Harry Allen
Encyclopedia
Harry Bernard Allen was one of the United Kingdom's last official executioners, officiating between 1941 and 1964. He was chief executioner at 29 executions and acted as assistant executioner at 53 others at prisons in London, Manchester and Leeds. He was for 14 years an assistant executioner, mostly to Albert Pierrepoint
from 1941 to 1955. In October 1955 he was appointed a Chief Executioner alongside Pierrepoint, although did not execute anyone as a 'Number One' until July 1957. Pierrepoint had resigned in February 1956. Allen's most controversial hanging came in April 1962, when James Hanratty
was hanged
for murder, despite efforts to clear his name. Allen also assisted in the execution of Derek Bentley
in 1953, and he performed one of the last two executions in the UK, in 1964.
, near Conisbrough
in the West Riding of Yorkshire
on 5 November 1911, Allen was brought up in Ashton-under-Lyne
, Lancashire
, and was educated at St Anne's Roman Catholic School in Burlington Street, Ashton. His first job was in the Transport Department at Park Bridge Iron Works, before he became a bus driver
with Ashton Corporation, a job he continued to hold after he became an assistant hangman in 1941.
in the 1930s but was turned down. He successfully applied to be put on the Home Office list of executioners and was often employed as an assistant executioner to Tom Pierrepoint, the uncle of Albert Pierrepoint. As a preliminary step, he witnessed his first execution at the age of 29 on 26 November 1940 at Bedford prison
, describing it as a "very good, clean job, not as gruesome as I expected".
Allen became a publican
in Farnworth
, Lancashire in the 1940s, combining his role as executioner with running the pub, which he ran until the early 1950s when he took over another pub, the Junction Inn, on Higher Lane in Whitefield
.
In 1945, five Nazi prisoners of war
were hanged for murdering a fellow German soldier who had betrayed their escape plan. It seems to have been a crime and ultimate execution that made the deepest impression on Allen. He wrote, "It was a foul murder. They staged a mock trial, kicking the victim to death and dragging him by the neck to the toilet where they hung his lifeless body on a waste pipe. These five prisoners are the most callous men I have ever met so far but I blame the Nazi doctrine for that. It must be a terrible creed." A 21-year-old, Erich Koening, was the first of the soldiers to be hanged at Pentonville Prison, swearing allegiance at the last to Nazi Germany
.
On 28 January 1953 Allen assisted at the controversial execution of Derek Bentley, who was hanged for a murder committed by a friend and accomplice during an attempted robbery, and for which Bentley received a posthumous pardon 45 years later. Contrary to some accounts Allen was not present at the execution of Ruth Ellis
, the last woman to be hanged in the UK, in 1955. The assistant to Albert Pierrepoint on that occasion was Royston Rickard.
Following the resignation of Albert Pierrepoint and the death of Stephen Wade in 1956, Allen and Robert Leslie Stewart
jointly became Chief Executioners. However, the Homicide Act 1957
reduced the number of condemned criminals by 75%, from an average of fifteen a year in the early 1950s to about four a year in the late 1950s. As Chief Executioner, on 11 July 1958 he hanged United States-born Scottish serial killer
, Peter Manuel
at Barlinnie prison, Glasgow
. On the same day, Allen's first wife Marjorie left him. He also hanged Guenther Podola
on 5 November 1959, a German
-born petty thief, and the last man to be hanged in the UK for killing a police officer.
His most controversial case was that of James Hanratty
, hanged on 4 April 1962 at Bedford prison for the "A6 murder" case. Efforts to clear Hanratty's name continued until 2001, when DNA
testing matched Hanratty to the crime scene.
Allen performed the last execution in Northern Ireland in December 1961, when he hanged Robert McGladdery
at Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast
. He also performed the last hanging in Scotland, when Henry Burnett
was hanged at Craiginches Prison in Aberdeen
, on 15 August 1963 for the murder of Thomas Guyan, and hanged Russell Pascoe
– one of the third-last prisoners to be hanged in a British prison – at Bristol's Horfield Prison on 17 December in the same year. He also performed one of the two final executions in the UK, when at 8am on 13 August 1964 Gwynne Owen Evans was hanged at Strangeways Prison
in Manchester for the murder of John Alan West
. This occurred simultaneously with the execution of Evans' accomplice Peter Anthony Allen, who was hanged at Walton Gaol
in Liverpool
by Robert Leslie Stewart
.
