Brighton Crime and Vice, 1800-2000

Brighton Crime and Vice, 1800-2000
Author: Douglas D'Enno
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2007-01-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1845630300

Brighton has a dark side - it has a well-deserved reputation as a hotbed of crime. Robbery, violence, murder and every type of vice have flourished in this seaside town. In this book, Douglas d'Enno records, in graphic detail, two centuries of this criminal history in all its shocking variety.

The Brighton Police Scandal

The Brighton Police Scandal
Author: Dick Kirby
Publisher: Pen and Sword True Crime
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2021-12-30
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 1399017292

“A welcome, detailed account of the background to the prosecution of Brighton police officers around 1957 and their Chief Constable.” —History by the Yard In the late 1950s the reputation of Brighton as a popular seaside resort took a sinister and notorious turn. After a series of drunken disturbances, suspicions were raised that the owner of the Astor Club, which became known globally as “The Bucket of Blood,” was bribing members of the town’s CID to ignore licensing hours. The situation escalated to the point where Scotland Yard’s Flying Squad was called in. Their investigation soon revealed that these bribes were the tip of a police corruption iceberg. Criminality among crooked cops had been going on for years. Provided money was paid, charges were dropped, previous convictions overlooked and evidence disappeared. Others were “fitted up” unless they paid up. Police were party to burglaries, assisting in the “fencing” of stolen property and protection payments from bookmakers, clubs and bars. During the scandal filled trial of the Chief Constable and CID ringleaders there was perjury, violent witness intimidation with one having his premises burnt to the ground. All this and more is described in this meticulously researched account of one of Britain’s most publicized police corruption scandals written with insider knowledge. “Another excellent book from an established writer on the history of police and crime . . . He does not pull any punches in considering what is good and not good policing.” —The Law Society Gazette

Brighton at War 1939–45

Brighton at War 1939–45
Author: Douglas d’Enno
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
Total Pages: 409
Release: 2021-11-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 1473885957

Long before war was declared on 3 September 1939, Brighton had steadily and carefully prepared for the coming conflict by building shelters, organising defence and rescue services, and providing the population with advice of its own or from government sources. These precautions stood the town in good stead when the first bombs fell on it in mid-1940 and during the many subsequent attacks. The resort did not, admittedly, suffer as grievously as some others on the South Coast, yet civilian casualties totalled nearly 1,000, of whom over 200 were killed, 357 were seriously injured and 433 slightly injured. This is not the first book to reveal the toll of the bombs locally, but it is the first to describe, in parallel, day-to-day events and societal responses during the nearly six years of conflict. As elsewhere, restrictions often made life arduous for residents. Yet despite the hardship, the town’s citizens even marshalled sufficient resources to ‘adopt’ two battleships and generously saved towards assisting with other wartime causes, such as help to our ally, Russia. The hospitality trade and resort-related services suffered greatly during the periods when the defence ban on entering the town was enforced. In many respects, however, life went on largely as before, particularly in the spheres of entertainment, leisure and some sports. Douglas d’Enno, an authority on the history of Brighton and environs, shows in meticulous detail, in absorbing text and numerous pictures, how life in wartime Brighton was a struggle for many, but never dull.

Brighton in the Great War

Brighton in the Great War
Author: Douglas d'Enno
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 299
Release: 2016-01-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1473865867

Although the impact of the Great War on Brighton was profound, the seaside town was spared any direct attack by the enemy. The fear of spies and sabotage, however, was widespread at first and aliens were an issue which had to be swiftly resolved under new legislation. Allies, of course, were warmly welcomed, and accommodation was soon provided for those fleeing the catastrophic events in Belgium. Between 1914 and 1918, Brighton made major contributions to the war effort in many ways: by responding readily to the call to arms, by caring for great numbers of wounded (the story of the exotic Royal Pavilion being used as a hospital for Indian casualties is widely known locally) and by simply being itself an oPen & welcoming resort that offered sanctuary, respite and entertainment to besieged Londoners and to other visitors, from every stratum of society.

Criminal Women

Criminal Women
Author: John J. Eddleston
Publisher: Wharncliffe
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2010-06-15
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1844683281

Shocking portraits of women who have committed capital crimes in England’s capital city—from the author of Jack the Ripper: An Encyclopedia. Women have sometimes been seen as less criminally inclined than men. But, as John J. Eddleston shows in this revealing anthology of female crimes in London, this image is hard to mesh with reality, for the city’s history is crowded with cases of women who broke the law. In vivid detail, he reconstructs a series of dramatic, often harrowing, cases in which women were involved and puts their acts in the context of their times. Taking episodes from the eighteenth century to near the present day, he looks at criminal women of all types, from all walks of life. The work of the London police, the courts, and the prisons is an essential element in his study, and each chapter reveals much about how attitudes toward crime and punishment have changed over the centuries. Fascinating portraits of these criminal women as individuals emerge from their stories; their cases come to life—as does the London in which they lived. They include Catherine Hayes, who was burnt alive for murdering her husband; three women hanged on the same day for highway robbery; two women executed for rioting; Anne Hurle and Charlotte Newman, who were both hanged for forgery; Florence Bravo, who was sensationally acquitted of murder; and, perhaps most famous of all, Ruth Ellis, whose execution in 1955 provoked an outcry against capital punishment.

