Was Justice Served?

“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

“...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

“He there saw the deceased lying upon her back on the floor, a pool of blood surrounded her head, her throat was cut, and she was dead...”

During an unseasonal storm on the night of 31 May 1902, a young unmarried woman is brutally murdered in the quiet village of Peasenhall, Suffolk. Her death reveals her secret: she is six months pregnant. Rumours have circulated for years about an illicit affair with a fellow member of the local Primitive Methodist chapel, while a letter discovered in her bedroom appears to show she is in contact with a mystery lover who lives just meters from her house… So who was the father of her baby, and was she killed to cover it up?

Jen and David look at the short life of the victim, Rose, working as a domestic servant and carrying a ruinous secret. They discuss the relationships in this small, close-knit rural village, and the hearsay surrounding the trial that centred on the Primitive Methodist community. They take a closer look at the aftermath of the case, including examining false confessions and how the people involved were affected long after the trial ended.

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 and Karen de Bruyne

Voiceover - Elliot Hardman

AV Lead - Mark Asquith

“The boy was lying on the bed in convulsions, and the bed was covered in black vomit...”

An accidental poisoning or a bid to wipe out an entire family? You decide.

Late in the evening of 22 September 1887 in Victorian-era Surrey, a doctor is called to a mysterious double-poisoning at the home of a gardener, Henry Bowles. There he finds Bowles’ wife Hannah and son Edward at the point of death, from what he later discerns as strychnine poisoning.

Jen and David examine whether this was a tragic mistake, a double suicide, or a terrible way to dispatch an entire family. They examine a family brought together by economic necessity to reveal what’s hiding beneath their façade of respectability, and delve into the details of the trial, looking at Henry’s possible motivations for murder. They also discuss the Victorian fear of poisoning, at what was the height of ‘Poison Panic’, in a time where common poisons like arsenic and strychnine were easily accessible and difficult to trace.

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:

X - @wasjusticeserved

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

“I have been watching him for 12 years. He has been hiding, but I caught him at last...”

A pre-meditated murder in broad daylight or the tragic result of deteriorating mental health? You decide.

In this special pilot episode of Was Justice Served?, Professor David Olusoga OBE joins co-hosts Jen Baldwin and David Wilson to examine a murder hidden within his family tree. On the 10 September 1896, 64-year-old George Ewart approached 42-year-old Daniel Gray in broad daylight on the corner of Dalton Street in Byker, and shot him at close range with a revolver. Daniel would die that day of his wounds and George - David’s great-great-grandfather - would go on to be tried for his murder. But this case is not as open and shut as it seems, as George’s mental state is at the heart of his defence…

David and the hosts discuss George and Daniel’s lives, families, and the events leading up to that fateful day. They draw on testimonies delivered by family members – people that David’s mother remembers – which were reported in the newspapers at the time as well as medical evidence and witness statements from the trial. They also examine the social and legal context at the time, and the burgeoning understanding of mental health as a factor in major crimes. And, ultimately, David reveals how this terrible tragedy set his family on a trajectory which has lasting impacts to this day.

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:

X - @wasjusticeserved

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

Discover historical crimes, one headline at a time. 

Join hosts Jen Baldwin and David Wilson as they journey back in time to some of the past’s most cryptic criminal cases, brought to you by Findmypast. In each episode, we’ll take a look at the evidence found in historical newspapers and records and try to unpick what really happened.  

Listen as we delve into the gory, the heartbreaking, and the sensational cases that gripped the nation. Get to know the characters involved, their lives and secrets. Follow the twists and turns of the trial – and help us answer the ultimate question: Was Justice Served? 

Don’t just take our word for it – analyse the evidence for yourself. For each episode, you can access a complete collection of the historical newspapers we’ve talked about online at www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved.