money or was he simply stealing it from them? 217 00:15:07,316 --> 00:15:10,316 Speaker 4: If he did, he was never caught. There was not 218 00:15:10,396 --> 00:15:15,476 Speaker 4: a single black mark in his RAF records. Cummins's own 219 00:15:15,556 --> 00:15:18,996 Speaker 4: explanation of the source of his wealth was more fantastic. 220 00:15:19,916 --> 00:15:22,836 Speaker 4: In reality, he was the son of the principle of 221 00:15:22,836 --> 00:15:26,796 Speaker 4: a school for delinquents, but he would tell anyone who 222 00:15:26,836 --> 00:15:31,196 Speaker 4: would listen that he was the scion of an aristocratic family, 223 00:15:31,756 --> 00:15:33,116 Speaker 4: complete with a title. 224 00:15:33,876 --> 00:15:37,476 Speaker 6: When Cummins told me he was the Honorable Gordon Cummins, 225 00:15:37,716 --> 00:15:40,556 Speaker 6: I and others accepted that he was owing to his 226 00:15:40,796 --> 00:15:44,156 Speaker 6: manner and speech, he tried to create the impression that 227 00:15:44,196 --> 00:15:46,716 Speaker 6: he was the black sheep of a good family. 228 00:15:47,596 --> 00:15:51,316 Speaker 4: Cummins probably bridled that his humble status in the Air 229 00:15:51,356 --> 00:15:55,476 Speaker 4: Force hierarchy. He was said not to associate with his 230 00:15:55,556 --> 00:15:59,116 Speaker 4: fellow rank and file airmen, and he instead tried to 231 00:15:59,196 --> 00:16:04,556 Speaker 4: cultivate relationships with officers such as Flight Lieutenant Pete. His 232 00:16:04,596 --> 00:16:09,556 Speaker 4: attempts to impress his commanding officer, a revered aviation pioneer 233 00:16:09,636 --> 00:16:15,436 Speaker 4: called George Stainforth, seemed to have paid particular dividends. Just 234 00:16:15,516 --> 00:16:19,396 Speaker 4: as in Marjorie's father's day. The coming of conflict enabled 235 00:16:19,596 --> 00:16:24,876 Speaker 4: ordinary servicemen to advance. Wing Commander Stainforth now pushed for Cummins, 236 00:16:25,196 --> 00:16:27,636 Speaker 4: who had spent so long on the lowest rung of 237 00:16:27,676 --> 00:16:30,716 Speaker 4: the Air Force, to be allowed to join the RAF's 238 00:16:30,876 --> 00:16:34,356 Speaker 4: officer cadet program and train for duties in the air 239 00:16:35,916 --> 00:16:40,316 Speaker 4: That training would see Cummins transferred to lodgings in London, 240 00:16:41,236 --> 00:16:43,796 Speaker 4: not too far from where Marjorie had now set up 241 00:16:43,796 --> 00:16:47,756 Speaker 4: home with her sister Frieda. But if Marjorie was hoping 242 00:16:47,836 --> 00:16:49,996 Speaker 4: to see more of her husband in his free time, 243 00:16:50,676 --> 00:16:55,716 Speaker 4: she was to be sorely disappointed. She believed that he 244 00:16:55,916 --> 00:16:58,996 Speaker 4: chose to stay at his barracks during the week and 245 00:16:59,076 --> 00:17:03,036 Speaker 4: not at home because he was conscientious about rising through 246 00:17:03,076 --> 00:17:07,716 Speaker 4: the ranks of the Air Force. Of course, far closer 247 00:17:07,796 --> 00:17:11,276 Speaker 4: to Cummins's billet than Marjorie his home and fireside with 248 00:17:11,396 --> 00:17:19,276 Speaker 4: her brassies, buzz and women of Piccadilly. 249 00:17:26,036 --> 00:17:29,396 Speaker 1: Cummins entered the dock at the Criminal Court of Appeal 250 00:17:29,956 --> 00:17:34,956 Speaker 1: and scanned for public gallery. Newspaper reporters saw him lock 251 00:17:35,156 --> 00:17:41,196 Speaker 1: eyes with a woman. He smiled. Marjorie deserved this tiny 252 00:17:41,276 --> 00:17:45,236 Speaker 1: show of appreciation. From the moment of his arrest and 253 00:17:45,276 --> 00:17:50,396 Speaker 1: through his initial conviction, she tirelessly agitated for her husband's release. 254 00:17:51,276 --> 00:17:54,116 Speaker 1: She felt their original lawyer had made a hash of 255 00:17:54,236 --> 00:17:54,836 Speaker 1: the defense. 256 00:17:55,476 --> 00:17:57,796 Speaker 5: Surely, in a land where the law is supposed to 257 00:17:57,836 --> 00:18:00,796 Speaker 5: be so just, an innocent man cannot be hanged because 258 00:18:00,796 --> 00:18:02,876 Speaker 5: his counsel didn't know his case properly. 259 00:18:03,196 --> 00:18:07,876 Speaker 1: The prosecution held that the small fingerprints on a mirror 260 00:18:07,996 --> 00:18:11,356 Speaker 1: in Evelyn Oakley's room and on the cutting blade of 261 00:18:11,356 --> 00:18:15,876 Speaker 1: a can opener, conclusively linked Cummings to the crime scene 262 00:18:15,996 --> 00:18:20,556 Speaker 1: and to the murder. Cummings's original lawyer had failed to 263 00:18:20,596 --> 00:18:22,796 Speaker 1: shake the jury's faith in that argument. 264 00:18:23,876 --> 00:18:24,956 Speaker 3: The twelve men. 265 00:18:24,796 --> 00:18:27,596 Speaker 1: Had put great stock in the evidence of the nation's 266 00:18:27,676 --> 00:18:33,396 Speaker 1: top fingerprint expert, Cheryl of the Yard. According to Superintendent Cheryl, 267 00:18:33,996 --> 00:18:37,596 Speaker 1: only five or six points of agreement were needed to 268 00:18:37,676 --> 00:18:40,996 Speaker 1: match a fingerprint to the digit that had left it, 269 00:18:41,716 --> 00:18:43,996 Speaker 1: and in the case of Cummings and the prints left 270 00:18:43,996 --> 00:18:47,996 Speaker 1: at Evelyn Oatley's home, there had been at least twenty 271 00:18:47,996 --> 00:18:51,796 Speaker 1: five such points of agreement. Surely the judges would be 272 00:18:51,916 --> 00:18:57,276 Speaker 1: independent minded and skeptical of such cocksure testimony. The incriminating 273 00:18:57,316 --> 00:19:02,396 Speaker 1: fingerprint was tiny and incomplete, ventured cummings new defense. 274 00:19:02,076 --> 00:19:05,956 Speaker 6: Lawyer, Fingerprint evidence is. 275 00:19:06,916 --> 00:19:10,276 Speaker 1: Vital, Judge Mister Justice Humphrey retorted. 276 00:19:10,476 --> 00:19:12,876 Speaker 6: End of deadly significance. 277 00:19:13,916 --> 00:19:18,036 Speaker 1: The guilty verdict stood and Cummins would be returned to 278 00:19:18,116 --> 00:19:25,556 Speaker 1: Onsworth Prison to await execution. Marjorie burst into tears as 279 00:19:25,596 --> 00:19:29,676 Speaker 1: her husband left the dock. He stopped to wave at her. 280 00:19:30,756 --> 00:19:32,956 Speaker 6: Are you, missus Cummings by any chance. 281 00:19:32,756 --> 00:19:36,076 Speaker 1: The senior detective asked Marjorie, as she stood alone in 282 00:19:36,116 --> 00:19:36,756 Speaker 1: a corridor. 283 00:19:37,556 --> 00:19:39,156 Speaker 5: Why, yes, yes, I am. 284 00:19:39,716 --> 00:19:41,916 Speaker 6: I'd like to offer you my congratulations. 285 00:19:42,596 --> 00:19:43,476 Speaker 5: Whatever do you mean? 286 00:19:43,996 --> 00:19:48,396 Speaker 6: I'd like to offer you my congratulations on your lucky escape. 287 00:19:49,156 --> 00:19:53,996 Speaker 1: The detective's words infuriated Marjorie, and she complained bitterly about 288 00:19:54,036 --> 00:19:58,316 Speaker 1: the officer's conduct to the very highest authorities. But to 289 00:19:58,356 --> 00:20:02,236 Speaker 1: his seasoned i, perhaps the thought that violent men invariably 290 00:20:02,316 --> 00:20:06,396 Speaker 1: turned their attention to their wives did not seem far fetched. 