If you remember the BBC serial drama, The Monocled Mutineer you’ll doubtless remember Percy’s beleaguered guardians, the Websters. Annie was always being pestered for money, and Frank was always being pestered for his bike. But this is a look at the real Webster family. And it’s not what you’d expect. The tale might even provide…
Supt. James Lock Cox – Orontes or Salonika?
James Lock Cox was the Superintendent of Andover Police who led the investigation into the murder of taxi-driver, Sidney George Spicer at the end of April 1920. Toplis was his only suspect. In 1923, after 32 years of dedicated service, Detective Superintendent Cox retired. Over his career he’d served at Andover, Tidworth Garrison and Boscombe….
Man in Chains- Arthur Henry Wagstaff and the 1919 Revolution
The story of ‘Man in Chains’, Arthur Henry Wagstaff who became a symbol for the plight of demobilized soldiers in Britain.
The Enchanting Secret Behind the Monocled Mutineer
Unhappy is the land that needs a hero. What makes the legend of the Monocled Mutineer such a compelling mystery?
Harry Fallows – Police Statement
Harry Fallows was the only witness who was able to place Toplis at the scene of the Andover murder. Read his 5,000 word Police Statement.
James Cullen – The Scottish Mutineer
The extraordinary story of Etaples Mutineer, James Cullen, who went on to led the Hunger Marches of the 1920s.
The Avengers – London Evening News, Saturday, May 19, 1888
Given the Fenian associates of Ripper suspect Francis Tumblety and the fact that the Whitechapel murders ran parallel with the explosive Parnell Commission, it‘s hard to overlook that news of American and Irish Fenian Avengers in London coincided with Tumblety’s arrival in Britain around June 1888. This sensational article, likely to have been greatly exaggerated,…
Florence Nightingale Shore and the Truth of Her Murder
Toplis may be the most famous suspect in the case, but an unseen interview with Ernest C. Brown reveals another possibility.
Hilda Porter and the Georgian House Mystery (Bury Street, London)
In September 1920, former Colne Valley MP and self-styled Socialist revolutionary Victor Grayson walked out of his plush apartment at the Georgian House in London’s St James’s, never to be seen again. Or at least that’s how the story goes. And we have two people to thank for that: 24-year old hotel manageress, Hilda Seager…
Toplis Victim Spicer Had Killed A Man
Was taxi-driver Sidney Spicer the victim of a revenge killing and not Toplis