Captain Walter Travers Scott-Elliot (9 October 1895 – 14 December 1977) was a British company director and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served one term as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. However, he is best remembered for the cause of his

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

: he and his wife were both

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

ed by

Archibald Hall Archibald Thomson Hall, also known as Roy Fontaine (17 June 1924 – 16 September 2002) was a Scottish serial killer and thief. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he became known as the Killer Butler or the Monster Butler after committing crimes while ...

, whom they had hired as a

butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

Family

Scott-Elliot was from an

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word's ...

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

family based in Arkleton near

Langholm Langholm , also known colloquially as the "Muckle Toon", is a burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, southern Scotland. Langholm lies between four hills in the valley of the River Esk in the Southern Uplands. Location and geography Langholm sits nort ...

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

, and was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

. He fought in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, until 1919. On leaving, he joined the Bombay Company Ltd, which traded goods, mainly

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

, between

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. From 1927 he was managing director. When he succeeded his father as Laird of Arkleton, he also took over the hill-farming on the estate. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served as a specialist civil servant at the

Ministry of Labour The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...

Election to Parliament

At the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgaria ...

, Scott-Elliot was elected as Labour Party Member of Parliament for

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

. His background made him an unlikely recruit for the Labour Party, although he was perfectly sincere in his beliefs that

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

planning was best for business. His connection with the cotton trade helped him make friends among the weavers in the constituency.

Offices held

Scott-Elliot served as

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

to the Financial Secretaries to the War Office, successively

Frederick Bellenger Captain Frederick John Bellenger (23 July 1894 – 11 May 1968) was a British surveyor, soldier and politician. Early life Born in Bethnal Green, London, he was the son of Eugene Bernard Bellenger, a dairyman, and his wife Isabella Annette ''n� ...

and John Freeman, from 1946 to 1947. A frequent contributor to House of Commons debates, he was a member of the executive committee of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

Standing down from Parliament

Scott-Elliot disagreed with the government's policy of nationalising the

steel industry Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

, although not to

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

in general, and he did not vote against the whip. In October 1948 he wrote a letter to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' which accepted the call by dissident Labour MP Ivor Thomas for a political truce and a government of national unity. When Thomas left the Labour Party over opposition to steel nationalisation, the Accrington Trades and Labour Party repudiated the letter, and Scott-Elliot announced that he would not fight the next election.

Post-Parliamentary career

Going back to his estate and business, Scott-Elliot retired in the late 1960s and spent most of his time collecting antiques. His first marriage to Maria von Groeller had been annulled in 1948 and he had remarried that year to Dorothy Nunn, who was much younger than him. He had a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

flat at Richmond Court on

Sloane Street Sloane Street is a major London street in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea which runs north to south, from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square, crossing Pont Street about halfway along. History Sloane Street takes its name from Sir Han ...

. In 1977, Scott-Elliot engaged a new butler called

. Unknown to Scott-Elliot, Hall was a

thief Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

and a murderer who was interested only in stealing what he could.

Murder

When Dorothy Scott-Elliot interrupted Hall and his accomplice discussing their burglary plans, they suffocated her. When her husband arrived back, he was drugged and the two were driven up to the Scottish highlands. Mrs Scott-Elliot was buried in Perthshire, while Walter Scott-Elliot was driven up to Guisachen, near

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

, where he was throttled with a scarf, beaten over the head with a spade, and then buried in the forest. Scott-Elliot's status as a former Member of Parliament added some interest to the case of Archibald Hall. Hall was nicknamed "the Monster Butler" by some newspapers. As Scott-Elliot had been murdered in Scotland while Hall's other four murders were committed in England, Hall and accomplice Michael Kitto had to be tried separately in Edinburgh for the murder of Scott-Elliot in May 1978. They were convicted and Hall was given a 15-year tariff which he had to serve before being considered for release. At his subsequent triple-murder trial in London, he was also convicted and given a

whole life tariff In England and Wales, life imprisonment is a sentence that lasts until the death of the prisoner, although in most cases the prisoner will be eligible for early release after a minimum term set by the judge. In exceptional cases, however, a ju ...

References

*M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981) *''

'' *Norman Lucas and Philip Davies, "The Monster Butler" (Mirror Books, 1979)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott-Elliot, Walter 1895 births 1977 deaths 1977 murders in the United Kingdom Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1945–1950 Coldstream Guards officers People educated at Eton College Scottish murder victims People murdered in Scotland People from Langholm Politics of Hyndburn British Army personnel of World War I Victims of serial killers