291 00:20:07,236 --> 00:20:11,796 Speaker 1: Such cases were, unfortunately region, especially as those violent men 292 00:20:12,036 --> 00:20:18,556 Speaker 1: returned home from war. The blackout ripper will return in 293 00:20:18,596 --> 00:20:19,036 Speaker 1: a moment. 294 00:20:36,636 --> 00:20:39,716 Speaker 4: The men of the first Battalion of the Royal Scots 295 00:20:39,796 --> 00:20:45,356 Speaker 4: Fusiliers were feeling hard done by fighting the merciless Japanese 296 00:20:45,396 --> 00:20:48,916 Speaker 4: and the merciless heat in the fetid jungles of Burma. 297 00:20:49,636 --> 00:20:53,516 Speaker 4: They suspected that their sacrifices were of little interest to 298 00:20:53,556 --> 00:20:57,276 Speaker 4: those back home. They grumbled that they had no British 299 00:20:57,316 --> 00:21:02,676 Speaker 4: cigarettes to smoke, and pointedly called themselves the forgotten Army. 300 00:21:03,796 --> 00:21:08,836 Speaker 4: The message that arrived for Fusilier Cyril pattmore compounded their misery. 301 00:21:09,676 --> 00:21:13,836 Speaker 4: Such correspondents could bring military units to their knees, spreading 302 00:21:13,836 --> 00:21:18,156 Speaker 4: disquiet from man to man like a raging infection, until 303 00:21:18,156 --> 00:21:21,236 Speaker 4: their commanders reckoned. Morale was so low that the men 304 00:21:21,356 --> 00:21:25,596 Speaker 4: couldn't be sent back into battle. Kathleen pat Moore was 305 00:21:25,676 --> 00:21:30,196 Speaker 4: expecting a baby, and of course Cyril wasn't the father. 306 00:21:31,836 --> 00:21:35,316 Speaker 4: This thunderbolt was delivered as an air graft, a short 307 00:21:35,356 --> 00:21:38,596 Speaker 4: message shrunk down on microfilm so as to save vital 308 00:21:38,636 --> 00:21:42,236 Speaker 4: space in aircraft heading to the war zone. It wasn't 309 00:21:42,276 --> 00:21:46,476 Speaker 4: a particularly private way of imparting sensitive news, nor did 310 00:21:46,476 --> 00:21:52,276 Speaker 4: it allow the writer to go into great detail. Heavily pregnant, Kathleen, 311 00:21:52,636 --> 00:21:57,196 Speaker 4: cath later wrote more fulsome letters. These were pages of 312 00:21:57,316 --> 00:21:58,996 Speaker 4: sorrow and remorse. 313 00:22:00,596 --> 00:22:03,956 Speaker 5: My darling. I am wondering if you are caring to 314 00:22:03,996 --> 00:22:07,476 Speaker 5: get letters from me anymore, but I feel I must 315 00:22:07,556 --> 00:22:10,236 Speaker 5: keep writing until I see you again, or you tell 316 00:22:10,276 --> 00:22:10,716 Speaker 5: me not to. 317 00:22:11,436 --> 00:22:15,396 Speaker 4: Kathleen explained that in Cyril's absence, she'd been out celebrating 318 00:22:15,436 --> 00:22:19,196 Speaker 4: their wedding anniversary and his birthday, which fell a week 319 00:22:19,196 --> 00:22:22,916 Speaker 4: apart in November. The evening out had meant a long 320 00:22:22,956 --> 00:22:23,516 Speaker 4: walk home. 321 00:22:24,556 --> 00:22:28,516 Speaker 5: Evidently I didn't make it. I didn't go into it, cold, sober, 322 00:22:28,916 --> 00:22:30,956 Speaker 5: otherwise it would never have happened. 323 00:22:31,676 --> 00:22:34,316 Speaker 4: It had taken a full seven months for that air 324 00:22:34,396 --> 00:22:36,636 Speaker 4: graph and this news to come. 325 00:22:37,596 --> 00:22:43,476 Speaker 5: Shame, remorse, frightened, Call it what you like, but each 326 00:22:43,556 --> 00:22:46,836 Speaker 5: time I attempted to write to you, I just hadn't 327 00:22:46,836 --> 00:22:51,436 Speaker 5: a nerve. I didn't mean to do it. Sweetheart, Please 328 00:22:51,476 --> 00:22:53,636 Speaker 5: believe me and don't start a divorce. 329 00:22:54,796 --> 00:22:55,876 Speaker 7: I just couldn't stand that. 330 00:22:57,356 --> 00:23:00,676 Speaker 4: Fusilier pat Moore showed these letters to the welfare officer 331 00:23:00,716 --> 00:23:04,956 Speaker 4: of his unit. In cases of marital infidelity, it was 332 00:23:05,036 --> 00:23:07,756 Speaker 4: common for soldiers to ask the allowance paid to their 333 00:23:07,796 --> 00:23:11,556 Speaker 4: spouse to be immediately halted and for the process of 334 00:23:11,636 --> 00:23:13,556 Speaker 4: drawing up divorce papers to begin. 335 00:23:16,516 --> 00:23:18,516 Speaker 3: War had brought up heavil. 336 00:23:18,956 --> 00:23:22,756 Speaker 4: Tearing the fabric of society into pieces, and with so 337 00:23:22,836 --> 00:23:26,916 Speaker 4: many partners separated from each other, adultery on both sides 338 00:23:27,076 --> 00:23:31,756 Speaker 4: wasn't uncommon. Some tens of thousands of British servicemen had 339 00:23:31,796 --> 00:23:36,516 Speaker 4: initiated divorce proceedings, with one estimate suggesting it would take 340 00:23:36,836 --> 00:23:39,756 Speaker 4: something like fifteen years to clear the backlock. 341 00:23:41,116 --> 00:23:43,236 Speaker 3: But Cyril Patmore didn't. 342 00:23:42,916 --> 00:23:45,956 Speaker 4: Ask to join the tail end of that melancholy q. 343 00:23:47,196 --> 00:23:49,036 Speaker 4: He just wanted to be allowed to go home. 344 00:23:49,756 --> 00:23:52,436 Speaker 5: I feel ashamed for you to see me in this condition. 345 00:23:53,316 --> 00:23:55,956 Speaker 5: Yet how I wish I could see you, to talk 346 00:23:55,996 --> 00:23:59,756 Speaker 5: to you. It wouldn't matter what you did to me afterwards. 347 00:24:01,556 --> 00:24:04,796 Speaker 4: The clock was ticking down to the berth and after 348 00:24:04,836 --> 00:24:08,956 Speaker 4: three years away, Private pat Moore was finally granted passage 349 00:24:08,996 --> 00:24:13,476 Speaker 4: on a ship heading home. That voyage, it seems, was 350 00:24:13,516 --> 00:24:16,996 Speaker 4: broken in the Mediterranean, and pat Moore went souvenir shopping 351 00:24:16,996 --> 00:24:27,236 Speaker 4: at an Italian market, where he purchased a six inch knife. 352 00:24:28,836 --> 00:24:32,756 Speaker 1: The Hind looked, if anything, more like an aristocrat's stately 353 00:24:32,836 --> 00:24:37,196 Speaker 1: home than a hotel. The ironstone building, topped with a 354 00:24:37,236 --> 00:24:40,956 Speaker 1: golden statue of a deer, dated back hundreds of years, 355 00:24:41,556 --> 00:24:44,596 Speaker 1: but the Hind was moving with the times. Parking for 356 00:24:44,756 --> 00:24:48,036 Speaker 1: motor cars had been added to complement the ample stabling 357 00:24:48,116 --> 00:24:54,276 Speaker 1: for guests. Horses behind had other attractions too. In nineteen 358 00:24:54,316 --> 00:24:58,956 Speaker 1: thirty four, its restaurant employed a dapper little waiter, Cyril 359 00:24:59,036 --> 00:25:02,276 Speaker 1: pat Moore, was no more than five feet tall, but 360 00:25:02,356 --> 00:25:07,196 Speaker 1: he made a big impression on missus. Kathleen Shaw, the 361 00:25:07,236 --> 00:25:11,276 Speaker 1: married mother of one, entered into an association with pat 362 00:25:11,276 --> 00:25:15,556 Speaker 1: Moore and promptly left mister Shaw a shoemaker and her 363 00:25:15,556 --> 00:25:20,236 Speaker 1: home in the Shires, sixty miles north of London. This 364 00:25:20,396 --> 00:25:24,236 Speaker 1: act of desertion was sited in Alfred Shaw's petition for divorce, 365 00:25:24,596 --> 00:25:30,716 Speaker 1: and Cyril Patmore was named in Kathleen's adultery. A daughter, Chrissy, 366 00:25:31,276 --> 00:25:34,596 Speaker 1: was born before the divorce. The record of this birth 367 00:25:34,676 --> 00:25:37,796 Speaker 1: is missing from the archives, but pat Moore certainly thought 368 00:25:37,836 --> 00:25:40,596 Speaker 1: of the child as his and was there at the birth. 