Any info on a woman strangled in the sixties in Stafford ?

Can anyone narrow down whenabouts in the 60's a bit? I need to go into town a bit later so will have a dig around in the archives and see if anything turns up.

Was/is the Staffs Advertiser daily/weekly/monthly?

 

Didn't find anything - sounds like a job for the William Salt library but it's closed on Friday (and Monday).

If i have time i'll try and look in on Tuesday.

 

Pretty sure it was a weekly.

Didn't there used to be both a 'Stafford Advertiser' on a Thursday and 'Stafford Newsletter' on a Friday each week ? (or something like that!)

 

Hi Withnail... Thanks for your input... yeah I am down in the south.... so library visits aren't impossible but would have to be planned ahead a bit. Thats amazing if you do have time on Tuesday. On one level there is not much to go on.. yet there can't be many cases of a Mrs Emery being strangled behind the pub by an RAF man! Date is uncertain but it will be very late 50's or in the early 60's.

I thought the staff advertiser was weekly back then from an old newspaper archive list.

Thanks again for your interest and input.

 

Narrows it down a bit doesn't it. I'll see what i can find...

 

Well it wasn't 1960 or 1961 - is there anybody who can help narrow the year down a bit? Or anybody know the woman's name?

Bonny, put a reply up here when you next log in and i'll do this new-fangled 'conversation' thing...

 

There was a murder on the site of the carpark of the Greyhound in County Road, not sure of the date but a long time ago. I think it was the Landlord's wife, and there was a connection with someone who worked at the prison. A crime of passion, maybe?

 

Hi Withnail... its a bit late to log in are you there to do new fangled thing?

 

I see you have been busy so nothing in 60/61.. (Thank you for looking ) I think it is likely to be later then rather than earlier to that date... Any one who has a sense of the date I would be grateful for your input. Info is a bit thin on the ground. I will log on earlier tomorrow Withnail in hope of catching you.

 

Any more details (this side of libel) you could give us, oh age'd one?

 

I've just remembered that I met Mrs. Emery soon after I started work at Newco, near to William emery's funeral parlor, when my boss Morris Draper sent me round to measure the chapel of rest for a carpet, mrs emery took me into the chapel next door to their house, I walked in and saw a old lady lying in a coffin and seeing the look of horror on my face Mrs. emery said “does it bother you love, I’ll put the lid on”.
She gave me tea and Madeira Cake in her kitchen afterwards, she was a nice friendly woman as I recall, one of the remarks made later when I reported back to the works was “ar your safe lad, you’re too young for her”.
you can draw your own conclusions.
This was in 1961/62 so she proberbly didn’t die till at least 63 as I also had the job of sewing up a coffin in hessian that was being sent to Ireland some time later and had to go round to tell her it was ready. I left Newco in 1966 and she had died some time before that, hope this helps .

 

Thanks for that - i have actually been through the papers up to the end of '64, so it looks like i'm close...

 

Can i just ask how sure of the dates you are age'd parent? I'm guessing that '66 was quite memorable, as years go, so is it a definite terminus ante quem ?

Also, do you remember it being a big story in the papers at the time? Or was it perhaps curiously absent? Any help in this matter most appreciated.

 

I am pretty certain she was alive in 1960 as that was when I left school and first had a job and the Newco incidents are vivid memories, I was living with my parents at the time, and my mother came home with the news that she had died, I left home some time before I left Newco in 1966 so it must have been before 1966.
I never saw any news paper reports, but then i was more interested in birds and beer at that age, the news letter was much more active in reporting stuff in those days though, and I woud be very surprised if it didn't do a front page on it.
All this is straight out of an aging, drink and drug abused brain and while I am certain I may be wrong.

 

Many thanks, o age'd one.

 

Well, you may be surprised to learn that the murder actually took place in October 1970 - the accused* was a prison officer not in the RAF.

*The trial was in January 1971 - i haven't got that far yet, so i don't know what the outcome of it is.

 

Glad you found it, even with my faulty memory hindering you, still one night forty odd years ago, is not bad remembering, and you brought back some memories that I would never have had of Mrs Emery and Newco so I thank you.

 

At least no one can say 'you weren't there'.

 

I seem to recall that it was around that time I used to walk back into town from work (Rediffusion -remember them) down Foregate Street and remember something about a woman being murdered and left on the waste ground at the side of the Kings Head where the Jehovas Witness Kingdom Hall is now. I think she had something to do with Emery's, and if I remember right it was a prison officer that was charged with her murder.

 

I heard about this and I believe she was related to Emerys the undertakers. Are you sure she was murdered by an RAF man? I thought it was a Prison Warder and he dumped her body by the King's Head pub on some wasteland.

I will try to find out her christian name for you.