Hampshire Murders by Nicola Sly

Author:Nicola Sly
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780752483818
Publisher: The History Press
Published: 2012-02-17T16:00:00+00:00

Wellington Street, Aldershot, 1920s. (Author’s collection)

No details about the nature of the ‘fresh information’ were published in the newspapers of the day, but is has since emerged that, just two days before Dearnley was due to die, the governor of Winchester Prison intercepted a letter that he had written to his girlfriend and was so perturbed by the tone and contents of the letter that he immediately contacted the Home Office to ask for a stay of execution pending further investigations.

It appears that the death of James Ellis was not due to murder, but the result of a tragic accident that had happened in the course of a bizarre homosexual ritual enacted between the two men. It is alleged that Spilsbury, who was known for his homophobia, suspected the truth but kept quiet about his suspicions, believing that Dearnley was no more than a pervert who deserved to be executed for his sexuality. In 1923, homosexuality was a criminal offence and was simply not tolerated in the Armed Forces

In hindsight, this theory seems to offer a perfectly rational explanation for the tragic death of Drummer Ellis. It is easy to speculate that Ellis was on the verge of revealing the true nature of his relationship with Dearnley to Hilda Storey when he barged between her and her fiancé outside the dance hall only a month before his death and was hurriedly silenced by Dearnley placing his hand over his mouth. It also explains why two friends out for a drink on a summer evening would take with them an 18ft length of rope.

The true circumstances of Drummer Ellis’s death will now never be known, but, speculation apart, the information received by the Home Secretary shortly before Dearnley’s scheduled execution was such that he immediately commuted Dearnley’s death sentence to one of penal servitude for life.

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