369 00:25:40,996 --> 00:25:42,836 Speaker 5: I remember when I was in your arms. 370 00:25:42,876 --> 00:25:46,316 Speaker 1: After CHRISI was born, wrote Kathleen, I was. 371 00:25:46,276 --> 00:25:49,996 Speaker 5: The happiest woman in the world. The pain and suffering 372 00:25:50,036 --> 00:25:51,076 Speaker 5: were soon forgotten. 373 00:25:52,796 --> 00:25:56,236 Speaker 1: As early as nineteen thirty five, Kathleen had assumed her 374 00:25:56,276 --> 00:25:59,676 Speaker 1: lover's surname and official documents, Even though the pair didn't 375 00:25:59,716 --> 00:26:04,316 Speaker 1: actually wed until late nineteen thirty seven. They lived together 376 00:26:04,476 --> 00:26:07,596 Speaker 1: at the very heart of London. Pat Moore no longer 377 00:26:07,636 --> 00:26:11,276 Speaker 1: waiting tables for the horse riding set, but instead working 378 00:26:11,276 --> 00:26:16,436 Speaker 1: at the Embassy Club. This was a legendary private member's establishment, 379 00:26:17,036 --> 00:26:20,196 Speaker 1: and it was so exclusive that, according to one regular, 380 00:26:20,636 --> 00:26:21,756 Speaker 1: even a duke. 381 00:26:21,676 --> 00:26:24,636 Speaker 2: With an income of a quarter million, a great townhouse, 382 00:26:24,756 --> 00:26:28,156 Speaker 2: a yacht, a lovely wife, and one or two pensioned off. 383 00:26:27,996 --> 00:26:29,836 Speaker 1: Ones might have to wait at the door for a 384 00:26:29,876 --> 00:26:34,116 Speaker 1: table to become available, despite the eye watering membership fees 385 00:26:34,156 --> 00:26:39,476 Speaker 1: he'd already stumped up. But the merrymaking was coming to 386 00:26:39,556 --> 00:26:40,076 Speaker 1: an end. 387 00:26:42,956 --> 00:26:47,356 Speaker 4: Kathleen gave birth to a boy just as war was declared, 388 00:26:48,076 --> 00:26:50,316 Speaker 4: and Pat Moore took a government post as an air 389 00:26:50,396 --> 00:26:54,956 Speaker 4: raid warden, perhaps out of civic duty or perhaps simply 390 00:26:55,076 --> 00:26:58,556 Speaker 4: to supplement his income and provide for his growing family. 391 00:26:59,236 --> 00:27:03,876 Speaker 4: The couple also admitted a lodger into their home, Frank Tobin, 392 00:27:05,276 --> 00:27:09,316 Speaker 4: aged thirty two, and apparently following a quarrel with katleean 393 00:27:09,796 --> 00:27:13,556 Speaker 4: Patmore volunteered to join the army. When he went off 394 00:27:13,556 --> 00:27:16,316 Speaker 4: to fight, first in Africa and then the Far East, 395 00:27:16,476 --> 00:27:19,556 Speaker 4: his wife stayed on in the house with Tobin. The 396 00:27:19,636 --> 00:27:22,956 Speaker 4: lodger was said to write to his friend Pat and 397 00:27:23,076 --> 00:27:26,716 Speaker 4: keep him abreast of events at home. He also regularly 398 00:27:26,756 --> 00:27:32,236 Speaker 4: gave Kathleen large sums of money. Two more Pat Moore 399 00:27:32,316 --> 00:27:37,276 Speaker 4: children were born. Some observed that the new arrivals resembled Tobin, 400 00:27:37,836 --> 00:27:41,596 Speaker 4: who was described as being too friendly for a mere lodger. 401 00:27:45,716 --> 00:27:49,516 Speaker 4: For many who'd endured the Blitz, with wave after wave 402 00:27:49,636 --> 00:27:53,636 Speaker 4: of bomber aircraft coming to London, night after night. The 403 00:27:53,716 --> 00:27:57,676 Speaker 4: new onslaught of pilotless rocket bombs brought a new kind 404 00:27:57,716 --> 00:28:02,276 Speaker 4: of terror. The v Ones, the so called doodlebugs or buzzbombs, 405 00:28:02,596 --> 00:28:07,836 Speaker 4: were jet propelled craft packed with explosives launched from far 406 00:28:07,956 --> 00:28:11,956 Speaker 4: away Nazi base. They would burble their way towards their targets. 407 00:28:13,316 --> 00:28:17,476 Speaker 4: When their fuel ran dry, the engine would cut out, 408 00:28:18,716 --> 00:28:21,516 Speaker 4: and those on the ground would have just seconds to 409 00:28:21,556 --> 00:28:26,116 Speaker 4: find cover before the eerie silence was violently rent apart. 410 00:28:29,516 --> 00:28:35,276 Speaker 4: At once malevolent and inhuman, these new weapons unnerved many Londoners, 411 00:28:35,476 --> 00:28:38,836 Speaker 4: who assumed that by nineteen forty four the worst of 412 00:28:38,836 --> 00:28:44,276 Speaker 4: the war was over. They proved too much for Kathleen Patmore. 413 00:28:44,716 --> 00:28:47,676 Speaker 4: She left London and her lodger to return to her 414 00:28:47,756 --> 00:28:52,596 Speaker 4: roots in rural Oxfordshire. Kathleen was descended from a line 415 00:28:52,596 --> 00:28:55,996 Speaker 4: of agricultural laborers, and she moved into a rented cottage 416 00:28:56,036 --> 00:28:59,876 Speaker 4: with her sister May. Her other siblings and relatives were 417 00:28:59,916 --> 00:29:03,316 Speaker 4: dotted around the farms nearby, and some of them were 418 00:29:03,316 --> 00:29:10,116 Speaker 4: already housing Kathleen's older children, as is sometimes the families. 419 00:29:10,636 --> 00:29:13,836 Speaker 4: Kathleen seems to have set up home amongst her very 420 00:29:13,876 --> 00:29:19,436 Speaker 4: fiercest critics. Her behavior in this idyllic corner of England, 421 00:29:19,876 --> 00:29:23,876 Speaker 4: safely away from the deadly buzz bombs, would prompt their ire, 422 00:29:24,676 --> 00:29:28,876 Speaker 4: and that disapproval and their willingness to gossip would have 423 00:29:29,196 --> 00:29:37,756 Speaker 4: appalling consequences for Kathleen. In the summer and autumn of 424 00:29:37,876 --> 00:29:41,276 Speaker 4: nineteen forty four, the harvest in this quaint part of 425 00:29:41,316 --> 00:29:45,276 Speaker 4: England was reaped by the sons of Napali, Palermo and Brindisi. 426 00:29:46,156 --> 00:29:49,436 Speaker 4: As many as one hundred thousand Italian prisoners of war 427 00:29:49,756 --> 00:29:52,676 Speaker 4: had been shipped to Britain following their defeat and surrender 428 00:29:52,756 --> 00:29:57,676 Speaker 4: in earlier campaigns. When Italy switched sides and joined the Allies, 429 00:29:58,196 --> 00:30:01,156 Speaker 4: all except the most fervent fascists in their ranks were 430 00:30:01,156 --> 00:30:06,596 Speaker 4: designated as cooperatus. They weren't really the enemy any longer, 431 00:30:07,196 --> 00:30:11,276 Speaker 4: though some Britons remained unconver vinced that they were reliable allies. 432 00:30:12,036 --> 00:30:16,876 Speaker 4: In any case, Italian men performed a valuable service. Was 433 00:30:16,996 --> 00:30:20,476 Speaker 4: so many farm hands away at war and women increasingly 434 00:30:20,556 --> 00:30:23,796 Speaker 4: taking up jobs in the factories, who else was there 435 00:30:23,836 --> 00:30:27,876 Speaker 4: to gather in the crops and tend the livestock. Italian 436 00:30:27,916 --> 00:30:32,596 Speaker 4: cooperators could visit cinemas, but not pubs or dance falls, 437 00:30:33,516 --> 00:30:36,236 Speaker 4: They could only use trains or buses as part of 438 00:30:36,276 --> 00:30:41,116 Speaker 4: their work duties, and they had to observe a curfew, 439 00:30:41,636 --> 00:30:44,996 Speaker 4: though some communities grumbled that the Italians were still allowed 440 00:30:45,036 --> 00:30:51,796 Speaker 4: out too late. I fraternization with locals was another sore. 441 00:30:51,636 --> 00:30:53,796 Speaker 6: Point in Sanny Italy. 442 00:30:53,876 --> 00:30:58,556 Speaker 4: Now mates the co operators could enter private homes if invited, 443 00:30:59,276 --> 00:31:03,796 Speaker 4: but women seen entertaining Italian men were treated with the 444 00:31:03,916 --> 00:31:09,236 Speaker 4: utmost suspicion. Kathleen's older brother, Horace, kept a beady I 445 00:31:09,396 --> 00:31:11,476 Speaker 4: on her and on her sister May. 446 00:31:12,036 --> 00:31:13,876 Speaker 6: I've seen both of them going out at night with 447 00:31:13,956 --> 00:31:16,916 Speaker 6: Italian prisoners of war in the woods and return into 448 00:31:16,916 --> 00:31:20,316 Speaker 6: the house separately as late as seven am. 449 00:31:20,636 --> 00:31:23,036 Speaker 4: A laborer on the farm where the sisters leased their 450 00:31:23,036 --> 00:31:29,956 Speaker 4: cottage corroborated similar accusations. Their landlord, meanwhile, was so scandalized 451 00:31:30,196 --> 00:31:33,076 Speaker 4: that he reported two of his Italian workers to the 452 00:31:33,116 --> 00:31:37,116 Speaker 4: authorities and stopped taking any rent money, hoping that the 453 00:31:37,156 --> 00:31:38,876 Speaker 4: women would pack up and leave. 454 00:31:40,556 --> 00:31:41,076 Speaker 3: Curiously. 455 00:31:41,756 --> 00:31:46,476 Speaker 4: May joined this chorus of disapproving voices, recounting stories of 456 00:31:46,556 --> 00:31:50,076 Speaker 4: Kathleen sleeping with other men. She even went as far 457 00:31:50,196 --> 00:31:53,076 Speaker 4: as to write anonymous letters to those in charge of 458 00:31:53,116 --> 00:31:57,436 Speaker 4: Italian cooperators, informing them that Kathleen had close ties to 459 00:31:57,556 --> 00:31:58,116 Speaker 4: one man. 460 00:31:58,236 --> 00:31:59,796 Speaker 3: In particular, I. 461 00:31:59,716 --> 00:32:02,036 Speaker 8: Was afraid she was getting too friendly with one named 462 00:32:02,076 --> 00:32:04,676 Speaker 8: Fronzo Antonio. That though I don't know if anything was 463 00:32:04,676 --> 00:32:08,676 Speaker 8: happening between them, I made this Italian understand that missus 464 00:32:08,676 --> 00:32:11,916 Speaker 8: Patmore was a married woman with children and her husband 465 00:32:11,996 --> 00:32:12,476 Speaker 8: in Burma. 466 00:32:15,116 --> 00:32:19,196 Speaker 4: In the spring of nineteen forty five, Kathleen's pregnancy began 467 00:32:19,236 --> 00:32:24,476 Speaker 4: to show, and she was, perhaps unsurprisingly reluctant to take 468 00:32:24,556 --> 00:32:25,876 Speaker 4: Maye into her confidence. 469 00:32:26,756 --> 00:32:29,596 Speaker 8: I thought she was pregnant, and she admitted she was, 470 00:32:29,636 --> 00:32:32,716 Speaker 8: but declined to discuss the matter with me. She was 471 00:32:32,916 --> 00:32:36,596 Speaker 8: very secretive in nature and told me very little about 472 00:32:36,596 --> 00:32:38,836 Speaker 8: her men friends. 473 00:32:39,716 --> 00:32:43,036 Speaker 4: The bombs were no longer falling on London, and soon 474 00:32:43,116 --> 00:32:46,796 Speaker 4: the blackout would end, so Kathleen returned to the capitol. 475 00:32:47,516 --> 00:32:52,596 Speaker 4: She left behind her children and a country community roiling 476 00:32:52,676 --> 00:32:55,996 Speaker 4: with rumor and gossip about the identity of her next 477 00:32:56,076 --> 00:33:00,516 Speaker 4: baby's father. Was it a yank or a truck driver 478 00:33:00,636 --> 00:33:05,036 Speaker 4: called Bill. The prime suspect was forty year old Saldato 479 00:33:05,156 --> 00:33:09,876 Speaker 4: Frinzo Antonio. Kathleen's new lodgings in London were close to 480 00:33:09,916 --> 00:33:12,716 Speaker 4: where the Italian had been sent following the scandal at 481 00:33:12,756 --> 00:33:16,476 Speaker 4: the farm sailing back. 482 00:33:16,236 --> 00:33:16,836 Speaker 2: From the war. 483 00:33:17,516 --> 00:33:20,676 Speaker 4: It's unclear if Cyril pat Moore knew any of these 484 00:33:20,716 --> 00:33:25,036 Speaker 4: salacious tales. His letters to his cath seemed to have 485 00:33:25,076 --> 00:33:26,036 Speaker 4: been optimistic. 486 00:33:26,796 --> 00:33:28,956 Speaker 2: Roll on the day when I can straighten things out 487 00:33:28,996 --> 00:33:31,796 Speaker 2: and settle down to the second chapter of married life. 488 00:33:32,316 --> 00:33:34,916 Speaker 2: It's going to be hard at first, however, we should 489 00:33:34,916 --> 00:33:37,316 Speaker 2: be able to get a little home together and live happily. 490 00:33:37,356 --> 00:33:45,356 Speaker 1: Ever After, pat Moore's confidence seems to have evaporated. On 491 00:33:45,516 --> 00:33:48,796 Speaker 1: arriving home from the far East. A visit to see 492 00:33:48,836 --> 00:33:52,996 Speaker 1: his children in the Oxfordshire countryside opened up the floodgates 493 00:33:53,036 --> 00:33:58,116 Speaker 1: to the vicious and score settling gossip about his wife. 494 00:33:58,156 --> 00:34:01,596 Speaker 1: With her husband now in their midst, Kathleen's family spared 495 00:34:01,676 --> 00:34:04,596 Speaker 1: not a moment in apprising him of their views of 496 00:34:04,636 --> 00:34:09,316 Speaker 1: her total moral lag. May even produced a written list 497 00:34:09,316 --> 00:34:12,356 Speaker 1: of men she said her sister had slept with, and 498 00:34:12,476 --> 00:34:15,476 Speaker 1: twelve year old Chrissy was called as a witness to 499 00:34:15,516 --> 00:34:19,836 Speaker 1: her mother's infidelities, recounting how she'd walked in on Kathleen 500 00:34:20,196 --> 00:34:24,636 Speaker 1: in bed with the truck driver Bill. Pat Moore even 501 00:34:24,716 --> 00:34:28,196 Speaker 1: began to suspect that Frank Tobin had indeed been overly 502 00:34:28,276 --> 00:34:31,596 Speaker 1: friendly for a lodger, and to doubt the parentage of 503 00:34:31,636 --> 00:34:32,716 Speaker 1: his youngest children. 504 00:34:33,076 --> 00:34:34,916 Speaker 2: They're just like that, bastard. 505 00:34:36,196 --> 00:34:40,756 Speaker 1: The final straw was the naming of Saldato Antonio as 506 00:34:40,796 --> 00:34:45,276 Speaker 1: the likely father of the child growing in his wife's belly. 507 00:34:45,236 --> 00:34:49,236 Speaker 2: If it had been anyone else but not our enemies. 