Allen always wore a bow tie
during executions as a sign of respect. Of his job, Allen said, "I never felt a moment's remorse and always slept peacefully on the nights before and after a hanging".
, Cheshire
on behalf of his widow in November 2008 for £17,200.
Allen always publicly maintained that hanging was a "swift and humane business". In his diaries he revealed that the execution of one prisoner, Peter Griffiths, who was convicted at Lancaster assizes
of murdering a three year old child, June Anne Devaney, in the grounds of Queens Park Hospital
in Blackburn on 15 May 1948, took 30 seconds, which would have been the time from Allen's entering the condemned cell to the moment of the drop. Many other executions were faster than this, but death itself was always practically instant. Griffiths was 22 years old, 5 feet 10" tall, weighed 148 lbs, and was given a drop of 7 feet 6 inches on 15 November 1948 at Walton gaol. Of another hanging he noted, "Very good job, but should have had another two or three inches – very strong."
Several sources state that his son Brian assisted at a few executions, resigning in the early 1960s at the request of his girlfriend and training to be a mental health nurse.
His granddaughter, Fiona Allen
, is a comedienne
and actress, who rose to fame on the comedy sketch show Smack the Pony
. She said of him, "It’s as if I had two grandfathers. One was the sweet, lovely man who took me for walks on the beach, bought me sweets and toys and always had me laughing and giggling. The other one was the man employed to take lives for the Government. When I was a kid, everyone in the area knew what he did. I remember going round to my first boyfriend’s house for the first time and I tried to impress his dad by telling him I wanted to go on the stage. He looked up from his paper and said, 'Going on the stage are you, lass? Well keep away from the trapdoor!.
for murder was suspended, before finally being abolished in 1969. Although the death penalty remained for other crimes such as treason
and piracy with violence
, no further executions took place in the UK, although a working gallows was kept in service and regularly tested at Wandsworth Prison until 1998. It was dismantled following the final abolition of the death penalty by the new Labour Government as a requirement of the UK adopting the European Charter of Human Rights.
Allen moved to Fleetwood
with his second wife Doris in 1977, to escape the continued publicity, and worked there as a cashier at Fleetwood Pier
. He died on 14 August 1992, just a month after Albert Pierrepoint, who had died on 10 July in Southport
.
Albert Pierrepoint
Albert Pierrepoint is the most famous member of the family which provided three of the United Kingdom's official hangmen in the first half of the 20th century...
from 1941 to 1955. In October 1955 he was appointed a Chief Executioner alongside Pierrepoint, although did not execute anyone as a 'Number One' until July 1957. Pierrepoint had resigned in February 1956. Allen's most controversial hanging came in April 1962, when James Hanratty
James Hanratty
James Hanratty , a petty criminal with no history of violence, was the eighth-to-last person in the United Kingdom to be hanged after being convicted of the murder of Michael Gregsten at Deadman's Hill on the A6, near the village of Clophill, Bedfordshire, England, on 23 August 1961...
was hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
for murder, despite efforts to clear his name. Allen also assisted in the execution of Derek Bentley
Derek Bentley
Derek William Bentley was a British teenager hanged for the murder of a police officer, committed in the course of a burglary attempt. The murder of the police officer was committed by a friend and accomplice of Bentley's, Christopher Craig, then aged 16. Bentley was convicted as a party to the...
in 1953, and he performed one of the last two executions in the UK, in 1964.
Background
Born in Denaby MainDenaby Main Colliery Village
Denaby Main is a village situated between Mexborough and Conisbrough in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It was built by the Denaby Main Colliery Company to house its workers and their families, and originally given the name Denaby Main Colliery Village, to...
