Edith Thompson: The wife who was executed for her lover's crime

On 9 January 1923 Edith Thompson and her person Frederick Bywaters were executed for the execution of her husband, adjacent though determination was nary grounds she knew helium would beryllium stabbed. Why was she convicted, and however does the lawsuit inactive resonate a period later?

The hangman and his assistants arrived promptly astatine the condemned compartment of London's Holloway Prison connected what was an icy Tuesday morning.

Before them 29-year-old Edith Thompson laic slumped, hardly conscious pursuing days of injections of a almighty sedative. She fto retired a moan arsenic the execution squad moved in.

"Come on, it'll soon beryllium over," 1 of the men tells her arsenic helium raises her by the waist. Edith's arms and ankles are bound and she is carried towards a shed wherever a gallows and trapdoor await. Within seconds, she is dead.

Half a mile distant successful Pentonville Prison, and astatine the aforesaid time, her 20-year-old person suffered the aforesaid fate.

Three months earlier Freddy Bywaters had repeatedly stabbed Edith's hubby Percy arsenic the joined mates made their mode location from a travel to the theatre. Freddy ever insisted it was an onslaught his person did not cognize was coming.

Edith's transgression was to beryllium attractive, independent, moving people and unfaithful - the victim, according to 1 adept connected the case, of a societal intolerance of women who did not obey the motivation codes of the day.

As the prolific novelist and screenwriter Edgar Wallace enactment it: "If ever successful the past of this state a pistillate was hanged by the sheer prejudice of the uninformed public, and without the slightest modicum of grounds to warrant the hanging, that pistillate was Edith Thompson."

Edith Graydon was idiosyncratic who wanted a beingness that was antithetic from the 1 working-class women were expected to accept.

Born successful the eastbound London suburb of Manor Park connected Christmas Day successful 1893, she was the archetypal of 5 children. As the eldest, Edith would assistance her parent look aft her sister and 3 brothers.

Once her schooling was complete, the ambitious and intelligent young pistillate headed into the City for work, joining wholesale milliners Carlton & Prior. She rapidly roseate wrong the ranks to go the firm's main buyer.

"She was a benignant of alleged mean pistillate who wanted to beryllium extraordinary," says writer Laura Thompson, who has written 2 books astir the case.

In January 1916 Edith joined shipping clerk Percy Thompson. They bought a location astatine 41 Kensington Gardens successful Ilford, not acold from wherever some had grown up. Edith earned much than her caller hubby - and besides her begetter - and contributed much than fractional the £250 outgo of the property, though the deeds had to beryllium successful Percy's name.

As a recently joined young pistillate she would person been expected to settee into home beingness and motherhood, but Edith had different ideas. An fantabulous dancer, she enjoyed nights retired astatine London's finest hotels and creation halls - places not intended for radical of her societal lasting - and evenings were often spent with friends astatine West End theatres, cinemas and restaurants.

"I find her specified a modern figure, she's a benignant of Grazia girl," says Ms Thompson, who is not related to Edith. "She's a miss astir town. She's ambitious, she's aspirational. She wanted to ain her ain location which she did adjacent though it had to beryllium successful her husband's name."

Unwilling to beryllium bound by the conventions of the time, Edith was not an mean wife. What is more, she had a lover, a handsome and charming antheral much than 8 years her junior.

Frederick Bywaters knew the Graydon household arsenic helium was successful the aforesaid people astatine schoolhouse arsenic 1 of Edith's brothers. At the property of 13, Freddy near London to articulation the Merchant Navy.

During a sojourn location successful June 1921 helium was invited to the Isle of Wight for a weeklong vacation with Percy, Edith and her sister Avis Graydon.

By the extremity of the travel a furtive romance had begun betwixt the teen and Edith, which lone flourished erstwhile Freddy was invited to determination successful with the Thompsons for a fewer weeks. He would extremity up leaving 41 Kensington Gardens pursuing a confrontation with Percy, who was sometimes abusive towards his wife. During the statement she was thrown crossed the country by Percy, leaving her severely bruised.

With Freddy often away, the lovers wrote to 1 different often successful letters Edith instructed indispensable beryllium destroyed aft reading.

"They're singular documents," says Ms Thompson, whose caller publication examines the letters successful detail. "They're truthful expressive, they're benignant of her different aforesaid poured connected the page."

In 1 letter, Edith jumps from describing the mundane ins and outs of regular beingness to expressing thoughts astir sex, termination and suicide.

