Francis Camps
Encyclopedia
Francis Edward Camps, FRCP
, FRCpath
(28 June 1905 – 8 July 1972) was a famous English
pathologist notable for his work on the cases of serial killer
John Christie
and suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams
.
, Middlesex
, the son of Dr Percy William Leopold Camps (1878 - 1956), a general practitioner and surgeon. Camps was educated at Marlborough College
, followed by a medical degree at Guy's Hospital
. He went on to postgraduate studies at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
and the Neuchâtel University, Switzerland.
, and took up the post of pathologist at the Chelmsford and Essex Hospital. He was professor of Forensic Medicine at the London Hospital Medical School since 1963 (Reader 1954-63). President of the International Association of Forensic Scientists, 1963-66. Honorary Consultant to the Army in Forensic Medicine after 1964. He was a Past-President of the British Association and Secretary General, British Academy of Forensic Sciences. Professor Camps was the author of many papers on forensic medicine, and of Practical Forensic Medicine.
He worked on, amongst others, the Dr John Bodkin Adams
case in 1956 where he identified 163 suspicious deaths and was an expert witness
in the trial the following year. However, Adams was acquitted of murder
ing one of his patients, owing to lack of evidence of motive, among other uncertainties.
in 1953, having produced a detailed and comprehensive report on the many bodies found at 10 Rillington Place. The bodies were well preserved and so much relevant information could be gleaned from their condition. His report showed a consistent pattern of attack by Christie, most of the intact victims having been sexually molested and strangled. Beryl and Geraldine Evans had alone been strangled, and their bodies were exhumed
to be re-examined for Christie's trial.
The skeletal remains of Christie's older victims buried in the back garden at Rillington Place (a human thigh bone visibly propped up a small fence) provided less information, although it proved possible to identify the women involved. There could be little doubt that Christie had murdered them all, that Timothy Evans
was innocent, and that he had been wrongly executed, although it took many years to establish the truth of the matter. The forensic and witness evidence pointed to a serious miscarriage of justice
, although it was contested by a series of lawyers and politicians well after the events. However, several authors, such as Ludovic Kennedy
, pointed out the many contradictions and errors in the Crown's case, and the innocence of Evans is now widely accepted, both by public, experts and by the Crown itself. The case was the most prominent of a series of miscarriages which ultimately led to the abolition of capital punishment
for murder in England, Wales and Scotland in 1965.
, accounting for nearly half of all suicide
s in Britain in the 1950s when coal gas
was widely available in many homes until in the 1960s it was progressively replaced by the less toxic natural gas
: the suicide rate in Britain fell by almost a third and has not risen since. His analysis of the problem of identifying the gas in bodies after death was published posthumously in his autobiography
, together with other of his cases such as the Rhyl mummy and the Colchester taxi cab murder. In the same book, he also examined the forensic evidence involving Jack the Ripper
.
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
, FRCpath
Royal College of Pathologists
The Royal College of Pathologists, founded in 1962, was established to co-ordinate this development and maintain the internationally renowned standards and reputation of British pathology. Today the College advises on a vast range of issues relating to pathology...
(28 June 1905 – 8 July 1972) was a famous English
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pathologist notable for his work on the cases of serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
John Christie
John Christie (murderer)
John Reginald Halliday Christie , born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, was a notorious English serial killer active in the 1940s and '50s. He murdered at least eight females – including his wife Ethel – by strangling them in his flat at 10 Rillington Place, Notting Hill, London...
and suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
.
Early life and training
Camps was born in TeddingtonTeddington
Teddington is a suburban area in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London, on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hampton Wick and Twickenham. It stretches inland from the River Thames to Bushy Park...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, the son of Dr Percy William Leopold Camps (1878 - 1956), a general practitioner and surgeon. Camps was educated at Marlborough College
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
, followed by a medical degree at Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital is a large NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in south east London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It is a large teaching hospital and is home to the King's College London School of Medicine...