, near Conisbrough
Conisbrough
Conisbrough is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is located roughly midway between Doncaster and Rotherham, and is built alongside the River Don at...
in the West Riding of Yorkshire
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
on 5 November 1911, Allen was brought up in Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, and was educated at St Anne's Roman Catholic School in Burlington Street, Ashton. His first job was in the Transport Department at Park Bridge Iron Works, before he became a bus driver
Bus driver
A bus driver, bus operator or omnibus driver is a person who drives buses professionally. Bus drivers typically drive their vehicles between bus stations or stops. They often drop off and pick up passengers on a predetermined route schedule. In British English a different term, coach drivers, is...
with Ashton Corporation, a job he continued to hold after he became an assistant hangman in 1941.
Career as an executioner
Allen applied for a job in the Prison ServiceHer Majesty's Prison Service
Her Majesty's Prison Service is a part of the National Offender Management Service of the Government of the United Kingdom tasked with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales...
in the 1930s but was turned down. He successfully applied to be put on the Home Office list of executioners and was often employed as an assistant executioner to Tom Pierrepoint, the uncle of Albert Pierrepoint. As a preliminary step, he witnessed his first execution at the age of 29 on 26 November 1940 at Bedford prison
Bedford (HM Prison)
HMP Bedford is a Category B men's prison, located in the Harpur area of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
, describing it as a "very good, clean job, not as gruesome as I expected".
Allen became a publican
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in Farnworth
Farnworth
Farnworth is within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is located southeast of Bolton, 6 miles south-west of Bury , and northwest of Manchester....
, Lancashire in the 1940s, combining his role as executioner with running the pub, which he ran until the early 1950s when he took over another pub, the Junction Inn, on Higher Lane in Whitefield
Whitefield, Greater Manchester
Whitefield is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground in the Irwell Valley, along the south bank of the River Irwell, south-southeast of Bury, and to the north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
.
In 1945, five Nazi prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
were hanged for murdering a fellow German soldier who had betrayed their escape plan. It seems to have been a crime and ultimate execution that made the deepest impression on Allen. He wrote, "It was a foul murder. They staged a mock trial, kicking the victim to death and dragging him by the neck to the toilet where they hung his lifeless body on a waste pipe. These five prisoners are the most callous men I have ever met so far but I blame the Nazi doctrine for that. It must be a terrible creed." A 21-year-old, Erich Koening, was the first of the soldiers to be hanged at Pentonville Prison, swearing allegiance at the last to Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
On 28 January 1953 Allen assisted at the controversial execution of Derek Bentley, who was hanged for a murder committed by a friend and accomplice during an attempted robbery, and for which Bentley received a posthumous pardon 45 years later. Contrary to some accounts Allen was not present at the execution of Ruth Ellis
Ruth Ellis
Ruth Ellis , née Neilson, was the last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom. She was convicted of the murder of her lover, David Blakely, and hanged at Holloway Prison, London, by Albert Pierrepoint.-Biography:...
, the last woman to be hanged in the UK, in 1955. The assistant to Albert Pierrepoint on that occasion was Royston Rickard.
Following the resignation of Albert Pierrepoint and the death of Stephen Wade in 1956, Allen and Robert Leslie Stewart
Robert Leslie Stewart
Robert Leslie Stewart , from Edinburgh, Scotland, also known as Jock Stewart, was one of the last executioners in the United Kingdom, officiating between 1950 and 1964....
jointly became Chief Executioners. However, the Homicide Act 1957
Homicide Act 1957
The Homicide Act 1957 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was enacted as a partial reform of the common law offence of murder in English law by abolishing the doctrine of constructive malice , reforming the partial defence of provocation, and by introducing the partial defences...
reduced the number of condemned criminals by 75%, from an average of fifteen a year in the early 1950s to about four a year in the late 1950s. As Chief Executioner, on 11 July 1958 he hanged United States-born Scottish 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...