508 00:34:50,276 --> 00:34:54,476 Speaker 1: Kathleen's brother, Horace, witnessed pat Moore's growing confusion and anger 509 00:34:54,876 --> 00:34:58,476 Speaker 1: and fueled it with his own tittle tattle. But with 510 00:34:58,596 --> 00:35:01,836 Speaker 1: pat Moore planning to return to London to confront his wife, 511 00:35:02,236 --> 00:35:05,716 Speaker 1: Horace makes no mention of trying to warn Kathleen of 512 00:35:05,796 --> 00:35:12,076 Speaker 1: the soldier's grim mood, nor pat Moore's chilling and vengeful 513 00:35:12,276 --> 00:35:13,796 Speaker 1: parting words. 514 00:35:13,916 --> 00:35:16,036 Speaker 2: I will do her in and I will. 515 00:35:15,836 --> 00:35:19,956 Speaker 1: Hang for it. Fuseleir, pat Moore? Was It turns out 516 00:35:20,556 --> 00:35:28,516 Speaker 1: half right? The blackout Ripper will return in a moment. 517 00:35:34,436 --> 00:35:38,556 Speaker 4: The soldier who approached Frederick Keeling's car was covered in 518 00:35:38,636 --> 00:35:43,836 Speaker 4: blood and holding a six inch knife. The chauffeur was 519 00:35:43,876 --> 00:35:46,276 Speaker 4: waiting for a fair just a few doors down from 520 00:35:46,396 --> 00:35:48,436 Speaker 4: Kathleen Patmore's new digs. 521 00:35:48,956 --> 00:35:51,556 Speaker 2: Call the police, I've done my missus. 522 00:35:52,396 --> 00:35:56,996 Speaker 4: When officers arrived, Cyril Patmore directed them towards the body 523 00:35:57,036 --> 00:36:00,796 Speaker 4: of his wife and held out the knife, slick with 524 00:36:00,956 --> 00:36:01,476 Speaker 4: her blood. 525 00:36:02,116 --> 00:36:02,876 Speaker 2: How did it with this? 526 00:36:04,756 --> 00:36:07,996 Speaker 4: The kitchen of number twelve Green Hill Road was also 527 00:36:08,236 --> 00:36:12,716 Speaker 4: a wash with Kathleen's blood. Her lifeless body lay face 528 00:36:12,876 --> 00:36:16,356 Speaker 4: down in it. She could not have survived such an attack. 529 00:36:17,316 --> 00:36:18,716 Speaker 1: But then a. 530 00:36:18,596 --> 00:36:24,236 Speaker 4: Police detective saw a movement rolling the heavily pregnant corpse 531 00:36:24,316 --> 00:36:28,716 Speaker 4: over he witnessed the final kicks of her unborn child. 532 00:36:31,276 --> 00:36:34,116 Speaker 4: The officers arrested pat Moore and drove him to the 533 00:36:34,116 --> 00:36:37,316 Speaker 4: police station, noting that he was keen to tell them 534 00:36:37,516 --> 00:36:43,076 Speaker 4: of his troubles. He repeated one lament over and over. 535 00:36:43,356 --> 00:36:46,356 Speaker 2: To think it was an Italian she's been going with. 536 00:36:47,516 --> 00:36:51,156 Speaker 4: If this was the second chapter in Patmore's marriage, it 537 00:36:51,316 --> 00:36:56,036 Speaker 4: was a bloody Shakespearean tragedy. The soldier had kept his 538 00:36:56,116 --> 00:36:57,556 Speaker 4: word and done Kathleen in. 539 00:36:58,716 --> 00:36:59,676 Speaker 3: But would he hang. 540 00:37:02,876 --> 00:37:04,836 Speaker 2: The law of the jungle? 541 00:37:05,596 --> 00:37:09,076 Speaker 1: Cyril pat Moore wasn't going to the gallows after all. 542 00:37:09,636 --> 00:37:13,396 Speaker 1: The jury didn't think he deserved it, and mister Justice Charles, 543 00:37:13,796 --> 00:37:17,396 Speaker 1: the Old Bailey judge presiding, was incensed with the. 544 00:37:17,396 --> 00:37:20,356 Speaker 2: Twelve I am bound to tell you that if a 545 00:37:20,436 --> 00:37:24,716 Speaker 2: man comes back, finds his wife unfaithful, stabs her, and 546 00:37:24,876 --> 00:37:28,836 Speaker 2: she dies. He is guilty of stark murder. 547 00:37:30,556 --> 00:37:35,876 Speaker 1: The jury had heard witness after witness outlining Kathleen's supposed 548 00:37:36,036 --> 00:37:40,436 Speaker 1: marital wrongdoings. In the witness box, her sister May was 549 00:37:40,476 --> 00:37:45,036 Speaker 1: asked if Kathleen had been consistently and persistently immoral. 550 00:37:45,396 --> 00:37:49,396 Speaker 8: Yes, she practically lived with the Italian prisoners billeted in 551 00:37:49,476 --> 00:37:49,996 Speaker 8: our area. 552 00:37:50,636 --> 00:37:54,036 Speaker 1: Pat Moore had gone to Kathleen's London home armed with 553 00:37:54,156 --> 00:37:58,396 Speaker 1: the list of men's names May had happily supplied, and 554 00:37:58,556 --> 00:37:59,996 Speaker 1: with his Italian knife. 555 00:38:00,476 --> 00:38:03,796 Speaker 2: I only meant to scar her so nobody else could 556 00:38:03,796 --> 00:38:04,356 Speaker 2: have her but me. 557 00:38:05,076 --> 00:38:09,916 Speaker 1: Kathleen's face did indeed bear the mark of one disfiguring 558 00:38:10,356 --> 00:38:11,796 Speaker 1: slashing cut. 559 00:38:11,796 --> 00:38:15,516 Speaker 2: But she struggled, and I stabbed her in the wrong place. 560 00:38:16,396 --> 00:38:20,876 Speaker 1: He plunged that souvenir knife deep into her neck, going 561 00:38:20,956 --> 00:38:24,316 Speaker 1: as far as the lung, a wound which would have 562 00:38:24,476 --> 00:38:29,956 Speaker 1: proved rapidly fatal. He viewed this woman as a possession 563 00:38:30,716 --> 00:38:34,316 Speaker 1: and would not accept the humiliation of its loss. 564 00:38:35,276 --> 00:38:37,956 Speaker 2: For years, I've been waiting for this moment to return 565 00:38:38,596 --> 00:38:41,236 Speaker 2: and have you for my own again, he told her, 566 00:38:41,716 --> 00:38:43,516 Speaker 2: and I'm robbed of everything. 567 00:38:44,236 --> 00:38:45,116 Speaker 3: Though peeved that. 568 00:38:45,156 --> 00:38:48,996 Speaker 1: The jury had returned the wrong verdict, Mister Justice Charles 569 00:38:49,316 --> 00:38:52,516 Speaker 1: wasn't going to take his frustrations out on Patmore. If 570 00:38:52,516 --> 00:38:56,676 Speaker 1: the jury decided he was guilty of manslaughter instead of murder, 571 00:38:57,036 --> 00:39:01,156 Speaker 1: then the judge could show the soldier leniency, after all, 572 00:39:01,556 --> 00:39:04,836 Speaker 1: his unfaithful wife had behaved abominably. 573 00:39:05,276 --> 00:39:08,596 Speaker 2: As your counsel has said, you were a solid. 574 00:39:08,356 --> 00:39:10,356 Speaker 1: Tried man, he told the prisoner. 575 00:39:10,476 --> 00:39:13,996 Speaker 2: If you had not been so sorely tried, I would 576 00:39:13,996 --> 00:39:17,556 Speaker 2: have been bound to give you a very very heavy sentence. 577 00:39:18,716 --> 00:39:22,116 Speaker 1: Private pat Moore, who the judge described as a good 578 00:39:22,196 --> 00:39:29,996 Speaker 1: man and a good husband, only got five years. 579 00:39:30,236 --> 00:39:33,476 Speaker 4: The murder of Kathleen Patmore in the final months of 580 00:39:33,556 --> 00:39:38,076 Speaker 4: World War Two was not, of course, an isolated case. 581 00:39:39,596 --> 00:39:42,716 Speaker 4: Doctor Mark Ruthhouse from the University of York is an 582 00:39:42,756 --> 00:39:44,356 Speaker 4: expert in wartime crime. 583 00:39:44,716 --> 00:39:48,276 Speaker 7: Although the increase in domestic violence is not reflected in 584 00:39:48,356 --> 00:39:53,396 Speaker 7: the crime figures, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence, particularly 585 00:39:53,436 --> 00:39:58,156 Speaker 7: in oral testimonies, in memoirs and autobiographies, that there was 586 00:39:58,196 --> 00:40:02,836 Speaker 7: an increase in these things as individuals who were processing 587 00:40:02,996 --> 00:40:07,836 Speaker 7: very traumatic experiences turned in on themselves, but also outwards 588 00:40:07,836 --> 00:40:08,556 Speaker 7: on others. 