"Did you know that there was a murder in your house?"

These words were uttered to me by a cousin. He was wrong, but not by much!In 1956 mum, dad, my sister and I moved into Leahurst Road in Lewisham. Back in 1942 the body of an 11 year old girl was discovered under the floorboards of the housenext door.

Much wartime crime, including murder, went unreported. This didn't. It made national news, unusual for wartime.

The girl went shopping and disappeared.Neighbours, police and ARP Wardens searched the area without success.Five days later police knocked on a door further down the road and discovered that a lodger had moved out on the same day as the girl went missing. A manhunt ensued, but oddly the man returned and confessed to the murder. He was convicted and sentenced to death. Albert Pierrepoint hanged him 3 weeks later.

More details can be found at:-

runner500.wordpress.com › the-leahurst-road-murderThe Leahurst Road Murder | Running Past - WordPress.com

britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk › search › results Results for 'deaths' | Between 1st Jul 1942 and 31st Jul 1942

www.britishexecutions.co.uk › execution-contentPatrick William Kingston - 1942 - British Executions