HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Harry Bernard Allen (5 November 1911 – 14 August 1992) was one of Britain's last official
executioner An executioner, also known as a hangman or headsman, is an official who executes a sentence of capital punishment on a legally condemned person. Scope and job The executioner was usually presented with a warrant authorising or order ...
s, officiating between 1941 and 1964. He was chief executioner at 41 executions and acted as assistant executioner at 53 others, at various prisons in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and Cyprus. He acted as assistant executioner for 14 years, mostly to
Albert Pierrepoint Albert Pierrepoint (; 30 March 1905 – 10 July 1992) was an English hangman who executed between 435 and 600 people in a 25-year career that ended in 1956. His father Henry and uncle Thomas were official hangmen before him. Pierrepoint ...
from 1941 to 1955. In October 1955 Allen was appointed as Chief Executioner alongside Pierrepoint, although he did not execute anyone in this role until 10 May 1956, when he hanged two EOKA members in
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
. Pierrepoint was no longer available because he had resigned in February 1956. Allen's most controversial hanging came in April 1962, when
James Hanratty James Hanratty (4 October 1936 – 4 April 1962), also known as the A6 Murderer, was a British criminal who was one of the final eight people in the UK to be executed before capital punishment was effectively abolished. He was hanged at Bedfo ...
was
hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...
for murder, despite efforts to clear his name. Hanratty was proven guilty in 2002 by DNA. Allen also assisted in the execution of
Derek Bentley Derek William Bentley (30 June 1933 – 28 January 1953) was a British man who was hanged for the murder of a policeman during a burglary attempt. Christopher Craig, then aged 16, a friend and accomplice of Bentley, was accused of the murde ...
in 1953, and he performed one of the last two executions in Britain, in August 1964.


Early life

Born in
Denaby Main Denaby Main is a village situated between Mexborough and Conisbrough in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. The village falls within the Doncaster MBC ward of Conisbrough and Denaby. It was built by the Denaby Ma ...
, near
Conisbrough Conisbrough () is a town within the City of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is roughly midway between Doncaster and Rotherham, and is built alongside the River Don at . It has a ward population (Conisbrough and Denaby) of 14,333. ...
in the
West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
on 5 November 1911, Allen was brought up in
Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...
, 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 A bus driver, bus operator, or bus captain is a person who drives buses for a living. Description Bus drivers must have a special license above and beyond a regular driver's licence. Bus drivers typically drive their vehicles between bus st ...
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 Service His Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) is a part of HM Prison and Probation Service (formerly the National Offender Management Service), which is the part of His Majesty's Government charged with managing most of the prisons within England and Wale ...
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 – that of William Cooper – on 26 November 1940 at
Bedford Prison HMP Bedford is a Category B men's prison, located in the Harpur area of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. History The prison has been on its current site since 1801 and was designed by t ...
, describing it as a "very good, clean job, not as gruesome as I expected". Allen became a
publican In antiquity, publicans (Greek τελώνης ''telōnēs'' (singular); Latin ''publicanus'' (singular); ''publicani'' (plural)) were public contractors, in whose official capacity they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the ...
in
Farnworth Farnworth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, southeast of Bolton, 4.3 miles south-west of Bury (7 km), and northwest of Manchester. Historically in Lancashire, Farnworth lies on the River Ir ...
, 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 German
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...
were hanged for murdering a fellow German soldier, Sergeant-Major Wolfgang Rosterg, whom they suspected of having betrayed their escape plan. It seems to have been this 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 Palme-König, was the first of the soldiers to be hanged at
Pentonville Prison HM Prison Pentonville (informally "The Ville") is an English Category B men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not in Pentonville, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury ar ...
, swearing allegiance to the last to
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. On 28 January 1953 Allen assisted at the controversial execution of
Derek Bentley Derek William Bentley (30 June 1933 – 28 January 1953) was a British man who was hanged for the murder of a policeman during a burglary attempt. Christopher Craig, then aged 16, a friend and accomplice of Bentley, was accused of the murde ...
, 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 Robert Leslie Stewart (April 1918 – 30 April 1988), from Edinburgh, Scotland, was one of the last executioners in the United Kingdom, officiating between 1950 and 1964. Brought up in Dundee Street in Edinburgh, 3 miles from Saughton Prison, S ...
jointly became Chief Executioners. However, the
Homicide Act 1957 The Homicide Act 1957 (5 & 6 Eliz.2 c.11) 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 (except in limi ...
reduced the number of condemned criminals by 75%, from an average of 15 a year in the early 1950s to about four a year in the late 1950s. As Chief Executioner, on 11 July 1958 Allen hanged American-born Scottish
serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
Peter Manuel Peter Thomas Anthony Manuel (13 March 1927 – 11 July 1958) was a Scottish-American serial killer who was convicted of murdering seven people across Lanarkshire and southern Scotland between 1956 and his arrest in January 1958, and is believed ...
at Barlinnie prison,
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. He also hanged
Guenther Podola Guenther Fritz Erwin Podola (8 February 1929 – 5 November 1959, alias Mike Colato) 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 ...
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 James Hanratty (4 October 1936 – 4 April 1962), also known as the A6 Murderer, was a British criminal who was one of the final eight people in the UK to be executed before capital punishment was effectively abolished. He was hanged at Bedfo ...
, 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 Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, o ...
matched Hanratty to the crime scene. Allen performed the last execution in Northern Ireland in December 1961, when he hanged
Robert McGladdery Robert Andrew McGladdery (18 October 193520 December 1961) was the last person to be executed in Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland. He was convicted of the murder of Pearl Gamble, aged 19, whom he had battered, strangled and stabbed ...
at
Crumlin Road Gaol HMP Belfast, also known as Crumlin Road Gaol, is a former prison situated on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. Since 1996 it is the only remaining Victorian era former prison in Northern Ireland. It is colloquially known as ' ...
in
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
. He also performed the last hanging in Scotland, when Henry Burnett was hanged at
Craiginches Prison HM Prison Aberdeen (formerly known as Craiginches) was a medium-security prison, located in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. The prison was managed by the Scottish Prison Service. Known as one of the most overcrowded prisons in Scotland, it had ...
in Aberdeen on 15 August 1963 for the murder of Thomas Guyan. He 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 8.00 am on 13 August 1964
Gwynne Owen Evans The murder of John Alan West on 7 April 1964 was the crime which led to the last death sentences being carried out in the United Kingdom. West, a 53-year-old van driver for a laundry company, was beaten and stabbed to death by Gwynne Evans and P ...
was hanged at
Strangeways Prison HM Prison Manchester is a Category A and B men's prison in Manchester, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It is still commonly referred to as Strangeways, which was its former official name derived from the area in which it is l ...
in Manchester for the murder of
John Alan West John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
. This occurred simultaneously with the execution of Evans's accomplice
Peter Anthony Allen The murder of John Alan West on 7 April 1964 was the crime which led to the last Capital punishment, death sentences being carried out in the United Kingdom. West, a 53-year-old van driver for a laundry company, was beaten and stabbed to death b ...
, who was hanged at
Walton Gaol HM Prison Liverpool (formerly Walton Gaol) is a category B local men's prison in Walton, Liverpool, England. It is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. History Liverpool Prison (originally known as Walton Gaol) was constructed between 18 ...
in Liverpool by Robert Leslie Stewart. Allen always wore a
bow tie The bow tie is a type of necktie. A modern bow tie is tied using a common shoelace knot, which is also called the bow knot for that reason. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar of a shirt in a symmetrical manner so that t ...
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." A second man also answering to the name "Harry Allen", Herbert Allen, an ice cream salesman from the
West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
, was also on the official list of executioners for a period in the early 1950s, having graduated from the same training group as
Syd Dernley Syd Dernley (29 December 1920 – 1 November 1994) was appointed assistant executioner by the Home Office in 1949, and participated in 20 hangings until he was replaced in 1954. In 1950, he assisted Albert Pierrepoint in the hanging of the innoce ...
. The two Harry Allens are known to have worked together as assistants on at least two double hangings.