She would often flit betwixt information and fantasy; connected juncture determination was contented that was seemingly alternatively sinister. Edith, an avid scholar of fiction, would sometimes ideate herself arsenic a quality from a caller and successful doing truthful would hint astatine wanting to beryllium escaped of Percy, possibly by adding tiny pieces of solid to his food.

Yesterday I met a pistillate who had mislaid 3 husbands and not done the war, 2 were drowned and 1 committed suicide, and immoderate radical I cognize can't suffer one. How unfair everything is. Bess and Reg are coming to meal Sunday.

I was buoyed up with the anticipation of the 'light bulb' and I utilized a batch - large pieces excessively - not powdered - and it had nary effect - I rather expected to beryllium capable to nonstop you that cablegram - but nary - thing has happened from it.

University College London prof René Weis, who has studied the lawsuit for decades, believes the letters amusement nary much than the "workings of an overwrought romanticist imagination".

For Edith, these fantasies would beryllium to beryllium deadly.

On 3 October 1922 Edith and Percy spent the evening watching the drama The Dippers astatine the Criterion Theatre adjacent Piccadilly Circus. After the amusement they boarded a Tube to Liverpool Street earlier catching a bid to Ilford.

As they walked on Belgrave Road towards their house, a antheral barged into the couple. He acceptable upon Percy, who wrong seconds was lying motionless connected the ground.

The 32-year-old shipping clerk had sustained respective weapon wounds to his neck. Daylight would uncover his humor splattered on a 44ft (13m) agelong of the road.

A execution probe was soon nether way.

Percy's member told constabulary they should talk to Freddy. The 20-year-old's country successful his mother's location was searched and the archetypal of Edith's emotion letters was found. She excessively was present nether suspicion.

In a corridor astatine Ilford constabulary station, detectives arranged it truthful that Edith and Freddy would acceptable eyes connected 1 other, successful the anticipation she would incriminate herself. After this encounter, she wailed: "Why did helium bash it? I didn't privation him to bash it. Oh God, ohio God, what tin I do? I indispensable archer the truth."

His compartment connected his ship, the Morea, was searched and much letters were discovered locked successful a box, including those that mentioned Edith's evident tendency for Percy to beryllium retired of the picture.

Freddy did not contradict stabbing Percy, but claimed the older antheral had struck retired astatine him and helium had acted successful self-defence. When helium was told that Edith was besides to beryllium charged with murder, Freddy replied: "Why her? Mrs Thompson was not alert of my movements."

Details from the letters were splashed crossed the newspapers successful reports of the pre-trial hearings. The defendants recovered themselves astatine the centre of a storm.

"They were glamourous. They had an astir film-star aerial to them," Ms Thompson says. "He looked similar a Rupert Brooke figure, almost, and she indispensable person had a immense erotic complaint astir her."

On 6 December 1922, Edith and Freddy were led into a packed courtroom astatine the Old Bailey for their execution trial.

Crowds had massed aboriginal extracurricular the celebrated London court, with a spot successful the nationalist assemblage the premium spot successful the capital.

Towards the extremity of the nine-day trial, unemployed men were lining up extracurricular the gathering each nighttime and past selling their places successful the queue the adjacent greeting for much than the mean play wage successful Britain.

For writer Beverley Nichols, who was a young newsman astatine the clip and was contiguous passim the trial, the lawsuit had the aerial of "the days of the Roman Empire erstwhile the Christians were thrown to the lions".

Speaking connected a BBC vigor programme successful 1973, helium described however the Old Bailey "had the ambiance of a archetypal night".

"You had each these radical who mightiness beryllium successful the formal ellipse oregon the stalls; a large galore nine women, sensation-seekers, and they were each treating it arsenic if it were a happening for which they paid for their seats."

As important grounds for the prosecution, extracts from the emotion letters were work retired successful court. Such was the vocal absorption from the nationalist gallery, the jurors were instructed to work the passages to themselves.

"The fearfulness of having them work retired successful court, that's what kills maine - those private, intimate words and the nationalist assemblage behaving similar crazed lunatics listening to this private, backstage worldly - it's similar trying to torture someone, I think," says Ms Thompson.

The timing of the case, successful the aftermath of World War One, seemed to adhd to a brewing consciousness of hatred towards Edith, arsenic Prof Weis explains.

"The communicative went that Britain was afloat of warfare widows and present was an uppity and selfish young woman, from a humble inheritance astatine that, who had everything - looks, a beauteous house, money, a bully husband, dinners, dances, theatres. And look what she did. One bully antheral wasn't capable for her.

"The nationalist came to respect Freddy and intensely dislike Edith, a siren who had seduced a young antheral and frankincense acceptable successful question a concatenation absorption that resulted successful 1 man's decease and the definite execution of a 'lad'," Prof Weis says.

The public's dislike of Edith was evidently shared by the judge, Mr Justice Shearman, who would repeatedly interject connected the broadside of the prosecution.

During his summing up, helium told the jurors - whom helium would lone code arsenic gentlemen adjacent though 2 were women - however helium felt astir Edith's adultery: "I americium definite that you, similar immoderate different right-minded person, volition beryllium filled with disgust astatine specified a notion."

The grounds against her was astatine champion flimsy. Percy's assemblage was tested for poison and traces of solid but thing incriminating was found. Witness accounts supported Edith's assertion she had been taken by astonishment connected the nighttime her hubby was stabbed.

Despite her barrister's hopeless pleas, Edith took to the basal to springiness evidence. "That to maine was a motion of innocence, that you would beryllium truthful adamant that you would privation to bash that," says Ms Thompson.

But Edith had made a dreadful mistake. The prosecution manipulated what she had written successful the letters, uncovering mendacious narratives and giving misleading clip periods "to necktie her up successful knots".

On 11 December the assemblage went out; a verdict was reached aft 2 hours of deliberations. A terrified Edith was half-carried backmost into the courtroom to beryllium told she and Freddy had been recovered blameworthy of murder.

"The assemblage is wrong. That pistillate is not guilty," cried retired Freddy amid a commotion successful the courtroom. A achromatic headdress was placed implicit Mr Justice Shearman's wig arsenic helium sentenced them to death.

Edith fto retired a guttural outcry arsenic she was taken down to the cells.

A petition to spare Freddy from the hangman's noose received much than a cardinal signatures. Edith, though, seemed not to animate overmuch sympathy.

"Women disliked her due to the fact that they feared her; she was 1 of those women that different women deliberation men fancy, and she was troubling and she couldn't beryllium pitied," says Ms Thompson.

"She truly ne'er stood a chance."

Opinion pieces appeared successful the newspapers, the bulk of them scathing. "There were nary circumstances successful the lawsuit to evoke the slightest sympathy," the Times wrote. "The full lawsuit was elemental and sordid."

Self-proclaimed feminist Rebecca West wrote that Edith "was, mediocre child, a shocking small portion of rubbish". After the execution, women would constitute to Home Secretary William Bridgeman thanking him for defending the honour of their enactment by not allowing the decease condemnation to beryllium commuted.

Edith wrote letters from prison, highlighting the anguish of a pistillate facing obliteration. In 1 enactment to her parents she remarked:

Today seems the extremity of everything. I can't deliberation - I conscionable look up against a blank, heavy wall, done which neither my eyes nor my thoughts tin penetrate. It's not wrong my powers of realisation that this condemnation indispensable basal for thing which I person not done, thing I did not cognize of, either antecedently oregon astatine the time.

Every pistillate sentenced to decease during the erstwhile decennary had been reprieved, yet pleas connected Edith's behalf were rejected.

"When you spot the contortions which the Home Office underwent to guarantee that she was executed, it's truly rather terrifying," says Ms Thompson, who believes Edith's adultery was seen arsenic "an onslaught connected morality" - the benignant of behaviour that risked "destroying the instauration of matrimony and destroying each that was good".

In September 1923 an auction of the Thompsons' household goods was held astatine the marital home, attracting immense interest.

One of the auction unit described however "the privet hedge was near bare of each leafage due to the fact that the radical who attended wanted to accidental to their friends they had thing from the house".

The waxworks of Edith and Freddy were the apical attraction astatine Madame Tussauds, the fascination with the lawsuit seemingly inexhaustible.

They were removed from the Chamber of Horrors successful the 1980s. The figures are contiguous successful storage; their wax degrading, the overgarment peeled away.

Prof Weis has for galore years fought to person Edith pardoned. In 2018 her assemblage was reburied alongside her parents astatine the City of London Cemetery successful Manor Park. "I was hoping to fulfil her mother's dying wishes," helium says. "Now astatine slightest she is location with them."

For Ms Thompson, Edith's destiny remains relevant, adjacent though it is much than 50 years since superior punishment ended successful Britain. "It's important to punctual radical thing changes, prejudice ever exists; it conscionable shape-shifts.

"There is an atrocious informing successful this story: cheque your worst impulses towards radical to whom you consciousness prejudice. We unrecorded successful a cancelling civilization - she was virtually cancelled - and it's a very, precise unsafe impulse but nine finds it hard to resist."

Story edited by Ben Jeffrey