Edith Thompson was a stylish and vivacious young woman, who was married to Percy Thompson but conducting a passionate affair with Frederick Bywaters. Late one night during October 1922, Edith and Percy were walking home from Ilford station after an evening at the theatre in London, when Percy was ambushed and stabbed to death by Freddie.
Even though Freddie insisted that the murder was nothing to do with Edith, both were convicted of Percy's murder and sentenced to death. Edith was convicted under the grounds of common purpose; whereby if more than one individual plots someone's murder, but only one carries the act out, then they are equally culpable. The police were in possession of many letters Edith- a clever wordsmith- had crafted to Freddie. In them, she had mentioned killing her husband, and this was to prove her downfall. Both Edith and Freddie were hanged on 9th January 1923. Was Edith- an upwardly mobile and thoroughly modern woman- convicted by the morality of the time, and for daring to step out of her class?
Come and take a walk in my shoes and I'll tell you a bit about this sad case. We'll walk past Edith's childhood home in Manor Park, East London, then visit the crime scene only a couple of miles away. We'll also go and find both Percy's and Edith's graves in the City of London Cemetery- bearing in mind that Percy had been exhumed and reburied once, and Edith twice.
As you know, first and foremost I am a writer, so do check out some of my tourist attraction blogs. I can be a touch macabre, and have visited several graveyards and cemeteries. Use the search bar to hunt for the relevant posts.
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