Executions performed by Allen as head executioner

*23 July 1957 – John Wilson Vickers (
HMP Durham HM Prison Durham is a Georgian era reception Category B men's prison, located in the Elvet area of Durham in County Durham, England. Built in 1819, the prison continues to be operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Women prisoners were move ...
) *4 December 1957 – Dennis Howard ( HMP Winson Green, Birmingham) *11 July 1958 – Peter Thomas Manuel ( HMP Barlinnie, Glasgow) *12 August 1958 – Matthew Kavanagh (Winson Green, Birmingham) *3 September 1958 – Frank Stokes (Durham) *10 February 1959 – Ernest Raymond Jones ( HMP Armley, Leeds) *28 April 1959 – Joseph Chrimes ( HMP Pentonville, London) *8 May 1959 – Ronald Henry Marwood (Pentonville, London) *14 August 1959 – Bernard Hugh Walden (Armley, Leeds) *9 October 1959 – Francis Joseph Huchet (Newgate Street prison,
Saint Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; french: Saint-Hélier) is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St Helier has a population of 35,822 – over one-third of the total population of Jersey – ...
,
Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
) *9 November 1959 – Guenther Fritz Erwin Podola (
HMP Wandsworth HM Prison Wandsworth is a Category B men's prison at Wandsworth in the London Borough of Wandsworth, South West London, England. It is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service and is one of the largest prisons in the UK. History The prison w ...
, London) *1 September 1960 – John Louis Constantine (
HMP Lincoln HM Prison Lincoln is a Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category B men's prison, located in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. A category B prison which ...
) *10 November 1960 – Francis George Forsyth (Wandsworth, London) *22 December 1960 – Anthony Joseph Miller (Barlinnie, Glasgow) *27 January 1961 – Wasyl Gnypiuk (Lincoln) *9 February 1961 – George Riley ( HMP Shrewsbury) *29 March 1961 – John Day ( HMP Bedford) *25 May 1961 – Victor John Terry (Wandsworth, London) *29 June 1961 –
Zsiga Pankotia Zsiga Pankotia (or Pankotai) was a 31-year-old Hungarian-born murderer who was hanged on Thursday, 29 June 1961 at Armley Gaol, Leeds, West Yorkshire, (now HM Prison Leeds). He was hanged by Harry Allen for the murder of Jack Eli Myers in a hou ...
(Armley, Leeds) *6 July 1961 – Edwin Albert Bush (Pentonville, London) *25 July 1961 – Samuel McLaughlin ( HMP Crumlin Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland) *8 September 1961 – Henryck Niemascz (Wandsworth, London) *20 December 1961 – Robert Andrew McGladdery (Crumlin Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland) *4 April 1962 –
James Hanratty James Hanratty (4 October 1936 – 4 April 1962), also known as the A6 Murderer, was a British criminal who was one of the final eight people in the UK to be executed before capital punishment was effectively abolished. He was hanged at Bedfo ...
(HMP Bedford) *20 November 1962 – Oswald Augustine Grey (Winson Green, Birmingham) *28 November 1962 – James Smith ( HMP Strangeways, Manchester) *15 August 1963 –
Henry John Burnett Henry John Burnett (5 January 1942 – 15 August 1963) 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 from 23 to 25 July 1963 for the murder of merchant seaman Thomas G ...
( HMP Craiginches, Aberdeen) *17 December 1963 – Russell Pascoe ( HMP Horfield, Bristol) *13 August 1964 –
Gwynne Owen Evans The murder of John Alan West on 7 April 1964 was the crime which led to the last death sentences being carried out in the United Kingdom. West, a 53-year-old van driver for a laundry company, was beaten and stabbed to death by Gwynne Evans and P ...
(HMP Strangeways, Manchester) In addition to these, Allen also performed the 9 executions of EOKA members which took place at the
Central Jail of Nicosia The Central Jail of Nicosia is the only prison of the Republic of Cyprus. The unrecognized republic of Northern Cyprus also has its own prison. The Central Jail of Nicosia is run by the Cyprus Prisons Department. It is located west of the walled ...
,
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
in 1956 and 1957. The remains of the hanged men are buried within the walls of the prison, in the "
Imprisoned Graves The "Imprisoned Graves" are a set of graves in a small cemetery located in the Central Jail of Nicosia, where 13 EOKA fighters, during the 1955-1959 liberation struggle for the liberation of Cyprus from the United Kingdom, were interred. Nine of ...
" section. Their names are: *
Michalis Karaolis Michalis Karaolis ( el, Μιχαλάκης Καραολής; 13 February 1933 – 10 May 1956) was a Cypriot public official and revolutionary. Born in the village of Palaichori Oreinis of Pitsilia, Karaolis worked as a government clerk and a m ...
CYPRUS: Deepening Tragedy
Time Magazine, Monday, 21 May. 1956.
– executed 10 May 1956 *Andreas Dimitriou – executed 10 May 1956 *Iakovos Patatsos – executed 9 August 1956 *Andreas Zakos – executed 9 August 1956 *Harilaos Michael – executed 9 August 1956 *Michael Koutsoftas – executed 21 September 1956 *Stelios Mavrommatis – executed 21 September 1956 *Andreas Panagidis – executed 21 September 1956 * Evagoras Pallikaridis – executed 14 March 1957 Following the Independence of Cyprus in 1960, Allen performed the final three executions at the Central Jail of Nicosia for the new Cypriot government, assisted by John Underhill. All 3 executions took place on 13 June 1962: *Hambis Zacharia – killed a man in a
Limassol Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population ...
vineyard in 1958 *Michael Hiletikos – shot a man dead outside a Limassol nightclub in 1961. Fled to UK and was extradited to Cyprus to stand trial *Lazaris Demetriou – shot a man dead outside a Limassol nightclub in 1961. The accomplice of Michael Hiletikos


