‘It came to my knowledge that Mr Smith was not a man but a woman. Of course I was greatly astonished, and could not permit things to go on in that way...’ 

On 17 July 1865, a former employee of shoemaker James Giles entered his workshop, pointing a pistol in his face and pulling the trigger with no hesitation. A gun malfunction spared James his life, but the crime unravelled an extraordinary story of love, abuse and gender transgression. Who was the perpetrator? What was their motivation for shooting Giles point-blank? 

In the final episode of this series, Jen and David trace a crime tied up in secrets and scandal. They delve into what life was like for working-class Londoners in the 1860s. With headlines and court testimonies, they reveal a startling LGBTQ story which deserves to be told. 

Discover the details for yourself in the episode's Case Files - a collection of all the key newspaper reports - available to browse for free on Findmypast: www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved 

Was justice served? Share your judgement with the WJS community: 

@wasjusticeservedpod #wasjusticeserved 

Producer - Madeleine Gilbert 

Assistant Producer - Daisy Goddard 

AV Editor - Callum Main 

Video Lead - Andrew Farrell 

Researcher - Jen Baldwin 

Voiceover - Tanya O’Sullivan 

AV Lead - Mark Asquith 

Executive Producer - Helen Kaye

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘He fired three shots at him, two of which took effect in the head and spine, and he fell to the ground...’ 

On a spring morning in 1888, an enraged labourer stormed into his workplace, a brickworks, with a small revolver. Striding decisively towards William Berridge - the foreman who had fired him just hours ago - the man fired three shots into Berridge’s leg, head and torso. By midday, he’s in a cell, charged with intent to kill. But how was this violent crime prosecuted?  

In part two, Jen and David are looking at another shooting which took place in Barnsley, just weeks apart from the murder of Eileen Burke. They compare how the criminal justice system handled these two cases, reflecting on the role of class in sentencing and punishment. 

Discover the details for yourself in the episode's Case Files - a collection of all the key newspaper reports - available to browse for free on Findmypast: www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved 

Was justice served? Share your judgement with the WJS community: 

@wasjusticeservedpod #wasjusticeserved 

Producer - Madeleine Gilbert 

Assistant Producer - Daisy Goddard 

AV Editor - Callum Main 

Video Lead - Andrew Farrell 

Researcher - Jen Baldwin 

Voiceover - Tanya O’Sullivan 

AV Lead - Mark Asquith 

Executive Producer - Helen Kaye

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘He found the child dead and saw Dr Burke drop the revolver on the hearthrug and stagger to the side of the room, where he lay down on a seat...’ 

On a cold February night, in a Barnsley pub, an unimaginable tragedy took place. Inebriated on expensive champagne, a local doctor waved a revolver around wildly. As his terrified wife fled the room to get help, a bullet rang through the air. Its target: their 9-year-old daughter Eileen. What could explain this horrific act? How did the courts – and the community – respond in the wake of such a crime? 

In the first episode of this two-part special, Jen and David look at one of the ‘Barnsley Murders’ - two shootings that took place just weeks apart - and reflect on the impact of social class on its verdict. In part two, they’ll be turning their attention towards a shockingly similar crime with a very different outcome. 

Discover the details for yourself in the episode's Case Files - a collection of all the key newspaper reports - available to browse for free on Findmypast: www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved 

Was justice served? Share your judgement with the WJS community: 

@wasjusticeservedpod #wasjusticeserved 

Producer - Madeleine Gilbert 

Assistant Producer - Daisy Goddard 

AV Editor - Callum Main 

Video Lead - Andrew Farrell 

Researcher - Jen Baldwin 

Voiceover - Tanya O’Sullivan 

AV Lead - Mark Asquith 

Executive Producer - Helen Kaye

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘Her dress was bedaubed with blood, and there was blood on the floor. Jealousy is said to be the cause of the crime...’ 

In the autumn of 1880, David Anderson awoke to find his wife Ann dead in his arms. With a fatal head wound and sheets stained with blood, her cause of death was far from natural. The couple had recently become entangled in a jealous, alcohol-fuelled love triangle with their lodger – but was she to blame for this atrocity? Who would be tried for Ann’s murder? 