. He went on to postgraduate studies at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine is a research and teaching institution focused on neglected tropical diseases and the control of diseases caused by poverty. It is a registered charity affiliated to the University of Liverpool...
and the Neuchâtel University, Switzerland.
Career
In 1935, Camps decided to specialize in pathologyPathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
, and took up the post of pathologist at the Chelmsford and Essex Hospital. He was professor of Forensic Medicine at the London Hospital Medical School since 1963 (Reader 1954-63). President of the International Association of Forensic Scientists, 1963-66. Honorary Consultant to the Army in Forensic Medicine after 1964. He was a Past-President of the British Association and Secretary General, British Academy of Forensic Sciences. Professor Camps was the author of many papers on forensic medicine, and of Practical Forensic Medicine.
Medico-legal work
John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
case in 1956 where he identified 163 suspicious deaths and was an expert witness
Expert witness
An expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
in the trial the following year. However, Adams was acquitted of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ing one of his patients, owing to lack of evidence of motive, among other uncertainties.
10 Rillington Place
He gave evidence during the trial of John ChristieJohn Christie (murderer)
John Reginald Halliday Christie , born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, was a notorious English serial killer active in the 1940s and '50s. He murdered at least eight females – including his wife Ethel – by strangling them in his flat at 10 Rillington Place, Notting Hill, London...
in 1953, having produced a detailed and comprehensive report on the many bodies found at 10 Rillington Place. The bodies were well preserved and so much relevant information could be gleaned from their condition. His report showed a consistent pattern of attack by Christie, most of the intact victims having been sexually molested and strangled. Beryl and Geraldine Evans had alone been strangled, and their bodies were exhumed
Exhumed
Exhumed may refer to:*Exhumation*Exhumed , a first-person shooter*Exhumed , a deathgrind band* Exhumed Films, a Philadelphia-based "organization* Exhumed river channel, a ridge of sandstone...
to be re-examined for Christie's trial.
The skeletal remains of Christie's older victims buried in the back garden at Rillington Place (a human thigh bone visibly propped up a small fence) provided less information, although it proved possible to identify the women involved. There could be little doubt that Christie had murdered them all, that Timothy Evans
Timothy Evans
Timothy John Evans was a Welshman accused of murdering his wife and daughter at their residence in Notting Hill, London in November 1949. In January 1950 Evans was tried and convicted of the murder of his daughter, and he was sentenced to death by hanging...
was innocent, and that he had been wrongly executed, although it took many years to establish the truth of the matter. The forensic and witness evidence pointed to a serious miscarriage of justice
Miscarriage of justice
A miscarriage of justice primarily is the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. The term can also apply to errors in the other direction—"errors of impunity", and to civil cases. Most criminal justice systems have some means to overturn, or "quash", a wrongful...
, although it was contested by a series of lawyers and politicians well after the events. However, several authors, such as Ludovic Kennedy
Ludovic Kennedy
Sir Ludovic Henry Coverley Kennedy was a British journalist, broadcaster, humanist and author best known for re-examining cases such as the Lindbergh kidnapping and the murder convictions of Timothy Evans and Derek Bentley, and for his role in the abolition of the death penalty in the United...
, pointed out the many contradictions and errors in the Crown's case, and the innocence of Evans is now widely accepted, both by public, experts and by the Crown itself. The case was the most prominent of a series of miscarriages which ultimately led to the abolition of capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
for murder in England, Wales and Scotland in 1965.
Other cases
He reported on numerous deaths from carbon monoxide poisoningCarbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide . Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect...
, accounting for nearly half of all suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
s in Britain in the 1950s when coal gas
Coal gas
Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made by the destructive distillation of coal containing a variety of calorific gases including hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane and volatile hydrocarbons together with small quantities of non-calorific gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen...
was widely available in many homes until in the 1960s it was progressively replaced by the less toxic natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
: the suicide rate in Britain fell by almost a third and has not risen since. His analysis of the problem of identifying the gas in bodies after death was published posthumously in his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, together with other of his cases such as the Rhyl mummy and the Colchester taxi cab murder. In the same book, he also examined the forensic evidence involving Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
.