Overview

Between the beginning of the First World War in the summer of 1914 and the armistice in 1918, 51 men were executed in Britain. The great majority, over 80%, were hanged for murder, but in addition to this, 11 men were shot by firing squad at the Tower of London. One traitor and one spy were also hanged. Traitors, Spies and Killers tells the story of the most interesting and noteworthy of these executions and the crimes which led up to them. Most books about true crime focus upon the crimes themselves and the trials which followed them. In this book, Simon Webb explores in detail the fates of the condemned men, examining what happened to them after their trials and the circumstances of the executions. This makes occasionally for harrowing reading. Trends in murder are also examined. For instance, a third of those executed for murder during the First World War had used cut-throat razors to dispose of their victims; a type of crime unheard of today. Others used pokers and axes, which are also exceedingly uncommon murder weapons in the twenty first century. This is a book which will fascinate and horrify those with an interest in crime and the death penalty. AUTHOR: =Simon Webb is the author of a number of non-fiction books, ranging from academic works on education to popular history. He also writes for various magazines and newspapers, including the Times Educational Supplement, Daily Telegraph, Guardian and Independent. His crime-writing credits include a book, Execution; a History of Capital Punishment in Britain and extensive articles for True Detective magazine on the subject of crime and executions. 16 b/w illustrations

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9781526796684

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Webb presents the real-life stories of thirty-one trials that occurred during World War One in Britain, from 1914-1918. Each of these trials, separated in the book by murder method or type of offense, ended in execution. This book details the experiences of each man chosen for execution (there were no women on trial for murder during this time period), from sentencing to execution, and recounts the activities that took place in the cell of the confined and also during the execution. -- ProtoView

More attention is given to the doomed prisoner's last experiences than readers will find in other crime writing. -- International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence Webb presents the real-life stories of thirty-one trials that occurred during World War One in Britain, from 1914-1918. Each of these trials, separated in the book by murder method or type of offense, ended in execution. This book details the experiences of each man chosen for execution (there were no women on trial for murder during this time period), from sentencing to execution, and recounts the activities that took place in the cell of the confined and also during the execution. -- ProtoView

Author Information

Simon Webb is the author of a number of non-fiction books, ranging from academic works on education to popular history. He also writes for various magazines and newspapers, including the Times Educational Supplement, Daily Telegraph, Guardian and Independent. His crime-writing credits include a book, Execution; a History of Capital Punishment in Britain and extensive articles for True Detective magazine on the subject of crime and executions.

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