589 00:40:10,276 --> 00:40:14,396 Speaker 4: Men who had been exhorted to sacrifice themselves and fight 590 00:40:14,516 --> 00:40:18,796 Speaker 4: for home and family were being demobilized from the armed forces, 591 00:40:19,836 --> 00:40:23,356 Speaker 4: and many had the feeling, like Cyril Patmore, that they'd 592 00:40:23,356 --> 00:40:26,676 Speaker 4: be robbed of the homecoming that they'd imagined that they 593 00:40:26,716 --> 00:40:31,356 Speaker 4: felt they deserved. The very same week as the Patmore verdict, 594 00:40:31,836 --> 00:40:34,796 Speaker 4: another soldier stood in the dock at the Old Bailey. 595 00:40:36,716 --> 00:40:41,516 Speaker 4: Frederick and Lillian Hooker had had eleven children together when 596 00:40:41,556 --> 00:40:45,356 Speaker 4: Frederick joined the Pioneer Corps and had been sent away Missus. 597 00:40:45,356 --> 00:40:47,916 Speaker 4: Hooker was said to have struck up a friendship with 598 00:40:47,996 --> 00:40:52,076 Speaker 4: an Irish soldier, something to which their fourteen year old 599 00:40:52,156 --> 00:40:57,356 Speaker 4: son Thomas, attested in court. On leaving the army, Frederick 600 00:40:57,436 --> 00:41:00,756 Speaker 4: Hooker said he found his wife to be called towards him, 601 00:41:01,516 --> 00:41:06,436 Speaker 4: but despite this difficult homecoming, he still worshiped her. That 602 00:41:06,636 --> 00:41:08,796 Speaker 4: is until he stabbed her. 603 00:41:11,716 --> 00:41:14,876 Speaker 2: She drove me to it. She was carrying on with 604 00:41:14,956 --> 00:41:16,556 Speaker 2: other men, and I asked her not to for the 605 00:41:16,676 --> 00:41:19,996 Speaker 2: children's sight. I've done it again. 606 00:41:20,316 --> 00:41:23,636 Speaker 4: The jury rejected the judge's guidance that the offense was 607 00:41:23,756 --> 00:41:28,156 Speaker 4: murder and found Hooker guilty of the lesser crime of manslaughter. 608 00:41:29,596 --> 00:41:33,876 Speaker 4: Summing up, mister Justice Tucker chided the twelve that their 609 00:41:33,996 --> 00:41:36,756 Speaker 4: verdict was sending a dangerous message. 610 00:41:37,116 --> 00:41:41,676 Speaker 9: That is murder and nothing else. If Parliament thinks fit 611 00:41:41,756 --> 00:41:45,116 Speaker 9: to pass an act that soldiers returning and finding their 612 00:41:45,156 --> 00:41:48,636 Speaker 9: wife's unfaithful may kill them, and that is manslaughter, it 613 00:41:48,716 --> 00:41:52,516 Speaker 9: will be the law of the land. Until that is done, 614 00:41:52,796 --> 00:41:54,956 Speaker 9: it is not the law of the land. 615 00:41:56,676 --> 00:42:00,876 Speaker 4: These twin verdicts showing sympathy for wife killers in England's 616 00:42:00,876 --> 00:42:05,636 Speaker 4: most famous court, prompted much comment in the newspapers, with 617 00:42:05,796 --> 00:42:07,716 Speaker 4: one legal expert opining. 618 00:42:07,956 --> 00:42:11,036 Speaker 2: It is inevitable will be more such cases of killing 619 00:42:11,876 --> 00:42:15,196 Speaker 2: when he is of so many wives who have misconducted themselves. 620 00:42:15,876 --> 00:42:19,156 Speaker 4: The refusal of these juries to send such defendants to 621 00:42:19,196 --> 00:42:22,676 Speaker 4: the hangman had deep roots in the prevailing culture. 622 00:42:22,996 --> 00:42:25,236 Speaker 7: One of the important things to note about the nineteen 623 00:42:25,276 --> 00:42:28,796 Speaker 7: forties is that physical violence is part of everyday life. 624 00:42:28,956 --> 00:42:32,396 Speaker 4: Here's Mark again. He says that from the beatings handed 625 00:42:32,396 --> 00:42:37,156 Speaker 4: out by school teachers to husbands clouting their wives, recourse 626 00:42:37,196 --> 00:42:40,836 Speaker 4: to brutality wasn't frowned upon even by the police. 627 00:42:41,356 --> 00:42:43,636 Speaker 7: The police did not want to get involved because it 628 00:42:43,636 --> 00:42:46,556 Speaker 7: got them into difficult negotiations. About what was acceptable what 629 00:42:46,676 --> 00:42:49,436 Speaker 7: was not acceptable. If the violence took place in a 630 00:42:49,516 --> 00:42:53,396 Speaker 7: public space, then the police would take an interest if 631 00:42:53,396 --> 00:42:57,516 Speaker 7: it was causing some kind of disturbance and complaints from neighbors. 632 00:42:57,676 --> 00:43:00,796 Speaker 7: They would also take an interest. If the violence within 633 00:43:00,836 --> 00:43:04,476 Speaker 7: the household overstepped the mark and someone ended up being 634 00:43:04,596 --> 00:43:08,436 Speaker 7: seriously injured or worse than the police would take an interest. 635 00:43:08,716 --> 00:43:12,276 Speaker 7: But run of the mill physical chastisement would be the 636 00:43:12,356 --> 00:43:14,956 Speaker 7: kind of thing the police would be very cautious about 637 00:43:14,996 --> 00:43:15,796 Speaker 7: getting involved with. 638 00:43:17,036 --> 00:43:20,956 Speaker 4: In such a society where violence was a permissible, even 639 00:43:20,996 --> 00:43:25,796 Speaker 4: expected part of family life, Inflicting physical harm on women 640 00:43:26,276 --> 00:43:29,716 Speaker 4: was only wrong if the severity of the injury outweighed 641 00:43:29,756 --> 00:43:35,956 Speaker 4: the provocation. Kathleen Patmore had sorely tried her husband and 642 00:43:36,036 --> 00:43:40,156 Speaker 4: Lilian Hooker drove hers to take her life. They weren't 643 00:43:40,236 --> 00:43:43,716 Speaker 4: bad men, thought the jurors. They'd just been pushed to 644 00:43:43,796 --> 00:43:45,916 Speaker 4: breaking point. They'd snapped. 645 00:43:46,916 --> 00:43:49,476 Speaker 10: The crime of passion has been around for millennia. 646 00:43:49,636 --> 00:43:53,196 Speaker 4: Professor Jane Monkton Smith is an expert on homicide and 647 00:43:53,276 --> 00:43:57,916 Speaker 4: particularly on domestic violence. She rejects the crime of passion defense, 648 00:43:58,196 --> 00:44:01,276 Speaker 4: the idea that lover may in a fit of jealousy 649 00:44:01,476 --> 00:44:05,996 Speaker 4: or after an appalling betrayal, lose control of themselves and kill. 650 00:44:07,036 --> 00:44:10,236 Speaker 4: Jane's research has shown that the crime of passion, though 651 00:44:10,276 --> 00:44:14,636 Speaker 4: an established feature of our cultural script, is nothing more 652 00:44:15,036 --> 00:44:15,596 Speaker 4: than myth. 653 00:44:17,756 --> 00:44:23,716 Speaker 10: It kind of acts to defend, especially men who kill 654 00:44:23,796 --> 00:44:30,356 Speaker 10: their partners allegedly spontaneously. So there's some kind of dreadful provocation. 