Carol Ann Lee - A Fine Day for a Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story

Contents

One of Your Own: The Life and Death of Myra Hindley

Evil Relations: The Man Who Bore Witness Against the Moors Murderers (originally published as Witness )

At the age of 16, I was mesmerised by Miranda Richardsons portrayal of Ruth Ellis in Dance with a Stranger . Named after Ruths favourite song, the film was directed by Mike Newell, with a screenplay by A Taste of Honey author Shelagh Delaney, and focused on the relationship between Ruth Ellis and David Blakely (played by Rupert Everett). Released in 1985, it made far more of an impact on people of my generation than any of the books about the case, despite the narrative ending with Davids shooting in Hampstead. The dramatic story of Ruths arrest, trial and execution remained untold, together with her troubled childhood and life before she became manageress of the Little Club. Although sublimely acted and beautifully shot, with Delaneys trademark incisive dialogue bringing the script shimmering to life, Dance with a Stranger unfortunately fixed the character of Ruth Ellis in the public mind as a screeching mass of neuroses.

In the quarter century since then, and for the past 35 years, there has been no in-depth, objective study of this infamous but distinctly oversimplified case. Its central themes passion, class, gender and politics are as relevant now as they were at the time of Ruths execution. In addition, capital punishment has recently been fiercely debated again in the UK, with most broadcast discussions referring specifically to Ruth. Yet, unlike Derek Bentley and Timothy Evans, who were executed in 1953 and 1950 respectively for crimes they did not commit (and for which both have been posthumously pardoned), Ruth was guilty of shooting David Blakely that Easter Sunday evening in 1955. Nonetheless, it was her death on the scaffold that gave the campaign for abolition its greatest emotional spur. By their decision to execute Ruth Ellis, wrote Rupert Furneaux within a short while of her hanging, the Home Office have abolished the death penalty. There were other legal ramifications besides: the defence of diminished responsibility was introduced in the Homicide Act of 1957, a plea which might have saved Ruth from her appointment with the hangman. Thus this most notorious of British crimes of passion had the effect of bringing compassion into murder law.

A Fine Day for a Hanging explores Ruth Elliss life and death from a new perspective, aiming to describe all the tumultuous twists and turns of a short but very intensely lived life without making value judgements; it is, as ever, for the reader to make up his or her own mind about the events of almost 60 years ago. When Ruth stood in the dock to answer for her crime, the manifold prejudices of the period were as discernible as the fresh peroxide in her hair. From a modern viewpoint, this makes her case extremely poignant and challenging to evaluate, acting as a mirror to that era, in whose reflection we see our own ethics and moralities. Past studies have concentrated, like Dance with a Stranger , on the affair between Ruth and David, but A Fine Day for a Hanging is a biography which seeks to illuminate Ruths life and the time in which she lived; it also aspires to provide a much fuller picture of the aftermath of her arrest, to look at what happened to the other protagonists, and to explain the wider implications her execution had on our society.

In a recent private email to Laurence Marks, co-author of Ruth Ellis: A Case of Diminished Responsibility? , criminal barrister Edward Henry posited:

It was an open and shut case, you are right; but there is an enduring sense of injustice because of the background of profound physical abuse, and the unexplained acquisition of the gun. There remains the suspicion that Ruth was hanged on moral grounds, because she was undeserving (hostess/escort at the Little Club) or partly to do with class. Could you see a deranged daughter of the shires being hanged for this? Convicted, yes, but reprieved surely? So what is acceptable after a decanter of whisky on a grouse moor is outrageous in a city... Ruths case is all too easy to explain but the society in which she lived was not ready to hear it.

Are we ready now?

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A great many people helped in the research for this book. I must first of all thank author and historian Keith Skinner, whose assistance in areas too numerous to mention enriched my experience of writing about Ruth and without which the book would be much poorer. Keith also facilitated a visit to the Crime Museum, whose curator Paul Bickley I would also like to thank, and to Hampstead Police Station and the now defunct Hampstead Magistrates Court, where we were shown around by Sergeant Philip Hewetson, an extremely knowledgeable and patient guide.

I am grateful to Francesca Findlater for answering my questions about her parents, and to John Riley, who introduced me to Georgina Elliss widower, Mike Blackburn, in my quest to learn more about Ruths daughter. I learned much about Ruths son Andre by speaking to his fellow pupils at St Michaels College, Hitchin, some of whom have very painful memories of their time there. I would like to single out for particular thanks Andres best friend, Brian Jacobs, for his insight and suggestions for further research. The following Old Michaelians provided vital information about Andre and school life in general: Tony Caruana, Michael Craigen, Nic Szeremeta, Tony Stansfield, Peter Bodle, Michael McCartney, Bob Ashurst, Terry Simpson, Jim Hoare and Christopher Hoefkens. I am extremely grateful to all of them and also to Simon Curtis, who runs the St Michaels College website. The school photograph of Andre was passed to me by Mr C. de la Salle and I thank him for that.

Next I should like to thank Laurence Marks for his considerable knowledge about Ruth Ellis, and for his kindness, good humour and endless patience. I thank too writer Peta Steel, daughter of Laurences co-author Tony Van den Bergh, and would like to take this opportunity to set straight a matter raised in Ruth Ellis: My Sisters Secret Life . In her book, Ruths elder sister, Muriel Jakubait, claims that Tony passed Ruths very distinctive compact and handbag to his daughter and that he had something of a vendetta against Ruth after she rebuffed his advances. Unaware of these comments at the time, Peta explains that this was not so:

My father was an award-winning journalist with an excellent reputation. He was a brilliant raconteur who would have enjoyed telling everyone that Ruth had rejected him because he could always take a joke against himself. He certainly never owned any of her possessions and therefore I would never have seen and never did see Ruths compact or her handbag at any point. Both Laurence and my father were very protective of Muriel and did their best by her and Ruth.

Dr Mike Morrogh, Shrewsbury School archivist and historian, helpfully provided David Blakelys school reports; Tony Cox, former headmaster at Sherborne St John Primary School was able to add to my knowledge of Ruths school years; Paul Sullivan, who runs Diana Dorss official website, answered my questions patiently and expertly; author Michelangelo Capua was equally helpful regarding Deborah Kerr; and author Douglas Thompson very kindly put several questions to Christine Keeler on my behalf I am grateful to both him and to Miss Keeler, as I am to Olivia Temple, whose aunt Gwen Nockolds managed the Steering Wheel Club during its heyday.