Unsolved Murders in South Yorkshire

Unsolved Murders in South Yorkshire
Author: Scott Lomax
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 119
Release: 2013-05-02
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 1473822432

Whilst the passage of time can and has uncovered many secrets, killers could get away with their crimes in 1596 when Shakespeare penned these words and this is certainly the case in more recent times as Unsolved Murders in South Yorkshire clearly demonstrate.The early chapters include cases of historic interest where killers certainly went to the grave in the knowledge they had got away with murder. Cases include suspicious deaths which left detectives in South Yorkshire baffled, but which were, it would seem, acts of callous murder which were not recognised as such due to dubious police opinions and practices. There are also cases of clear murder such as a man shot in the head during the Victorian period, whose killer was never identified.The later chapters, however, feature more recent cold cases where there is still the possibility that the wicked men or women who were responsible for such acts of inhumanity may remain within our society.Cases include a man murdered for less than 70 in a city centre multi storey car park, a teenage girl abducted, sexually assaulted and left dead on a dung hill, a young mother who entered prostitution and died at the hands of a man with more than sex on his mind, a pregnant woman who left home one day to go shopping but was found days later dead in a ditch with her throat cut and a disabled woman who was strangled in her home which was then set ablaze.For some of these cases there is the chance that someone has information which, despite the passage of decades, could lead to one or more individuals standing trial for murder. Justice can still prevail.

Deadly Derbyshire

Deadly Derbyshire
Author: Scott Lomax
Publisher: Grub Street Publishers
Total Pages: 139
Release: 2012-09-20
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 1844687007

A collection of historical British true crime stories, with illustrations included. From the murder of Hannah Hewitt in 1732 to John Cotton’s killing in 1898, Deadly Derbyshire gathers dramatic, atmospheric true tales of murder and manslaughter in this county in England’s East Midlands. Read about the “fiery” circumstances of the death of John McMorrow; a farm tragedy at Stoney Houghton; and killings for pittances such as three eggs and a sixpence. You’ll also discover stories of unprovoked and wicked deeds and numerous suspicious deaths. Based on extensive research of newspaper archives, uncovering a large number of cases never previously explored, this compendium examines the darker side of this historical port city.

Murder and Mayhem in North London

Murder and Mayhem in North London
Author: Geoffrey Howse
Publisher: Wharncliffe
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2010-05-19
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 1845630998

Geoffrey Howse delves into the his crime files covering 200 years of the area's darkest past. Events covered include long forgotten cases that made the headlines in their day as well as others more famous: Britain's first railway murder, the first criminal to be caught via wireless telegraphy and the anarchists who left a trail of murder and mayhem following a raid on a Tottenham factory. There are many other cases to appeal to anyone with an interest in the local and social history of North London.

DNA Crime Investigations

DNA Crime Investigations
Author: Stephen Wade
Publisher: Grub Street Publishers
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2012-09-20
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 1844688143

A crime historian explores groundbreaking cold-case investigations, the advent of DNA evidence, and its role in long-delayed convictions and exonerations. When geneticist, Professor Alec Jeffreys worked with Leicestershire police on the 1986 case against Colin Pitchfork—the first person convicted of murder based on DNA evidence—a revolution started in the application of forensic expertise. Since then there have been several major cases in which long-standing murders and rapes have been revisited by teams of cold case detectives. Armed with DNA sampling, they have changed the landscape of criminal investigation, as well as the fates of those who thought they could get away with murder, and those who were wrongly convicted. From initial and intensive DNA lab work to the final serving of justice, true crime historian Stephen Wade examines some of the most high-profile cases of recent years: the controversial suspect in the murder of Rachel Nickell in London; the unsolved slayings of schoolchildren Keith Lyon and Lesley Molseed; the notorious World’s End pub killings; the erroneous charges against the “Cardiff Three”; the fate of Sean Hodgson, subject of one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in English history; and many more.

Serial Killers: Butchers & Cannibals

Serial Killers: Butchers & Cannibals
Author: Nigel Blundell
Publisher: Grub Street Publishers
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2011-02-23
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 1848847378

The body snatcher who inspired Psycho, the noblewoman known as Countess Dracula, Jack the Ripper, and other killers for whom murder was just the beginning. From Gilles de Rais’ castle in fifteenth-century France to “the Bloody Benders’” eighteenth-century Kansas farm to Jeffrey Dahmer’s quiet apartment in twentieth-century Milwaukee, history is littered with serial murderers whose first impulse was to take a life. For some, it was never enough. The real thrill came after their victims were dead. In this shocking anthology, true crime journalist Nigel Blundell brings together more than two dozen chilling profiles of the world’s most unforgettable fiends, including: Ed Gein, the Plainfield necrophile and inspiration for The Silence of the Lambs; Andrei Chikatilo, the “Rostov Ripper”, whose uncontrollable hunger was satiated by more that fifty victims; Dennis Nilsen, whose London house of horrors so overflowed with body parts that they blocked the drains; Germany’s Fritz Haarmann who killed and consumed more than two dozen men, then peddled the left-over meat on the black market; Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory whose lust for the blood of virgins—a body count estimated to be in the hundreds—has branded her the most prolific female serial killer in world history; and many more human monsters whose appetites are still the stuff of nightmares.