655 00:44:30,796 --> 00:44:35,076 Speaker 10: They in the moment react to that and things go 656 00:44:35,116 --> 00:44:38,116 Speaker 10: a bit far. Nobody could really have predicted it, and 657 00:44:38,156 --> 00:44:40,996 Speaker 10: it's a terrible situation. But of course that's not the 658 00:44:40,996 --> 00:44:44,236 Speaker 10: way these things play out at all. There is nothing, 659 00:44:44,636 --> 00:44:47,516 Speaker 10: no facts anywhere to suggest that the crime of passion 660 00:44:47,596 --> 00:44:51,196 Speaker 10: narrative has anything to support it, because all the research 661 00:44:51,236 --> 00:44:53,116 Speaker 10: that has been done in this area shows that there 662 00:44:53,156 --> 00:44:57,076 Speaker 10: are levels of planning. These homicides, despite what everybody really 663 00:44:57,156 --> 00:45:00,396 Speaker 10: wants to believe, are not spontaneous. 664 00:45:01,476 --> 00:45:06,196 Speaker 4: Indeed, Cyril Patmore had time enough between Oxfordshire and London 665 00:45:06,476 --> 00:45:10,836 Speaker 4: to think about his marriage several days. In fact, even 666 00:45:10,916 --> 00:45:13,836 Speaker 4: if we believe his story that he took a six 667 00:45:13,876 --> 00:45:18,156 Speaker 4: inch knife to threaten and to scar Kathleen, Cyril Patmore 668 00:45:18,396 --> 00:45:22,916 Speaker 4: did not simply snap. He thought about the grievous harm 669 00:45:23,036 --> 00:45:25,876 Speaker 4: he wanted to inflict on his wife, and then he 670 00:45:25,956 --> 00:45:31,356 Speaker 4: settled on a determined course of action to echo those judges. 671 00:45:32,276 --> 00:45:38,356 Speaker 4: That is murder and nothing else had say the cuckolded 672 00:45:38,476 --> 00:45:42,516 Speaker 4: poultry farmer Harold Oatley finally run out of patience with 673 00:45:42,556 --> 00:45:46,556 Speaker 4: Evelyn and her soho lifestyle and taken his razor to her. 674 00:45:47,276 --> 00:45:50,996 Speaker 4: Or Indeed, had Enrijane bickered with his wife Doris about 675 00:45:50,996 --> 00:45:54,236 Speaker 4: her return to the sex trade and choked her to death, 676 00:45:55,036 --> 00:45:58,596 Speaker 4: would they have been sentenced to hang or just given 677 00:45:58,796 --> 00:46:04,356 Speaker 4: a light sentence. Would a jury have perhaps looked sympathetically 678 00:46:04,916 --> 00:46:08,956 Speaker 4: on leading aircraftman Cummings if he'd loft his wife Marjorie 679 00:46:08,956 --> 00:46:12,436 Speaker 4: and then spun a defense in court detailing her immoral, 680 00:46:12,996 --> 00:46:17,756 Speaker 4: unreasonable or nagging waves. 681 00:46:19,716 --> 00:46:23,276 Speaker 1: As it was on June twenty fifth, nineteen forty two, 682 00:46:23,796 --> 00:46:28,276 Speaker 1: of all legal avenues exhausted, all appeals from reprieve denied. 683 00:46:29,036 --> 00:46:32,836 Speaker 1: Cummings was taken from the condemned cell where he played 684 00:46:32,956 --> 00:46:37,116 Speaker 1: distracted games of chess with his warders, to the nearby 685 00:46:37,196 --> 00:46:43,916 Speaker 1: gallows and the drop. The man dubbed the most notorious 686 00:46:43,996 --> 00:46:47,716 Speaker 1: killer since Jack the Ripper was no more, and his 687 00:46:47,796 --> 00:46:53,796 Speaker 1: sordid crimes far from growing in notoriety quickly slipped into obscurity, 688 00:46:55,236 --> 00:46:57,996 Speaker 1: and this suited the families of the dead and the 689 00:46:58,036 --> 00:47:02,436 Speaker 1: survivors too. When the murders of February nineteen forty two 690 00:47:02,836 --> 00:47:06,796 Speaker 1: occasionally resurfaced in the newspapers, often when one of the 691 00:47:06,836 --> 00:47:12,676 Speaker 1: investigating detectives had a memoir, the victims were invariably referred 692 00:47:12,676 --> 00:47:17,236 Speaker 1: to as prostitutes. When we approach the relatives of the 693 00:47:17,276 --> 00:47:21,156 Speaker 1: dead women for this series, they politely declined to be interviewed. 694 00:47:22,436 --> 00:47:26,916 Speaker 1: The shame associated with the crimes has even suppressed conversations 695 00:47:27,156 --> 00:47:32,116 Speaker 1: within families. Cummings not only rob these women of their lives, 696 00:47:32,516 --> 00:47:36,236 Speaker 1: his depravity has also meant that their very memories have 697 00:47:36,316 --> 00:47:39,956 Speaker 1: been erased. We don't have any information about any of this, 698 00:47:40,316 --> 00:47:43,476 Speaker 1: wrote one relative in reply to us, as I'm sure 699 00:47:43,476 --> 00:47:46,516 Speaker 1: you can understand it's not something we discussed. 700 00:47:47,756 --> 00:47:50,916 Speaker 11: I was fascinated to learn about this case that almost 701 00:47:50,996 --> 00:47:53,476 Speaker 11: doesn't exist. It's not in the press, you don't see 702 00:47:53,476 --> 00:47:54,076 Speaker 11: it on Telly. 703 00:47:54,636 --> 00:47:57,716 Speaker 1: Michael Buchanan Dunn is a London tour guide and host 704 00:47:57,756 --> 00:48:02,076 Speaker 1: of murdermyle UK podcast. He's done much to uncover the 705 00:48:02,196 --> 00:48:08,636 Speaker 1: truth about the valuable lives Cummings snuffed out nine flash nine. 706 00:48:08,476 --> 00:48:18,036 Speaker 11: Pairs should be that one shouldn't do exactly. 707 00:48:15,316 --> 00:48:20,316 Speaker 4: Criss crossings Soho, Piccadilly and Paddington. Michael shows visitors the 708 00:48:20,396 --> 00:48:23,436 Speaker 4: streets the women walked, the bars where they drank and 709 00:48:23,436 --> 00:48:28,476 Speaker 4: met friends, the places they called home, and in so doing, 710 00:48:29,076 --> 00:48:31,356 Speaker 4: Michael hopes his tour groups will come to know the 711 00:48:31,396 --> 00:48:36,556 Speaker 4: women as he does, as real, rounded people and not 712 00:48:36,676 --> 00:48:41,636 Speaker 4: simply as victims of a killer. Evelyn Hamilton, left in 713 00:48:41,676 --> 00:48:45,716 Speaker 4: a freezing, dank air raid shelter, was no mere corpse. 714 00:48:46,476 --> 00:48:50,676 Speaker 4: She was someone who'd known poverty and then dedicated herself 715 00:48:50,716 --> 00:48:54,116 Speaker 4: to improving both a lot of other working people and 716 00:48:54,236 --> 00:48:58,756 Speaker 4: her own mind. Through determination, she became a pharmacist. 717 00:48:59,676 --> 00:49:01,836 Speaker 11: I mean, that's amazing for today, but we're talking a 718 00:49:01,996 --> 00:49:06,636 Speaker 11: hundred years ago. She's clearly smart, she's clearly educated. She's quiet. 719 00:49:06,996 --> 00:49:08,876 Speaker 11: But I think that's the problem is that people have 720 00:49:09,196 --> 00:49:13,636 Speaker 11: and think about her shyness and they equate that to loneliness, 721 00:49:13,876 --> 00:49:15,836 Speaker 11: and I think that's a big mistake when you look. 722 00:49:15,676 --> 00:49:16,356 Speaker 2: At her life. 723 00:49:16,796 --> 00:49:20,196 Speaker 11: She liked herself, she liked her world, she liked what 724 00:49:20,316 --> 00:49:20,756 Speaker 11: she did. 725 00:49:21,756 --> 00:49:26,036 Speaker 4: The Soho home of Evelyn Oatly, who was so cruelly 726 00:49:26,076 --> 00:49:30,316 Speaker 4: dismissed as a mere good time girl, was demolished long ago, 727 00:49:31,116 --> 00:49:33,956 Speaker 4: but Michael's tour groups can still get a flavor if 728 00:49:33,956 --> 00:49:38,756 Speaker 4: the edgy, creative and bohemian neighborhood that drew Evelyn from 729 00:49:38,796 --> 00:49:42,796 Speaker 4: the gritty industrial north to the place where she became 730 00:49:43,156 --> 00:49:45,756 Speaker 4: hopeful starlet Leita Ward. 731 00:49:46,156 --> 00:49:48,796 Speaker 11: Where she grew up there was nothing. She's got dreams 732 00:49:48,796 --> 00:49:51,396 Speaker 11: of going to London to become an actress and a dancer, 733 00:49:51,436 --> 00:49:54,116 Speaker 11: and you want her so much to succeed. She's not 734 00:49:54,156 --> 00:49:57,076 Speaker 11: a good time girl. I think there's an inherent loneliness there, 735 00:49:57,116 --> 00:49:59,436 Speaker 11: and she's trying to find out who she is and 736 00:49:59,476 --> 00:50:00,116 Speaker 11: what she wants. 