Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen & S.S. Laurentic
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| Hawley Harvey Crippen |
Hawley Harvey Crippen was an American-born doctor who
specialised in homeopathy, was an ear and eye specialist, and a medicine
dispenser.
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| Cora Henrietta Crippen |
The murder was on the evening of 31 January 1910. Cora
disappeared following a party at the Crippen residence at Hilldrop Crescent.
Crippen claimed that she had returned to the US and later added that she had
died and had been cremated in California. Meanwhile, Ethel Le Neve, who was
Crippen’s mistress, moved into Hilldrop Crescent and began openly wearing
Cora's clothes and jewellery.
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| Kate “Vulcana” Williams |
Under questioning by Chief Inspector Walter Dew, Crippen
admitted that he had fabricated the story about his wife having died, claiming
that he did so to avoid personal embarrassment because she had left him and
fled to the US with one of her lovers, a music hall actor named Bruce Miller.
Dew was satisfied with Crippen's story. However, Crippen and Le Neve did not
know this and fled in panic to Brussels, where they spent the night at a hotel.
The following day, they went to Antwerp and boarded the Canadian Pacific
liner S.S. Montrose, bound for Canada.
The couple's disappearance led police to perform further
searches of the house. During the fourth and final search, they found the torso of
a human body buried under the brick floor of the basement. William Willcox
(later Sir William Willcox, senior scientific analyst to the Home Office) found
traces of the toxic compound hyoscine hydrobromide (scopolamine) in the
torso.The
remains were identified as Cora's by a piece of skin from the abdomen; the
head, limbs, and skeleton were never recovered. Her remains were later interred
at St. Pancras and Islington Cemetery.
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| Dr Crippen and Ethel Le Neve |
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| Walter Dew |
Crippen was tried at the Old Bailey before Lord
Chief Justice, Lord Alverstone, on 18 October 1910. The proceedings lasted four
days.
That’s the story of Hawley Harvey Crippen, but where are the
connections with Swansea?
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| S.S. Laurentic |
S.S. Laurentic, the White Star liner, was launched in 1908. Her route was normally between Liverpool and Quebec City.
During the First World War, S.S. Laurentic served
briefly as a troop ship and then served for more than two years as an armed
merchant cruiser, where she saw service off West Africa, Singapore, the Bay of
Bengal, and the Far East.
On the 25th of January 1917, two German mines sank Laurentic off
the northern coast of Ireland. Her crew successfully abandoned the ship, but
354 of them died of hypothermia in her lifeboats. Laurentic was
carrying about 43 tons of gold bars when she sank. Most of the 3,211 bars
were salvaged by 1924; three more bars were found in the 1930s, while 22 remain
unaccounted for. Laurentic wreck is in the territorial waters of
the Republic of Ireland and protected by Irish law.
Four of her crew were from Swansea.
Francis Frederick
Dinan
William James Hill
Alfred John Stark
Frederick John
Woollard
Francis Frederick Dinan
Frederick was born in 1892, and he was the son of Francis
Augustes and Mary Catherine Mollet, who were married in 1886 in Jersey.
There are no census returns for Francis; however, his Royal
Naval Reserve Service Records have survived.
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| Royal Naval Reserve Service Records |
Francis first enlisted in November 1915 and ranked as an Able-Bodied seaman
The British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage, and Death Records
record his death on board the S.S. Laurentic. The records don’t record his place of
birth. His next of kin, his mother, Mary, lived at 28 Gwdyr Crescent, Uplands.
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| Army and Navy Birth, Marriage, and Death Records |
William James Hill
William was born in 1875 and was the son of George Henry and
H. Hill of London.
January 1907, William married widow Harriet Long, at St.
Marks church, Swansea.
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| William James Hill and Harriet Long marriage certificate St. Marks church |
At the time of the 1911 Census, the couple were living at 47
Seyborfach Street.
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| 1911 Census |
William, 36, was employed as a Tailor, whilst Harriet was 28
years old.
Harriet had children before her marriage to William, and
they were, at the time of the census, Violet, 14, and Georgina, 9.
William and Harriet also had children, who were Doris, 6 and
5-month-old William George Henry.
Also present at the time of the census was Joseph Chistelow,
23, General Labourer.
William enlisted as a seaman. The British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage,
and Death Records record his death on board the S.S. Laurentic.
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| British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage, and Death Records |
Alfred John Stark
Alfred was born in 1867 in St. Johns, Cornwall, the son of
Richard Stark and Maria Wedlock.
1896, Alfred married Brenda Hullin.
In the 1901 Census, Alfred and Brenda were living at Coastguard
Cottages, Rhossili.
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| 1901 Census |
Alfred, 33, was employed as a Boatman and Coast Guard. Brenda was 23 years old. They had a three-year-old daughter, Maud A.
A decade later, at the time of the 1911 Census, Alfred and
Brenda had moved to 8 Park Street, Mumbles.
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| 1911 Census |
Alfred, 42, is recorded as a Naval Pensioner; however, he was
employed as an Electric Lighting Labourer.
Brenda was 32 years old. Their
daughter, 13-year-old Maud, attended school.
The Royal Navy Register of Seaman's Service has survived for Alfred, who first enlisted in 1884.
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| Royal Navy Register of Seaman's Service |
The British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage, and Death Records record his death on board the S.S. Laurentic, ranked as an Able-Bodied seaman.
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| British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage, and Death Records |
Frederick John Woollard
Frederick was born in 1877, the son of Frederick Woollard
and Kidwell.
In 1906, Frederick married widow Catherine Tomlinson.
At the time of the 1911 Census, Frederick and Catherine were
living at 2 Arthur Street, Brynhfryd.
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| 1911 Census |
Frederick, 34, was employed as a Dock Labourer, and Catherine
was 31 years old. Their two children
were
Frederick, 3, and 1-year-old Maria. Catherine had a son from her previous
marriage, William, 13.
Also present at the property was Catherine’s brother, William
Carroll, 37, who was employed as a Dock Labourer.
The British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage, and Death Records
record his death on board the S.S. Laurentic, ranked as a Seaman.
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| British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage, and Death Records |
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| Plymouth Naval Memorial |
All four men are commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial.
There is also another loose connection with Dr. Crippen.
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