Jen and David delve into this gruesome 19th-century murder. They analyse salacious headlines to tell a story of jealous passion, unravelling themes of poverty, addiction and Victorian gender roles in the process.

Discover the details for yourself in the episode's Case Files - a collection of all the key newspaper reports - available to browse for free on Findmypast: www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved 

Was justice served? Share your judgement with the WJS community: 

@wasjusticeservedpod #wasjusticeserved 

Producer - Madeleine Gilbert 

Assistant Producer - Daisy Goddard 

AV Editor - Callum Main 

Video Lead - Andrew Farrell 

Researcher - Jen Baldwin 

Voiceover - Tanya O’Sullivan 

AV Lead - Mark Asquith 

Executive Producer - Helen Kaye

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If he was not Roger Tichborne, he had committed a deliberate fraud, and supported it by perjury, forgery and the most abominable means...’ 

In the autumn of 1886, the widowed Lady Tichborne received a curious letter signed ‘Sir Roger Tichborne, your son’. But Roger had perished in a shipwreck off the coast of Brazil over a decade before. The grieving mother welcomed Roger back with open arms – but with growing suspicions and accusations of fraud, the joyous reunion wasn’t all that it seemed. Was it the real Roger Tichborne, or a fraudster after the family’s fortune? 

In this episode, Jen and David trace the scandalous story of a shipwrecked son risen from the dead to reclaim his inheritance. From Australia to Hampshire, the headlines take them on a journey full of unexpected twists, as they analyse the case’s wealth of first-hand testimonies. 

Discover the details for yourself in the episode's Case Files - a collection of all the key newspaper reports - available to browse for free on Findmypast: www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved 

Was justice served? Share your judgement with the WJS community: 

@wasjusticeservedpod #wasjusticeserved 

Producer - Madeleine Gilbert 

Assistant Producer - Daisy Goddard 

AV Editor - Callum Main 

Video Lead - Andrew Farrell 

Researcher - Jen Baldwin 

Voiceover - Tanya O’Sullivan 

AV Lead - Mark Asquith 

Executive Producer - Helen Kaye

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'She... woke and was horrified to find that her husband was cold. She tried to pour brandy down his throat, and then found that he was dead...’ 

In the early hours of New Year’s Day 1886, Adelaide Bartlett stirred from her slumber to find her husband cold to the touch. He’d been unwell for some time, but his premature death didn’t seem like an accident. Was he poisoned? Who wanted him dead?  

Edwin Bartlett’s death in 1886 opened a Pandora’s box of secrets and intrigue, as a couple’s unconventional marriage – and their entanglement with close friend minister George Dyson - was laid bare. In this episode, Jen and David turn their attention to a salacious murder case, discussing its central themes of gender and Victorian social norms. 

Discover the details for yourself in the episode's Case Files - a collection of all the key newspaper reports - available to browse for free on Findmypast: www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved 

Was justice served? Share your judgement with the WJS community: 

@wasjusticeservedpod #wasjusticeserved 

Producer - Madeleine Gilbert 

Assistant Producer - Daisy Goddard 

AV Editor - Callum Main 

Video Lead - Andrew Farrell 

Researcher - Jen Baldwin 

Voiceover - Tanya O’Sullivan 

AV Lead - Mark Asquith 

Executive Producer - Helen Kaye

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘Save the ghastly corpse, still bleeding from a frightful wound in the head, they had not left a trace of the dark deed which had been but too successfully accomplished...’ 

In the summer of 1860, a wealthy 70-year-old widow was found murdered at her home in Stepney. She lay in a pool of her own blood, with her scalp pulverised and her petticoats thrown above her head, for four days before being discovered. Curiously, there were no signs of forced entry into her home. Was her killer an acquaintance - or worse, a friend? What did they have to gain from her murder?  

Presenter and former police officer Rav Wilding joins Jen and David to examine how the grisly murder of Mary Emsley played out in court, reflecting on Victorian investigation methods and the central themes of class and poverty. With Rav’s firsthand insight, they reflect on how police would handle this perplexing case today.  