737 00:50:00,716 --> 00:50:04,796 Speaker 4: Michael has retraced the route widowed and bankrupt Margaret Lowe 738 00:50:04,836 --> 00:50:06,996 Speaker 4: would have taken selling sex in the area. 739 00:50:07,436 --> 00:50:10,676 Speaker 11: She walks the perimeter of the Filthy Square Mile, as 740 00:50:10,716 --> 00:50:12,556 Speaker 11: they call it around so hoped, but. 741 00:50:12,596 --> 00:50:17,436 Speaker 4: The secretive aloof woman that others dubbed the Lady seemed 742 00:50:17,476 --> 00:50:22,196 Speaker 4: an especially reluctant participant in the trade. Weighed down with 743 00:50:22,396 --> 00:50:26,396 Speaker 4: grief for her former married life and always afraid of 744 00:50:26,476 --> 00:50:27,356 Speaker 4: losing her daughter. 745 00:50:27,996 --> 00:50:30,516 Speaker 11: And it's almost as if she doesn't want to be there, 746 00:50:31,036 --> 00:50:33,356 Speaker 11: but she knows that she has to be. I find 747 00:50:33,356 --> 00:50:37,676 Speaker 11: it tragic, but also I understand her. I understand why 748 00:50:37,716 --> 00:50:40,556 Speaker 11: she's holding on to those few moments of her past, 749 00:50:40,676 --> 00:50:43,356 Speaker 11: especially her daughter, who she loves, and she wants her 750 00:50:43,596 --> 00:50:45,076 Speaker 11: past to return the good past. 751 00:50:45,996 --> 00:50:49,396 Speaker 4: North of Hyde Park, Michael takes his tour groups into 752 00:50:49,436 --> 00:50:53,436 Speaker 4: the world of Doris Chuane, the provincial girl without a 753 00:50:53,516 --> 00:50:59,276 Speaker 4: father who counted societal prejudice against so called bastards by 754 00:50:59,316 --> 00:51:04,556 Speaker 4: never backing down, never taking orders, and always cutting a 755 00:51:04,636 --> 00:51:05,716 Speaker 4: striking figure. 756 00:51:06,436 --> 00:51:07,276 Speaker 1: She's stylish. 757 00:51:07,876 --> 00:51:10,996 Speaker 11: Everyone always looked at her and you could see her coming. 758 00:51:11,076 --> 00:51:13,276 Speaker 11: She always looked immaculate. 759 00:51:14,836 --> 00:51:19,036 Speaker 4: Michael, pounding the pavements amid the traffic and bustle of 760 00:51:19,076 --> 00:51:22,956 Speaker 4: modern London does in real life what we've tried to 761 00:51:22,996 --> 00:51:26,596 Speaker 4: do in audio over the series, give those long dead 762 00:51:26,596 --> 00:51:30,516 Speaker 4: women a chance to reach across the decades and be heard. 763 00:51:32,036 --> 00:51:35,956 Speaker 4: Michael's guiding ethos also sums up what we've tried to 764 00:51:35,996 --> 00:51:38,796 Speaker 4: do in Bad Women, and we think his words are 765 00:51:38,836 --> 00:51:41,796 Speaker 4: a fitting way to draw this season to a close. 766 00:51:42,916 --> 00:51:46,316 Speaker 11: Sod Gordon Frederick Cummings. He's an asshole. I hate him. 767 00:51:46,316 --> 00:51:49,436 Speaker 11: He's arrogant. He does not deserve to live, and I 768 00:51:49,476 --> 00:51:52,156 Speaker 11: hate to say that about anyone. Whereas the women, I 769 00:51:52,236 --> 00:51:54,596 Speaker 11: fell in love with them, every single one of them. 770 00:51:54,916 --> 00:51:57,716 Speaker 11: I sympathized with them, what they were about, what their 771 00:51:57,756 --> 00:52:00,836 Speaker 11: struggle was the amount of times have done a live 772 00:52:00,916 --> 00:52:03,956 Speaker 11: presentation and then burst into tears because I think when 773 00:52:03,996 --> 00:52:06,956 Speaker 11: you see the victims not just as name age collection 774 00:52:06,996 --> 00:52:09,276 Speaker 11: of injuries, but you learn about all the quirks in 775 00:52:09,276 --> 00:52:11,556 Speaker 11: their life, You learn about the sadness, you learn about 776 00:52:11,556 --> 00:52:14,556 Speaker 11: the joy, it makes them real and whole and you 777 00:52:14,636 --> 00:52:16,956 Speaker 11: kind of want to meet them and hope, hope that 778 00:52:16,996 --> 00:52:19,076 Speaker 11: they survive, but you know that they won't. 779 00:52:34,876 --> 00:52:39,276 Speaker 1: Bad women. The Blackout Ripper is hosted by me Halle Rubinhold. 780 00:52:38,996 --> 00:52:40,276 Speaker 3: And me Alice Fines. 781 00:52:40,716 --> 00:52:43,476 Speaker 1: It was written and produced by Alice Fines and Ryan Dilley, 782 00:52:43,676 --> 00:52:47,796 Speaker 1: with additional support from Courtney Guarino and Arthur Gomperts. Kate 783 00:52:47,876 --> 00:52:51,436 Speaker 1: Healy of Oakwood Family Trees aided us with genealogical research. 784 00:52:52,076 --> 00:52:55,236 Speaker 4: Pascal Wise Sound designed and mixed the show and composed 785 00:52:55,276 --> 00:52:58,356 Speaker 4: all the original music. The show was recorded at Ordoor 786 00:52:58,436 --> 00:53:01,996 Speaker 4: Studios by David Smith and Tom Berry. You also heard 787 00:53:01,996 --> 00:53:05,956 Speaker 4: the voice talents of Ben Crow, David Glover, Melanie Gutridge, 788 00:53:06,076 --> 00:53:09,836 Speaker 4: Stella Harford Gemma Saunders and Rufus Wright. Much of the 789 00:53:09,916 --> 00:53:13,316 Speaker 4: music you had was performed by Ed Gockan, Ross Hughes, 790 00:53:13,556 --> 00:53:16,836 Speaker 4: Christian Miller and Marcus Penrose. They were recorded by Nick 791 00:53:16,876 --> 00:53:20,716 Speaker 4: Taylor at Porcupine Studios. Pushkin's Bend Holiday mixed the. 792 00:53:20,636 --> 00:53:24,636 Speaker 1: Tracks and you heard additional piano playing by the great 793 00:53:24,916 --> 00:53:28,996 Speaker 1: Berry Wise Hi Berry. The show also wouldn't have been 794 00:53:29,036 --> 00:53:33,156 Speaker 1: possible without the work of Jacob Weisberg, Heather Fane, Carli mcgliori, 795 00:53:33,676 --> 00:53:38,956 Speaker 1: Maggie Taylor, Nicole Morano, Eric Sandler, and Daniela Lukhan. We'd 796 00:53:38,996 --> 00:53:41,796 Speaker 1: also like to thank Michael Buchanan Dunn of the Murder 797 00:53:41,876 --> 00:53:46,516 Speaker 1: Mile podcast, Lizzie mccerroll, Katherine Walker at the Royal Pharmaceutical 798 00:53:46,596 --> 00:53:50,996 Speaker 1: Society and the Earbe Historical Society. Bad Women is a 799 00:53:50,996 --> 00:53:54,596 Speaker 1: production of Pushkin Industries. Please rate and review the show 800 00:53:54,836 --> 00:53:57,316 Speaker 1: and spread the word about what we do. And thanks 801 00:53:57,356 --> 00:54:55,676 Speaker 1: for listening. My number of the back 802 00:55:01,396 --> 00:55:12,636 Speaker 2: Anywhere Nay