Chris Wood - Famous Last Words

Famous Last Words

Chris Wood

First published in Great Britain in 2021 by

Pen & Sword History

An imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Yorkshire Philadelphia

Copyright Chris Wood 2021

ISBN 978 1 52677 089 9

eISBN 978 1 52677 090 5

Mobi ISBN 978 1 52677 091 2

The right of Chris Wood to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.

Pen & Sword Books Limited incorporates the imprints of Atlas, Archaeology, Aviation, Discovery, Family History, Fiction, History, Maritime, Military, Military Classics, Politics, Select, Transport, True Crime, Air World, Frontline Publishing, Leo Cooper, Remember When, Seaforth Publishing, The Praetorian Press, Wharncliffe Local History, Wharncliffe Transport, Wharncliffe True Crime and White Owl.

For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact

PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED

47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England

E-mail:

Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk

Or

PEN AND SWORD BOOKS

1950 Lawrence Rd, Havertown, PA 19083, USA

E-mail:

Website: www.penandswordbooks.com

A n incredible amount of support and encouragement goes into the writing of a book. Before this, my first foray into such endeavours, I could never have known quite how much, on a professional level and, of course, personally.

In these rather inadequate efforts to express my thanks, however, there can be no other way for me to begin these pages than by bestowing the most emphatic and heartfelt gratitude upon my wife Charlotte and daughter Emma. Without their unconditional love and unrelenting support, this book would have remained an impossible dream. It has certainly been an eventful journey and one which could not have been travelled without you both at my side.

Emma: in your own inimitable toddler fashion you have provided me with countless sleepless nights to allow me to work on the book, and for this, I thank you. Although now its written, I very much hope you might now consider the odd lie-in. During the more difficult moments, you have both been the constants which have enabled me to smile and to continue writing with renewed vigour. Thank you, both.

To my parents: your continued support is, and has always been, boundless and so very much appreciated, particularly in allowing me to descend upon you at all hours and attach myself to the kitchen table for hours on end whilst you both suffered hungrily in the lounge. But for everything you have both done for me, and the rest of us, thank you we are blessed to have you both.

I must also extend my warmest thanks to the rest of my family and incredible friends, all of whom have provided their unwavering support and constant kindness throughout this venture. I had immersed myself in a state of self-isolation long before it was ordered for everyone in response to a global pandemic, and finally being able to socialise once more with you all is a prospect I am very much looking forward to!

In regards to the creation of the book itself, there are, of course, many people to whom I need to express huge gratitude. I begin here by thanking Kate Bohdanowicz, for initiating things in the first instance in respect of the book and for always being on hand to help with my many queries.

Aileen Pringle, my delivery contact with Pen and Sword: I cannot thank you enough. You have without fail responded to my incessant emails and endless questions with nothing but kindness and care, and have been an absolute pleasure to deal with. I realise you may not be as willing, but I very much hope to continue working with you lots more in the future, whereby hopefully my quizzing of you will at least become less and less!

I am also hugely grateful to my copy-editor, Michelle Higgs, who has with much patience helped me through the final stages of the book. Your willingness to help and readiness with insightful suggestions wherever possible has been utterly peerless and I am very grateful to you.

There is an endless wealth of wonderful research facilities in this country, many of which have been vital in the writing of this book. To all of the amazingly kind and helpful people in our archives across the land, I am indebted to you all. I must, however, deliver a special mention here for Cheshire Archives and Local Studies, and Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, the staff of which regularly went above and beyond regular duty for me; our documented history lies in safe hands indeed. These thanks I must extend further to The Wellcome Collection, The British Newspaper Archive, The British Library, Newcastle City Library, Northumbria University Library and The National Records of Scotland. Working with you all has been a lovely by-product of this book, and something which I would love to do again. I am grateful for the guidance offered by the coroners of Lancashire and Southampton, and though further afield, but of no less importance, I convey immense thanks to the wonderful Historical and Special Collections Library of the Harvard Law School for their kind assistance.

I offer my sincere gratitude also to Mark Wylie, the curator of Manchester Uniteds museum, and to Amy Mechowski of Londons fabulous Garrick Club, another two whose efforts knew no limits. Livia Scott, Jenny Harrison and Fiona Harwood students of Newcastle Universitys History department thank you for all of your hard work on my behalf; it will always be hugely appreciated.

These words alone do not seem adequate in comparison to what each and every one of you have done for me. Nonetheless, I hope that they do offer some realisation of how important you have all been to me during this adventure I am forever beholden to you all.

In the context of this book, it is perhaps fitting to impart some final words which, to my mind, encapsulates you all perfectly. Upon his deathbed, shortly before his worldly departure, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle whispered to his wife: To me, you are wonderful!

And you lot truly are.

E very effort has been made to contact copyright holders of sources and illustrations in this book. If the publishers are made aware of any oversights, these will be corrected in future editions.

T he almighty taboo of death. A final journey we must all travel, the one aspect of life that truly does not discriminate, its foreboding shackles ultimately gripping us all. Yet still, even in our own enlightened times, its very concept is still something that we very often struggle to embrace. Our ancestors it seems, less so. The witnessing of an executed felon dancing the hangmans jig was viewed as roaring entertainment; the chance to observe the last actions and words of somebody was an intriguing prospect and, as you will see within these pages, was often regarded as unmissable. The idea of attending such an event nowadays seems barely thinkable, but I often wonder how many of us today if offered the chance to attend a bygone spectacle of that wincing nature would, out of the morbid curiosity that seems to dwell within so many of us, follow the crowds and observe the event ourselves? It is an interesting thought and if, incidentally, you are one of these people, some of your curiosities will certainly be satisfied in this book.