Discover the details for yourself in the episode's Case Files - a collection of all the key newspaper reports - available to browse for free on Findmypast: www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved 

Was justice served? Share your judgement with the WJS community: 

@wasjusticeservedpod #wasjusticeserved 

Producer - Madeleine Gilbert 

Assistant Producer - Daisy Goddard 

AV Editor - Callum Main 

Video Lead - Andrew Farrell 

Researcher - Jen Baldwin 

Voiceover - Tanya O’Sullivan 

AV Lead - Mark Asquith 

Executive Producer - Helen Kaye

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Jen for a special bonus episode, in which she dives into her own family tree and reveals the fascinating story of her Irish ancestor: Archibald McKenzie.

Research by Findmypast revealed that 1 in 6 people have a criminal in their family tree, and Jen's research has led her to uncover the details of Archibald's crimes in historical records and newspapers.

Follow the story from a brush with the law in Ireland to a second offence in Wales before he emigrates to America. Get to know the world in which Archibald lives, which might lead you to question - was justice served?

As always, you can review the Case Files for yourself at www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved

Instagram - @wasjusticeservedpod

TikTok - @wasjusticeserved

Producer - Madeleine Gilbert

Assistant Producer - Daisy Goddard

AV Editor - Callum Main

Researcher - Jen Baldwin

AV Lead - Mark Asquith

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“There were infinite possibilities as to how he might be shot. There was room for conjecture and for difference of opinion in this matter...”

On the morning of 10 August 1893, a party of three gentlemen leave for a morning of shooting on the sprawling Scottish estate of Ardlamont. One loses his life in the woods, at the wrong end of the barrel of a shotgun. The survivors – the only witnesses – were the two men with the most to lose and the most to gain from his demise. Were they responsible for plotting his death and covering it up as a tragic accident?

Jen and David take their expertise to this case, which inspired the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. They look at the characters involved, all with something to hide, and examine what brought them together on this fateful day. They follow the major twists of the trial, including revelations around money, love affairs, and criminal pasts. And they look at the fall-out of the case, where the those involved revealed their true characters…

Discover the details for yourself in the episode's Case Files - a collection of all the key newspaper reports - available to browse for free on Findmypast: www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved

Was justice served? Share your judgement with the WJS community:

Instagram - @wasjusticeservedpod

TikTok - @wasjusticeserved

Producer - Madeleine Gilbert

Assistant Producer - Daisy Goddard

AV Editor - Callum Main

Videographer - Angus Webster

Video Lead - Andrew Farrell

Graphics/Design - Kate Benzie, David Bradley and Graham Jacobs

Researcher - Jen Baldwin

Voiceover - Elliot Hardman

AV Lead - Mark Asquith

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“...she asked me to fetch the police, but my husband would not let me interfere... he had threatened to rip her inside out. I said to her: “He is not safe to live with”...”

In the early morning of 2 June 1906, a woman is discovered lying dead on the floor of her bedroom. She had gone to bed in good spirits but never woken up. An autopsy revealed a ruptured spleen – an injury which could have been caused by a nasty fall, or just as easily by the toe of a boot. What happened overnight in the small, terraced house in the Essex coastal town of Southend on Sea? Was her partner to blame?

In this episode, Jen and David pick apart the complex relationships between a woman, her partner, and her close family, all living in close proximity in Victorian terraced housing. They discuss issues of masculinity and historical attitudes towards domestic abuse, which played a central role in the case.

This mysterious and tragic death was discovered and sent in by Findmypast community member, Tom Fitton.

Discover the details for yourself in the episode's Case Files - a collection of all the key newspaper reports - available to browse for free on Findmypast: www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved

Was justice served? Share your judgement with the WJS community:

Instagram - @wasjusticeservedpod

TikTok - @wasjusticeserved

Producer - Madeleine Gilbert

Assistant Producer - Daisy Goddard

AV Editor - Callum Main

Videographer - Angus Webster

Video Lead - Andrew Farrell

Graphics/Design - Kate Benzie, David Bradley and Graham Jacobs

Researcher - Jen Baldwin

Voiceover - Elliot Hardman

AV Lead - Mark Asquith

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.