Personal life and diaries

Allen's first wife was Marjorie Clayton whom he married in 1933. She left him on the day that he was hanging Peter Manuel. Allen's second wife was Doris Dyke, whom he married in 1963. 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
Knutsford Knutsford () is a market town in the borough of Cheshire East, in Cheshire, England. Knutsford is south-west of Manchester, north-west of Macclesfield and 12.5 miles (20 km) south-east of Warrington. The population at the 2011 Census wa ...
, 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 Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...
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 instantaneous. Griffiths was 22 years old, 5' 10" tall, weighed 10st 8lbs, 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." His granddaughter
Fiona Allen Fiona Allen (born 13 March 1965) is an English comedian and actress, most known for her work on Channel 4's ''Smack the Pony'' between 1999 and 2003. Career Allen has appeared in many sketch shows, including ''We Know Where You Live'' (Channel ...
is a comedian and actress, who rose to fame on the comedy sketch show ''
Smack the Pony ''Smack the Pony'' is a British sketch comedy show that was originally broadcast between 1999 and 2003 on Channel 4. The main performers on the show were Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips. There were also regular appearances from ...
''. 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 The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It abolished the death penalty for murder in Great Britain (the death penalty for murder survived in Northern Ireland until 1973). The act replac ...
,
capital punishment in the UK Capital punishment in the United Kingdom predates the formation of the UK, having been used within the British Isles from ancient times until the second half of the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom were by hanging, and t ...
for murder was suspended, before finally being abolished in 1969 (It was abolished in 1973 in Northern Ireland). Although the death penalty remained for other crimes such as
treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
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 when the death penalty for treason and piracy was abolished by the
Crime and Disorder Act 1998 The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (c.37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was published on 2 December 1997 and received Royal Assent in July 1998. Its key areas were the introduction of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, Sex ...
. He worked for a few years in security at an engineering firm in
Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...
. Allen moved to
Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...
with his wife Doris in 1977, to escape the continued publicity, and worked there as a cashier at
Fleetwood Pier Fleetwood Pier, also known as the Victoria Pier, was a pleasure pier located in the English town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. At in length, it was one of the shortest piers in the country. It was built in 1910 at the end of the golden age of pie ...
. He died on 14 August 1992, just a month after Albert Pierrepoint, who had died on 10 July in
Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...
.


References

Notes Bibliography *


External links


Newspaper article with image from a page of Harry Allen's diary about the execution of Peter Griffiths
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Harry 1911 births 1992 deaths People from Conisbrough English executioners People from Ashton-under-Lyne English Roman Catholics