, Peter Manuel
Peter Manuel
Peter Thomas Anthony Manuel was a United States-born Scottish serial killer who is known to have murdered nine people across Lanarkshire and southern Scotland between 1956 and his arrest in January 1958, although he is suspected of having killed as many as eighteen...
at Barlinnie prison, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. On the same day, Allen's first wife Marjorie left him. He also hanged Guenther Podola
Guenther Podola
Guenther Fritz Erwin Podola was a German-born petty thief, and the last man to be hanged in Britain for killing a police officer. His trial was notable and controversial because of his defence of amnesia and the use of expert witnesses to determine whether his illness was real.-Life:Podola was...
on 5 November 1959, a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born petty thief, and the last man to be hanged in the UK for killing a police officer.
His most controversial case was that of James Hanratty
James Hanratty
James Hanratty , a petty criminal with no history of violence, was the eighth-to-last person in the United Kingdom to be hanged after being convicted of the murder of Michael Gregsten at Deadman's Hill on the A6, near the village of Clophill, Bedfordshire, England, on 23 August 1961...
, hanged on 4 April 1962 at Bedford prison for the "A6 murder" case. Efforts to clear Hanratty's name continued until 2001, when DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
testing matched Hanratty to the crime scene.
Allen performed the last execution in Northern Ireland in December 1961, when he hanged Robert McGladdery
Robert McGladdery
Robert Andrew McGladdery was the last person to be executed in Northern Ireland.He battered, strangled and stabbed Pearl Gamble, aged 19, on 28 January 1961 and left her body at Upper Damolly, near Newry, County Down....
at Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. He also performed the last hanging in Scotland, when Henry Burnett
Henry John Burnett
Henry John Burnett was the last man to be hanged in Scotland and the first in Aberdeen since 1891. He was tried at the high court in Aberdeen between 23 and 25 July 1963 for the murder of merchant seaman Thomas Guyan...
was hanged at Craiginches Prison in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, on 15 August 1963 for the murder of Thomas Guyan, and hanged Russell Pascoe
Russell Pascoe
Russell Pascoe was—along with his 22-year-old accomplice Dennis Whitty—the third-last prisoner to be executed by hanging in a British prison. He was 23....
– one of the third-last prisoners to be hanged in a British prison – at Bristol's Horfield Prison on 17 December in the same year. He also performed one of the two final executions in the UK, when at 8am on 13 August 1964 Gwynne Owen Evans was hanged at Strangeways Prison
Manchester (HM Prison)
HM Prison Manchester is a high-security male prison situated in Manchester, England operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service. It is a local Prison, holding prisoners remanded into custody from the courts in the Manchester area as well as a number of Category A prisoners.HM Prison Manchester was...
in Manchester for the murder of John Alan West
John Alan West
John Alan West was a 53-year-old laundry van driver from Seaton, Cumberland, England, murdered by two men on 7 April 1964. His murder led to the executions of Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans — the last executions in the United Kingdom.-Crime and arrest:John West, who lived alone, had returned to...
. This occurred simultaneously with the execution of Evans' accomplice Peter Anthony Allen, who was hanged at Walton Gaol
Liverpool (HM Prison)
HM Prison Liverpool is a categoryB/C local men's prison, located in the Walton area of Liverpool in England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
by Robert Leslie Stewart
Robert Leslie Stewart
Robert Leslie Stewart , from Edinburgh, Scotland, also known as Jock Stewart, was one of the last executioners in the United Kingdom, officiating between 1950 and 1964....
.
Allen always wore a bow tie
Bow tie
The bow tie is a type of men's necktie. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar in a symmetrical manner such that the two opposite ends form loops. Ready-tied bow ties are available, in which the distinctive bow is sewn into shape and the band around the neck incorporates a clip....
during executions as a sign of respect. Of his job, Allen said, "I never felt a moment's remorse and always slept peacefully on the nights before and after a hanging".
Personal life and diaries
Allen's first wife was Marjorie Clayton whom he married in 1933. She left him in 1958 and he later married Doris Dyke in 1963. In September 2008 a new book, Harry Allen: Britain's Last Hangman, about the man and his executions was published. In October 2008 it was revealed that Allen had kept a diary which included a precise log of the prisoners and how they died. He recorded each prisoner's age, weight, height and calculations for the length of rope needed to hang them. The diary and other belongings were sold at auction in KnutsfordKnutsford
Knutsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in North West England...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
on behalf of his widow in November 2008 for £17,200.
Allen always publicly maintained that hanging was a "swift and humane business". In his diaries he revealed that the execution of one prisoner, Peter Griffiths, who was convicted at Lancaster assizes
Lancaster Castle
Lancaster Castle is a medieval castle located in Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire. Its early history is unclear, but may have been founded in the 11th century on the site of a Roman fort overlooking a crossing of the River Lune. In 1164, the Honour of Lancaster, including the...
of murdering a three year old child, June Anne Devaney, in the grounds of Queens Park Hospital
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust is an NHS hospital trust in Lancashire, England, part of the NHS North West strategic health authority. It was formed in 2003 as the result of a locally controversial, cost saving merger of Blackburn Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust and Burnley Health Care...
in Blackburn on 15 May 1948, took 30 seconds, which would have been the time from Allen's entering the condemned cell to the moment of the drop. Many other executions were faster than this, but death itself was always practically instant. Griffiths was 22 years old, 5 feet 10" tall, weighed 148 lbs, and was given a drop of 7 feet 6 inches on 15 November 1948 at Walton gaol. Of another hanging he noted, "Very good job, but should have had another two or three inches – very strong."
Several sources state that his son Brian assisted at a few executions, resigning in the early 1960s at the request of his girlfriend and training to be a mental health nurse.
His granddaughter, Fiona Allen
Fiona Allen
Fiona Allen is an English comedienne and actress.-Career:Allen has appeared in many sketch shows, including Smack the Pony, Goodness Gracious Me and The All Star Comedy Show...
, is a comedienne
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and actress, who rose to fame on the comedy sketch show Smack the Pony
Smack the Pony
Smack the Pony is a British sketch comedy show that ran from 1999 until 2003 on Channel 4. Its title was intended to sound like a euphemism for female masturbation; the working title was Spot the Pony. The main performers and writers on the show were Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips...
. She said of him, "It’s as if I had two grandfathers. One was the sweet, lovely man who took me for walks on the beach, bought me sweets and toys and always had me laughing and giggling. The other one was the man employed to take lives for the Government. When I was a kid, everyone in the area knew what he did. I remember going round to my first boyfriend’s house for the first time and I tried to impress his dad by telling him I wanted to go on the stage. He looked up from his paper and said, 'Going on the stage are you, lass? Well keep away from the trapdoor!.
Later life
Under the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965, capital punishment in the UKCapital punishment in the United Kingdom
Capital punishment in the United Kingdom was used from the creation of the state in 1707 until the practice was abolished in the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom, by hanging, took place in 1964, prior to capital punishment being abolished for murder...
for murder was suspended, before finally being abolished in 1969. Although the death penalty remained for other crimes such as treason
High treason in the United Kingdom
Under the law of the United Kingdom, high treason is the crime of disloyalty to the Crown. Offences constituting high treason include plotting the murder of the sovereign; having sexual intercourse with the sovereign's consort, with his eldest unmarried daughter, or with the wife of the heir to the...
and piracy with violence
Piracy Act 1837
The Piracy Act 1837 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It abolished the death penalty for most offences of piracy, but created a new offence often known as piracy with violence, which was punishable with death...
, no further executions took place in the UK, although a working gallows was kept in service and regularly tested at Wandsworth Prison until 1998. It was dismantled following the final abolition of the death penalty by the new Labour Government as a requirement of the UK adopting the European Charter of Human Rights.
Allen moved to Fleetwood
Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a town within the Wyre district of Lancashire, England, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 26,840 people at the 2001 Census. It forms part of the Greater Blackpool conurbation. The town was the first planned community of the Victorian era...
with his second wife Doris in 1977, to escape the continued publicity, and worked there as a cashier at Fleetwood Pier
Fleetwood Pier
Fleetwood Pier, also known as the Victoria Pier, was a pleasure pier located in the English town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. The building was destroyed by fire and demolished in 2008. It was built in 1910 at the end of the golden age of pier building...
. He died on 14 August 1992, just a month after Albert Pierrepoint, who had died on 10 July in Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
.